Hi! I am a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago.
I completed my PhD (DPhil) at the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford.
My research interests are in development, labour, and behavioural economics. I use randomised and natural experiments to help answer policy questions. I am interested in how digital technologies, social protection programmes, and financial innovations impact households in low-income rural settings, as well as studying interventions to enhance state effectiveness.
I am also affiliated with the Centre for the Study of African Economies, the Mind and Behaviour Research Group, and scientific director at the Bissau Economics Lab.
Selected work in progress
Impact of Market Information on Cashew Producers in Guinea-Bissau
with Brais Álvarez Pereira, Adewusi Mendonça, Dayvikson Raiss Laval Tavares, Sebastian Schäber
abstract
Does providing market information to smallholder farmers increase their income? To answer this question, we ran a two-level cluster randomized controlled trial among 1988 cashew producers in 290 villages in Guinea-Bissau. Treated producers received free weekly messages to their mobiles during the trading seasons in 2020 and 2021. The messages provided up-to-date market news, farmgate prices, and gave sales advice. We found that treated producers reported higher prices, mostly during the 2021 season. Treated producers sold their cashews more frequently relative to the other producers, who tend to sell their cashews in a single transaction. We explore several mechanisms to understand our results. We find evidence consistent with information increasing the bargaining power of treated producers, who negotiate better sale deals. Moreover, we find that treated producers also changed the timing of their sales to smooth their income over time. We found no evidence of changes in preferences, or increased salience of transactions as a result of the information sent to treated producers. Given the low cost of our intervention, market information can be a cost-effective tool to increase producers’ revenues.
Pre-analysis plan; Draft available upon request.Labour Market Effects of Ethiopia’s Social Safety Net
abstract
This paper assesses how a large transfer programme combining public works and unconditional transfers to food-insecure households in rural Ethiopia affects local labour markets. Using repeated cross-sections of the National Labour Force Survey, I show that the programme did not change employment rates or wages in this rural economy. Instead, I find that workers shifted from agricultural to non-agricultural self-employment. I complement this analysis using data from the Ethiopian Socio-Economic surveys and find similar results. These results are at odds with previous work due to the thinness of rural wage markets in Ethiopia.
Draft available upon request.Demand for Building State Effectiveness
with Yetsedaw Emagne Bekele, Harry Dienes, Dan Rogger
abstract
Training and professional development are essential for building an effective workforce. Yet where benefits of capacity building accrue to society, such as with public servants, individuals may under-invest in professional development relative to the social optimum. This paper presents evidence on the extent of demand for professional development in public administration. We elicit incentive-compatible willingness-to-pay for professional development opportunities among civil servants in Ethiopia. Our findings reveal prevalent low demand for professional development activities key to building state capacity. The median respondent values access to a professional development activity as much as a packet of pens. However, demand is highly elastic, and almost all public officials are willing to undertake training for a small subsidy. An ongoing follow-up experiment aims to disentangle whether the low demand is driven by low private returns to training or by externalities that respondents fail to internalize.
Pre-analysis planLong-run Effects of Asset-collateralized Loans
with Joshua Deutschmann, Alex Lehner, Michael Kremer
abstract
We study the long-run impacts of increased access to asset-collateralized loans for water tanks on the incomes and resilience of members of a dairy cooperative and affiliated SACCO in Kenya. We compare farmers who were randomly offered a 96-percent asset-collateralized water tank loan to farmers offered a 75-percent asset-collateralized loan. Farmers who received the 96-percent loan offer in 2012 sold roughly 10 percent more milk over the period 2013-2022 than farmers who received the 75-percent offer. Access to the 96-percent collateralized loan product increases resilience during dry spells for up to six weeks, and reduces drop-out from selling milk to the dairy cooperative. In a survey with a subset of these farmers, we find that, by 2023, farmers that received the 96-percent collateralized loan offer in 2012 own a similar number of water tanks, but have more water storage capacity and spend less time fetching water. We find no evidence of changes in aggregate herd sizes, suggesting this intervention may have reduced the emissions intensity of production.
Working papers
The Future in Mind: Aspirations and Long-term Outcomes in Rural Ethiopia
with Tanguy Bernard, Stefan Dercon, Kate Orkin, Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse
[CEPR discussion paper | Draft (09/2023) | Video presentation]
Policy reports
“Investing in Human Capital and Foundational Skills”, with Emily Gardner in Guinea-Bissau Country Economic Memorandum. 2020. World Bank, pp. 47-73.
“Guinea-Bissau Malaria Indicator Survey 2017 Report”, with Amabélia Rodrigues, Cesério Martins, Ronise da Silva, Bruno da Silva, Aladje Balde, Tom Hall. 2018. Bissau Health Project.
Teaching
University of Oxford (undergraduate):
Development Economics (tutorials), Department of Economics, 2023.
Econometrics (tutorials), Merton College, Exeter College, Worcester College, 2022-2023.
Econometrics and Microeconomics (revision classes), Merton College, 2022.
Introductory Microconomics and Statistics (revision classes), Merton College, 2022.
University of Oxford (postgraduate):
Policy Evaluation (seminars), Blavatnik School of Government, 2021.