I hope to engender a better understanding of economics, economic development, and the developing world. In particular, I hope to stimulate public understanding of the challenges that developing countries and developing country governments face in stimulating development. I am also keen to support the coming generations of development economists in entering the profession.
I co-lead the World Bank's `Bureaucracy Lab' with Zahid Hasnain. Here is an introduction to our work as discussed with the Global Director for Governance:
The Lab's work aims to support the understanding and reform of public administration based on micro-level data and analysis. Here are clips describing that approach:
Clockwise from top left: The Bureaucracy Lab's `Five Principles of Public Administration Reform'; My Econothon interview; The Lab's `Big Data Revolution' mini documentary; and, a session at Oxford University on `Harnessing Data to Improve Government Effectiveness Across the World'
In 2019 and 2023 I gave descriptions of the frontier of the personnel economics of the state, presented as World Bank `Policy Research Talks', which are respectively the top left and top right videos below. For the latter, I created a trailer that is the closest I will ever get to being James Bond (bottom left) and shorter video highlighting the points I made about influencing public policy (bottom right)..
For me, public servants who work in the constraints of a developing world government, and still get done what needs to be done are the unsung heroes of development. Contact me if I can be of any assistance to you in that task.
Training public servants to strengthen their own institutions is a key mission of the Bureaucracy Lab, which I co-lead. Here is an example of our training from an opening lecture I gave at the start of our 2022 training for the Ghanaian Office of the Head of the Civil Service.
I am available to support public servants across the world in a flexible way in their learning and research. I can connect you to the training and resources the Bureaucracy Lab has made available for public officials, but I can also support you on any ad hoc needs you have. I want to help the heroes in the way that they need it most!
Whilst working in the civil service in Nigeria as a junior economist, I compiled the following 'Tips for Civil Servants'. It gives my 'top ten' ways to perform better within the service and within life in general!
Here is a reading list on the subject of public administration. It is personal in the sense that it is not meant to be a reflection of the breadth of material on the subject, which is truly vast, but rather highlights of my own reading and experience in the area. It is non-academic, in that I shy away from references to the academic literature I aim to contribute to, since this list aims to be a complement to the papers that make up the personnel economics of the state. And it is constantly evolving, since I am always on the look out to better appreciate the art of government administration from multiple angles, so feel free to send me reading suggestions.
Here's a start ... videos that remind us why we should be interested in and care about the administration of the state.
Left: Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede argues for why `Africa needs to invest in capacity development in the public sector'; Right: Susan Thomas on why she is committed to service in the Indian Government and how such work is misunderstood
General
Claire Foster-Gilbert (2018) "The Power of Civil Servants": The text of a discussion between David Normington and Peter Hennessy regarding practical considerations in the running of a modern public administration
T.R. Raghunandan (2019) "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Bureaucracy But Were Afraid to Ask": A personal take on what the author thinks we know about the world of public administration
Herbert Kaufman (1960/1967) "The Forest Ranger: A Study in Administrative Behavior": A delightful study of key considerations in building and sustaining a public administration from a sector that I have come to love in the US and beyond
Michael Lewis (2018) "The Fifth Risk": An elegant reminder of how important the work of the Federal Government of the United States is to life across the world
Michael Lewis then partnered with the Washington Post to produce a series of articles about Federal Government public servants. A discussion of the origination of the `Who is Government' project is here, and Michael Lewis' story about Chris Mark of the Department of Labor is here (behind the Post's paywall I'm afraid)
History
Neil MacGregor (2010) A History of the World In 100 Objects: This series of podcasts and accompanying book spans world history, but frequently cites public administration as one of the central elements of that story. Though I can point to many corresponding references, let me highlight the 15th object discussed - an early writing tablet found in southern Iraq; 3100-3000BC - as it is said to be about "beer and the birth of bureaucracy"
