Harold R. Kerbo

Harold R. Kerbo is a Professor of Sociology at California Polytechnic State University since 1977. He has held Fulbright professorships in Japan, Thailand, and Austria, and visiting roles in Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Thailand, and Japan. He received the Abe Fellowship (2006-2007) for fieldwork on poverty programs in Southeast Asia. His research focuses on social stratification, global inequality, poverty dynamics, and comparative societies. Kerbo is author of leading textbooks including Social Stratification and Inequality (7th ed.) and World Poverty, and creator of the McGraw-Hill Comparative Societies Series. He holds a B.A. (1970), M.A. (1972) from the University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. (1975) from Virginia Tech.

His recent work includes The Tragedy of Cambodian Poverty (forthcoming) analyzing post-conflict deprivation. He has authored/co-authored over 11 books in the Comparative Societies Series, examining nations like Japan, Germany, and Thailand. His current projects explore global poverty frameworks and structural inequality mechanisms.

• Awards: Fulbright Professorships (Asia/Europe), Abe Fellowship (2006-2007)
• Editorial Roles: General Editor of McGraw-Hill Comparative Societies Series
• Key Contributions: Pioneered sociological analysis of poverty programs in Southeast Asia, established comparative societal frameworks for academic publishing