Bio

I am an economist and political scientist working on economic development and political economy in Africa.

Currently, I am a Post-Doctoral Fellow at IPA's Peace & Recovery Program and a Guest Scientist at the University of Chicago's Pearson Institute. I received my Ph.D. in Political Economy & Government from Harvard University in 2019.

My research lies at the intersection of comparative politics and political economy. I study the politics of development with a focus on fragile state settings, informal institutions, and conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the Great Lakes region, and Latin America. Using a range of methods, from field and natural experiments to qualitative interviews, my research aims to address the overarching question of what characterizes governance in fragile states and how it might be improved.

Before graduate school I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics with a secondary field in Economics from the University of Essex and attended high school in Rwanda and Canada. I also worked in Malawi for the German Development Bank, KfW.