Research, Publications.

Selected Works

Papers, reports, chapters.

Making Africa's integration work for jobs, scale, and structural change. Foresight Africa 2026. Brookings. Washington, DC. With A. Dabalen & P. Nguimkeu. (upcoming)

Making Industrial Policy Work in Africa. Africa Economic Update, April 2026. World Bank. Co-led with J. Cust & S. Owusu.

Structural Change in Africa: The Role of North–South and South–South Trade. The World Economy, 2026. With G. Ndubuisi & S. Owusu.

Regionalizing Green Transition Minerals for Structural Transformation in Africa. World Bank, 2025. With G. Ndubuisi, E.K. Avenyo & S. Owusu.

Unpacking the Dutch Disease: Resource Windfalls and Export Margins. IMF Economic Review, 2025. With A. Lartey.

Regionalization of Global Trade: A New Order in the Making. Global Policy, Vol. 15, 2025.

Uncertainty in Preferential Trade Agreements: Impact of the AGOA Suspension on Exports. Journal of African Economies, Vol. 34, Issue 5, 2025. With H. Edjigu & S. Hakobyan.

Trade Barriers or Catalysts? Non-Tariff Measures and Firm-Level Trade Margins. World Bank Policy Research WP No. 11024, 2025. With F. Dela Dem Doe & A. Lartey.

Economic Transformation in Africa: The Role of North-South and South-South Trade. World Bank Policy Research WP No. 10896, 2024. With G. Ndubuisi & S. Owusu.

Hotter Planet, Hotter Factories: Uneven Impacts of Climate Change on Productivity. World Bank Policy Research WP No. 10762, 2024. With A. Woldemichael.

Food Insecurity Erodes Trust. Global Food Security, Vol. 40, 2024. With M.D. Smith & D. Wesselbaum.

Does Financial Inclusion Empower Women in Africa?. Economic Notes, Vol. 52, No. 3, 2023. With A. Maruta & H. Edjigu.

Africa in the New Trade Environment: Market Access in Troubled Times. World Bank, 2022. With S. Coulibaly & A.G. Zeufack.

Industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Seizing Opportunities in Global Value Chains. World Bank, 2021. With K.G. Abreha, E.K.K. Lartey, T. Mengistae & A.G. Zeufack.

Assessing Food Insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean Using FAO's FIES. Food Policy, Vol. 71, 2017. With P. Winters & M.D. Smith.

Recent Talks

Conferences and presentations.

World Trade Forum: Coping with Chaos — Sustaining the Rules-Based Trade Order. European University Institute (EUI). Florence, Italy. 2025.

28th Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis (GTAP). Accelerating economic transformation, resilience, diversification, and job creation. Kigali, Rwanda. 2025.

Econometric Society, Africa Region Meeting. Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. 2024.

CSAE Conference on Economic Development in Africa. University of Oxford. Oxford, UK. 2024.

American Economics Association / ASSA Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX. 2024.

Southern Economic Association 93rd Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. 2023.

Full List on Google Scholar →
About

Economist at the intersection of trade, macro, and development.

I am an economist working on trade, macroeconomics, and structural transformation in developing economies, with particular focus on Africa. My research examines how countries participate in global value chains, respond to climate and macroeconomic shocks, and build the productive capabilities that sustain long-run growth.

I am based in Washington, DC, where I work at the World Bank Group and occasionally teach at American University. My research has appeared in the IMF Economic Review, Journal of African Economies, The World Economy, Food Policy, and in several World Bank book-length studies.

Beyond academic work, I engage actively with policy audiences — through briefs, op-eds, and participation in convenings that bring research into conversation with decision-makers.