Blog

Notes and essays.

Shorter pieces translating research into accessible commentary on trade, industrialization, and Africa's development.

2026 Jan 14

Making Africa's integration work for jobs, scale, and structural change

Chapter 6 of Foresight Africa 2026. With Andrew Dabalen and Pierre Nguimkeu. With one million young Africans entering the labor force every month, no strategy better addresses the continent's employment challenge than integration. It is Africa's key to unlock industrialization, scale up productivity, and create quality jobs for a growing youth population.

Brookings • Foresight Africa 2026 Read on Brookings →
2025 Dec 15

Industrialization in Africa must compete, connect, and create value

Industrialization drives the sustained growth in jobs and productivity that marks the developmental take-off of economies. For Africa, the question is how to compete in a world of shorter value chains and rising protectionism — and how policy, investment, and regional integration can come together to deliver that competitiveness.

Read post →
2024 Apr 12

A Bill to Renew AGOA with Adjustments

Two U.S. senators, one Republican and one Democrat, introduced legislation to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act with adjustments. What the proposed changes would mean for African exporters, and what's at stake for the broader U.S.–Africa trade relationship.

Read post →
2019 Nov 15

Is there an optimal FVA share good for growth?

The rise of global value chains is one of the most important developments in international trade in recent decades. But is there an "optimal" share of foreign value added in a country's exports that best supports growth — and if so, what does it look like?

Read post →

Earlier writing from graduate school lives on the On Development Economics blog.

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.