About me

Habtamu is an Applied Microeconomist interested in understanding how economic policies and programs affect people’s lives, especially in politically and economically unstable, fragile states, where resources are scarce and trust and cooperation between government and its society are weak. His research focuses on sustainability, entrepreneurship, innovation, food security, health, energy, aging, social protection, poverty, and forced migration. He mainly works with household-level panel data and applies impact evaluation and causal inference methods to measure real-world outcomes.

He has extensive experience in both academic and industry environments. He served for over five years at Wolkite University, Ethiopia. His four years of industry experience include positions at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE), and international organizations. These diverse experiences have allowed him to cultivate a global mindset, flexibility, and a high level of professional adaptability.

Habtamu is a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at the Universities of Siena, Florence, and Pisa, Italy, where he began his joint doctoral program in November 2022. He has an MSc in Applied Management from the University of Pécs, Hungary (2019–2021), an MBA in Management from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia (2015–2017), and a BA in Management from Debre Markos University, Ethiopia (2011–2014). He has a professional Higher Diploma in Pedagogy (Teaching in Higher Education) from Wolkite University, Ethiopia (2018–2019). The program emphasizes training in pedagogy, curriculum design, assessment methods, and reflective teaching practices to enhance teaching effectiveness in higher education. 

He was a visiting Ph.D. scholar at the Faculty of Business and Economics, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Ås in Norway (November 2023–June 2024). He was also selected for the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) Africa Early-Career Researchers Fellowship and received training in grantsmanship (May–October 2025).