My primary areas of research are: Applied Microeconomics, Development Economics, Economics of Education and Labour Economics. I also have a secondary interest in the field of International Trade and Economic Development in Africa. 

Working Papers

Literacy, numeracy skills and free basic education in Ghana

Literacy and numeracy unarguably are at the heart of human and economic development and, as a result, have received widespread attention in recent decades. Yet, there are still issues related to the effective strategies of creating such basic skills. In this paper, I show how a free compulsory universal basic education (FCUBE) policy in Ghana helped improve skills attainment. I employ difference-in-differences strategy to assess the long-term causal impact of FCUBE using the Ghana Living Standard Survey 2012-2017. Overall, I find that FCUBE increased literacy and numeracy by 4.6 and 3.0 percentage points respectively, but had a larger effects for urban and less disadvantaged students, thereby exacerbating inequality in skills attainment. Additionally, my results show that only the lower secondary education, and not primary education, was sufficient to guarantee skills attainment.


Disasters and tightness of social norms: The case of female genital cutting [with Marianna Battaglia and Jorge  Garcia Hombrados]

We examine the empirical relationship between exposure to disasters and tightness of social norms, focusing on the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in Sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on occurrences of epidemics and natural disasters, we find that individuals surveyed in the aftermath of a disaster in their region adhere more closely to the normative opinions about FGC in their groups compared to those interviewed before the disaster occurred. By examining variations in early lifetime exposure to disasters across birth cohorts within countries, we find that this effect persists over time. Overall, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that FGC persistence is influenced by the returns to comply with community norms, which are themselves affected by natural disasters.


Workfare and high food prices: Explaining human capital outcomes on Ethiopia's productive safety net program

Many developing countries use workfare programs to combat poverty. However, transfer packages of these programs are un-indexed, making particularly cash payment susceptible to food price rises. This paper examines whether cash, food or cash plus food (mixed) transfer package is agile to improve schooling outcomes during periods of dramatic inflation, drawing on empirical evidence from Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP). Using a quasi-experimental analysis, I find that, compared with control group, food and cash plus food (mixed) transfers improve enrollment and cognitive outcomes of children. I do not find an effect on children’s enrollment and cognitive achievement of the PSNP cash transfer package. While this raises questions of fundamental importance of workfare programs, my results are specific to a weak and inflationary economy and suggest index-linking PSNP cash payments to achieve intended outcomes. 

Work in Progress


Publications