Centre for the Study of African Economies
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| Centre for the Study of African Economies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Centre for the Study of African Economies |
| Established | 1986 |
| Type | Research centre |
| Affiliation | University of Oxford |
| Location | Oxford |
Centre for the Study of African Economies is a research centre affiliated with University of Oxford focused on empirical and policy-relevant analysis of African development. It produces quantitative and qualitative research on topics such as agricultural productivity, labor markets, trade, public finance, and public health, engaging with institutions across Africa and the global policy community. The centre works closely with scholars, practitioners, and funders including UK Research and Innovation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and multilateral organizations.
History
Founded in 1986 within Nuffield College, Oxford and later associated with St Anthony's College, Oxford and other collegiate structures, the centre emerged amid renewed scholarly interest following the Structural Adjustment Program debates and the World Bank's shift toward poverty reduction. Early collaborations involved figures linked to Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, and London School of Economics, and drew on fieldwork traditions established by researchers connected to Oxford University Press and the Royal African Society. Over subsequent decades the centre expanded methodological reach through randomized evaluations influenced by work from Cambridge University affiliates and randomized controlled trial pioneers associated with MIT and Yale University.
Research and Programs
The centre runs longitudinal household surveys, randomized evaluations, and administrative data analysis covering countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa. Its research themes intersect with studies by scholars at Princeton University, Columbia University, Brown University, and Stanford University on topics including agricultural input markets, social protection, human capital formation, and conflict dynamics related to episodes like the Rwandan genocide and the Liberian Civil War. Projects have examined effects of interventions promoted by United Nations Development Programme and World Health Organization, and have been used in policy debates in forums such as International Monetary Fund briefings and African Development Bank panels. The centre has hosted collaborative programs with Department for International Development-funded initiatives and networks linked to Centre for Global Development and Overseas Development Institute.
Academic and Teaching Activities
The centre supervises doctoral research registered in departments including the Department of Economics, University of Oxford, Blavatnik School of Government, and Department of International Development, University of Oxford. It offers seminars and reading groups that attract faculty from All Souls College, Oxford, visiting professors from Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and postgraduate students from University of Cape Town, Makerere University, and Addis Ababa University. Teaching contributions include lectures in Oxford MBA-linked programs, short courses co-taught with faculty from Harvard Kennedy School, and methodological workshops drawing on tools developed by teams at World Bank and National Bureau of Economic Research.
Policy Engagement and Impact
The centre informs policy through evidence briefs presented to agencies such as Government of the United Kingdom, African Union, Kenyan Treasury, and Ghanaian Ministry of Finance. Its researchers have testified in panels convened by UK Parliament committees and participated in advisory groups for United Nations Children's Fund and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Research outputs have influenced conditional cash transfer designs similar to programs evaluated in Mexico and Brazil, and contributed to debates at conferences hosted by European Commission and World Economic Forum. The centre's work has been cited in policy reports by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Rescue Committee assessments of humanitarian interventions.
Governance and Funding
Governance involves academic directors drawn from faculties at University of Oxford and advisory boards including external members from World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and partner African universities such as University of Nairobi and University of Lagos. Funding sources combine research grants from entities like UK Research and Innovation, philanthropic awards from Wellcome Trust and Ford Foundation, project support from European Union instruments, and commissioned evaluation contracts from Department for International Development and DFAT. Financial oversight follows collegiate and university statutes and engages auditors familiar with grant compliance standards used by National Institutes of Health and multilateral development banks.
Notable People
Notable affiliated scholars and visitors have included leading economists and development practitioners associated with Daron Acemoglu-type research networks, collaborators linked to Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee's randomized evaluation work, and historians and political scientists with ties to Margaret MacMillan and Niall Ferguson-style intellectual circles. Faculty and fellows have included individuals who graduated from or held posts at University of Cambridge, Princeton University, London School of Economics, Yale University, Columbia University, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, Brown University, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, University of California, Berkeley, Michigan State University, University of Toronto, University of Cape Town, Addis Ababa University, and University of Ibadan. Visiting researchers and alumni have gone on to leadership roles at African Development Bank, World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Overseas Development Institute, and national ministries across Africa.