Category: Publications

Journal Article: the Successes and Failures of Economic Reform in Nigeria’s Post-Military Political Settlement

December 20, 2019

My paper has just been published by the journal, African Affairs. Drawing on my doctoral research, the article has been four years (!) in the making, and I’m so excited and relieved that it is finally out. I had initially published it as a working paper in 2016, and its gone through a lot of … More Journal Article: the Successes and Failures of Economic Reform in Nigeria’s Post-Military Political Settlement

What Can Developing Countries Learn from Morocco’s Experience with Power Sector Reforms?

November 21, 2019

  I recently wrote a blog post, for the World Bank’s Sustainable Energy for All blog, on the lessons developing countries can learn from Morocco’s experience with power sector reforms. This is based on my recently published research paper on “Lessons from Power Sector Reforms: the Case of Morocco“. Here’s the blog post below. It’s also … More What Can Developing Countries Learn from Morocco’s Experience with Power Sector Reforms?

New World Bank Report, “Rethinking Power Sector Reforms in the Developing World”

October 27, 2019

Source: Cover of the Rethinking Power Sector Reforms   On the 10th of September 2019, a new World Bank Report was published entitled, “Rethinking Power Sector Reforms in the Developing World“. The report is part of a multi year initiative that aims to refresh the policy debate on the electric power sector. It presents a … More New World Bank Report, “Rethinking Power Sector Reforms in the Developing World”

Blog Post – The Future of Work in Africa: Making Productive Investments for More and Better Jobs

August 8, 2019

I co-wrote this blog post for the World Bank’s blog series to explain our new report on “The Future of Work in Africa: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies for All“. We identify certain productive investments needed in African countries to secure for more and better jobs. I am reproducing it below, and you can … More Blog Post – The Future of Work in Africa: Making Productive Investments for More and Better Jobs

New Report Published: The Future of Work in Africa

August 7, 2019

Our new World Bank report, “The Future of Work in Africa: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies for All” was recently published. I’m very pleased to have co-authored this publication on such a critical topic on the agenda of governments across Africa. My colleagues and I examine the roles of skills, informality and social protection … More New Report Published: The Future of Work in Africa

Taking the Pulse of the Economies in African Countries

June 17, 2019

The Africa’s Pulse, is a bi-annual macro-economic update of the state of the continent. Each edition also features one or two special topics. It is published by the Office of the Chief Economist in the Africa Region of the World Bank. The April 2019 edition featured two special topics: ‘Implementing Regional Solutions to Address Fragility … More Taking the Pulse of the Economies in African Countries

PUBLISHED: My Book Chapter on “The ‘Resource Curse’ and Constraints to Reforming Nigeria’s Oil Sector”

December 26, 2018

I’m pleased to announce that my chapter on “The ‘Resource Curse’ and the Constraints on Reforming Nigeria’s Oil Sector” is now published. It is one of three chapters on Nigeria’s oil economy in the Oxford Handbook on Nigerian Politics. The analysis goes beyond the ‘resource-curse’ and uses political settlements theory to argue that the dysfunctions … More PUBLISHED: My Book Chapter on “The ‘Resource Curse’ and Constraints to Reforming Nigeria’s Oil Sector”

NEW PAPER: The Political Economy of Power Sector Reforms in Developing Countries

December 26, 2018

A paper I co-authored on the political economy of power sector reforms was recently published. It examines developing country experiences with market reforms in unbundling, regulation, privatization and creating competition in the power sector. Here’s the abstract: The power sector reform experiences of developing countries vary greatly. To help explain this from a political economy … More NEW PAPER: The Political Economy of Power Sector Reforms in Developing Countries

To transform Africa’s economies, African companies matter too

June 10, 2016

I recently wrote this piece for The Conversation. A consistent feature of global analyses of Africa’s economic prospects is their fickleness. In the years since the global financial crisis in 2008, forecasts about Africa have swerved from deep pessimism to heady optimism, and back to a bearish outlook of slow growth and fragility. The vacillation … More To transform Africa’s economies, African companies matter too

Publication: ‘Why Goodluck Jonathan Lost the Nigerian Presidential Election of 2015’

July 1, 2015

Our publication (with colleague Dr Olly Owen) in the July edition of the journal, African Affairs is out. We wrote a brief on the Nigerian presidential election in March 2015, assessing why the election was exceptional in many respects, why many previous predictions including ours of a runoff or an outright Jonathan/PDP victory did not … More Publication: ‘Why Goodluck Jonathan Lost the Nigerian Presidential Election of 2015’

Africa’s Oil Shock

January 18, 2015

This is an opinion piece I recently wrote for Aljazeera English, analysing how African countries are responding to falling global crude oil prices. I reproduce it below: The plummeting of global crude prices is generating ripple effects worldwide. While oil exporters are reeling from plunging revenues, oil importers are bracing for cheaper oil, and the … More Africa’s Oil Shock

Obama’s Africa Summit: Too Little, Too Late?

August 16, 2014

This is an op-ed I wrote for Aljazeera English, on the recent U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. In 2013, I was in the audience at the Oxford Union for a taping of Al Jazeera’s Head to Head featuring Thomas Friedman and his thoughts on US Foreign Policy. The show’s focus was entirely focused on the Middle East, and the United States’ … More Obama’s Africa Summit: Too Little, Too Late?

Nigeria’s Economic Transition Reveals Deep Structural Distortions

May 1, 2014

This is an article I recently wrote for African Arguments on Nigeria’s recently revised GDP series. According to recently reviewed GDP figures, Nigeria is now Africa’s biggest economy. It was about time a more accurate measure of economic output, which captures Nigerians’ entrepreneurial zeal, was adopted. The headline-capturing highlights of the new series reveal the … More Nigeria’s Economic Transition Reveals Deep Structural Distortions

Does Nigeria Really Need a ‘Sovereign National Conference’?

January 29, 2014

This is a piece I wrote for the Royal African Society’s African Arguments blog. In a few weeks, Nigerians across ethnic and regional divides will be gathering at a roundtable to discuss critical national issues. The imperative for this National Conference as a necessary discussion over Nigeria’s future was underscored by the President, Goodluck Jonathan, … More Does Nigeria Really Need a ‘Sovereign National Conference’?