Valerie Mueller

Photo: Courtesy of Tobias Siegfried

I am an agricultural economist. I spent a decade at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) working on policy relevant research in several African and Asian countries. My research broadly focuses on the drivers and consequences of internal migration, paying special attention to the role of climate change in these relationships. I am also involved in ongoing field experiments aimed to improve the delivery of rural services in Africa. In August 2017, I joined the faculty at Arizona State University, maintaining close ties with IFPRI. If you want to chat about research or have any questions about my work, please feel free to contact me via email at vmuelle1@asu.edu.

The portrait (on the left) was designed by a former employee at IFPRI, J. Vivalo. She created this picture for my research team to include in a brochure that was distributed as part of our paralegal intervention in Tanzania. I like it because it embodies confidence and empowerment--important aspects of improving the economic standing of women, in the narrow discipline of economics or more broadly in the developing world. The picture (on the right) shows a young man herding cattle along a major highway in Uganda, passing our broken truck en route to Tanzania.