Samuel Finer (1997) "The History of Government from the Earliest Times": A sweeping history of government and administration that frames more micro-studies in a macro-lens of the varieties of government that have risen in history
Peter Hennessy (1989) "Whitehall": A history and commentary on the origins and development of the heart of the British Civil Service
The bureaucracy, bureaucratic politics, and broader politics of US urban development:
Robert Caro (1974) "The Power Broker": The story of the most powerful bureaucrat in New York when New York was the most powerful city in the world (see also videos of Robert Moses in 1959 and 1977)
Hilary Ballon and Kenneth T. Jackson (Editors; 2008) "Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York": A `response' to Caro's work decades on that also powerfully documents the breadth of Moses building achievements
Kevin Starr (1985) "Inventing the Dream: California through the Progressive Era": The second in a series narrating the history of California, this volume outlines the creation of the foundations for the Southern California we know today
Richard D. White Jr (2003) "Roosevelt the Reformer: Theodore Roosevelt as Civil Service Commissioner, 1889-1895": Highlighting the significant role Roosevelt played early in his career in the reform of the US Federal Civil Service and the practical implementation of the ending the spoils system (video of the author discussing the book)
Franz Kafka (1925) "The Trial": A book that allows the reader to experience the madness and corrosion of will that bureaucracy can inflict at its worst
C.S. Lewis (1942) "The Screwtape Letters": A fantasy administration that runs hell is the setting for this exploration of bureaucracy and the human heart
Chinua Achebe (1966) "A Man of the People": The reader finds the anti-hero corrupted by his work in the public service
Upamanyu Chatterjee (1988) "English, August: An Indian Story": Follows the fictional and comic tale of a reluctant new recruit to the Indian Administrative Service
George Orwell (1949) "Nineteen Eighty-Four": A book famously set in a state dominated by a totalitarian state and accompanying public administration [the Ministry of Truth was modelled on Senate House, where I spent much time as a student]
Poetry
Rudyard Kipling (1886) "Departmental Ditties": Kipling's first published work was a set of `bureaucracy-themed' poems, ending with my favourite, `The Last Department'
Photos
Jan Banning's "Bureaucratics" is a comparative photographic study of the culture, rituals and symbols of state civil administrations and its servants in eight countries on five continents.
Jan Banning's "Red Utopia" records the interiors of Communist Party offices in five countries across the world.
Dayanita Singh's "File Room" presents photos of government archives and their custodians across India.
Though focussed on the dangers of populism, The Simpsons' 200th episode, `Trash of the Titans', showcases how we undervalue the work of experienced public servants (To summarize, the highly competent sanitation commissioner Ray Patterson states, "If you want an experienced public servant, vote for me. But if you want to believe a bunch of crazy promises about garbagemen cleaning your gutters and waxing your car, then by all means, vote for this sleazy lunatic." Homer wins by a landslide, bankrupts the sanitation department within a month, and makes Springfield uninhabitable soon after.)
In The 12 Tasks of Asterix, Obelix and Asterix must fulfill "nothing but a simple administrative formality" in `The Place that Sends You Mad' (i.e. the administration)
An anime series Servant x Service follows the fate of a group of new public servants as they grapple with their new jobs in Japanese government. Also a manga (comic book) series.
I have also always loved this short film simply titled `bureaucracy' and this one titled `Office Kingdom'
My favourite series on bureaucracy come out of the satirical wing of British culture, from `Yes, Minister' and `Yes, Prime Minister' to `The Thick of It' and `In the Loop'.
My own contribution to the better understanding of the developing world focuses on my topic of research interest, public goods. There are wide disparities in the availability of public goods (like good quality roads, electricity, and healthcare) across the globe. This video compares the public goods available on an average street in California with those available on an average street in Nigeria.
For those interested in becoming a development economist, here are my five key tips for building a strong career.
Tips on Development Economics Careers: Overview (top left; summary of five tips), Tip 1 (top right; Build Strong Professional Expertise), Tip 2 (second row left; Understand How to Bridge), Tip 3 (second row right; Immerse Yourself), Tip 4 (bottom left; Be Eclectic), and Tip 5 (bottom right, Train to Support).
