My research focuses on corporate practices and coercive labour markets in 20th-century colonial Africa. I draw upon the heterogeneity in colonial governance, specifically the diverse use of forced labour by different colonial regimes, to enhance our understanding of how such labour market practices affected both living standards and company performance during this period.

Having lived outside my country of birth, Ireland, for most of my life, including in several countries in the Global South, I was drawn to research in economic history on developing regions. In contrast to the traditional economics discipline, this literature's approach better allows for the significant variation between societies and takes a long-term perspective, while being both creative and careful with historical data. As a result, in my view, it has produced research that better explains not only what has hindered African economic development but also the reasons for its less discussed success stories.

During my PhD, I worked between Madrid and six different countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. I have since held extended research stays at Lund University (with Jutta Bolt) and at the Paris School of Economics, as part of the EURETES “History of Capitalism” project led by Eric Monnet and Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur. I am currently conducting postdoctoral research at the University of the Witwatersrand, working in the university’s archives as well as other mining repositories across Johannesburg.