Jakob Rauschendorfer

I am a PhD candidate in economics at Sciences Po (Paris), working on international trade and development economics. My research is supervised by Johannes Boehm.

Prior to my PhD, I worked extensively with governments and international organizations on international trade and development, experiences which greatly shaped my research interests. I started as an ODI-Fellow with the Ministry of Trade of Malawi and subsequently was country economist for the International Growth Centre in Uganda for three years. Additionally, I have consulted for the World Bank on trade, foreign direct investment, jobs and conflict and was an economist (Associate Professional Officer) in the Markets and Trade Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome.

I hold an MSc in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford and a BA in Philosophy & Economics from the University of Bayreuth.

Research in progress

Import intermediaries 

Trade policy and price incentives for nutrition (with K. Abay, J. Solorzano-Lopez and R. Hashad)

Journal articles

Trade policy reform, retail food prices and access to healthy diets worldwide (with R. Gilbert, L. Costlow, J. Matteson, E. Krivonos, S. A. Block and W. Master). World Development (2024), 177, 106535. Article.

Unmaking of a Customs Union: Regional (Dis)integration in the East African Community (with A. Twum). World Trade Review (2022), Volume 21 (1): 59-70. Article. Working Paper.

Trade, conflict and informality: Evidence from the South Sudanese civil war (with B. Shepherd). The World Economy (2022), Volume 45 (3): 867-894. Article. Working Paper.  

Policy reports, briefs and book chapter (selected)

Uganda: Leaving Agriculture in Search of Progress on Transformation (with M. Guloba, M. Kakuru, and S. Ssewanyana). In: H. Bhorat, R. Newfarmer, J. Page, & B. Coulibaly (Eds.), New pathways to job creation and development in Africa: The promise of industries without smokestacks. Rowman & Littlefield (Forthcoming). 

Drivers and implications of import tax evasion in Uganda (with J.O. Ayo, M. Best, N. Eissa, P. Lal, and S. Sequeira) International Growth Centre (2024). Report. Blog Post. 

Implications of the war in Ukraine for agrifood trade and food security in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia (with E. Krivonos). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2022). Report.

Uganda’s participation in international and regional trade: Patterns, prospects and policy (with A. Stojanov and J. de Melo). International Growth Centre and World Bank (2021). Report.

The Covid-19 impact on Ugandan supply chains: The importance of imports (with J. Spray). International Growth Centre (2020). Policy Brief.

Estimating the fiscal impact of tariff reform in Uganda using TRIST. International Growth Centre (2020). Report.

What is the fiscal cost of tax incentives in Uganda? (with N. Eissa, P. Manwaring and N. Ntungire). International Growth Centre (2019). Report.

Agro-industrialisation in Uganda: current status, future prospects and possible solutions to pressing challenges (with M. Fowler). International Growth Centre (2019). Report.

The review of the Common External Tariff of the East African Community: Options for strengthening Uganda’s negotiation position. International Growth Centre (2019). Policy Brief.