During my PhD, I gave an occasional seminar for undergraduate students on preparing for, entering into, and developing a career in development economics. A recording of one of these seminars is available below and you can also access the associated handout with my top tips for development economics careers. (The video has had to be split into a number of parts due to its length.) I have also given my reflections on the advice in a fourth video taken after a decade out of my PhD.
Tips on Development Economics Careers filmed in 2011: Parts 1 (top left; introductory remarks), 2 (top right; be an economist first) and 3 (bottom left; complementary knowledge and experience); and then my reflections on my 2011 advice after 10 years out of PhD (bottom right).
Complementing these thoughts, I provide some general steers:
Get skilled: Be an economist first and a development economist second. The more skilled an economist you are, the better, as this is what differentiates you from other development workers. Of course, you must then be ready to shape your understanding to the institutional context in which you find yourself.
Get informed II (news sites): Know the context of your work extremely well. BBC News Africa, BBC News South Asia, Al Jazeera, and globalvoices.org are good sites to find news from the developing world. Follow news sites for countries you are interested in (for example, I check This Day for Nigerian news and The Hindu for Indian news).
Watch TV: Try to catch films on television about development, or see the IRIN film database for a range of fascinating short films on all aspects of development.
Undertake relevant study: Whilst at university, take course options that focus on development issues. Choose a dissertation topic related to development (although don't forget the economics). If you're not at university, many universities do summer or part time courses, which may be a useful signal of the breadth of your skills, as well as providing you with new knowledge.
Get experienced: Spend time working, studying, or travelling in the developing world. Start early; World Challenge provides educational expeditions for secondary school students in the developing world. Idealist.org is a good site to start looking for voluntary work. I volunteered with Dakshinayan (India) and Convive (Mexico). You can also express an interest in development closer to home by working for an NGO you are interested in. I worked for Jubilee (in its various forms) and Action for Southern Africa. Consultancy work in international development (such as that done by Oxford Policy Management or Mokoro - there are many others) is one way for more advanced economists to get experience. Of course, working in a firm or organisation of any kind that has dealings with the developing world provides experience (for example the bank Standard Chartered, or the British Government's Department for International Development). An excellent entry point to becoming a development economist is the Overseas Development Institute fellowship programme.
And of course, let everyone know about your interest. You never know where an opportunity may arise!
Having done the above, what jobs can get you on the career ladder of development economics? Here is a list of some of the roles friends and colleagues have taken on their entry into development economics (the list may be a useful inspiration for your own route):
Regional representative, Pressureworks, Christian Aid
Assistant to Secretary General, Alliance for Rural Electrification
Notes: * Citizens of the developing world have a clear advantage here. Try to gain high level experience in private and public organisations in your country of birth, and combined with a strong academic record, this will give you a unique selling point; ** With large multilateral organisations, always check the possibility of work at regional or country offices that may have less competitive entry requirements than central institutions; *** Many NGOs do not have a specific entry point for interns or researchers. Try to contact members of the organisation to enquire about whether they could use assistance and potentially suggest ways in which you might be useful to the organisation.
Once you are an experienced development economist, all I can offer are some development career web sites: BOND, Devnetjobs, Idealist.org, Indevjobs
Finally, I have done interviews with some economists working in international development, linked to below.
Development Economics Careers Interviews: Angela Ambroz (top left), Aarushi Bhatnagar (top right), Henry Mphwanthe (second row left), Peter D'Souza (second row right), Sarah Lilley (bottom left), and Luca Pellerano (bottom right).
Ever wondered what goes on inside the bureaucracy of a developing country government? Ever pondered why it is so difficult to implement government projects in the developing world?
We'll, in 'Water Get Enemy: A Graphic Novel on Governance in the Developing World' I've tried to hint at a few answers to those questions. The story, set in the fictional country Zanzarim, sketches the passage of a public project through a developing country government. The piece brings together the experiences of myself and many others who have worked in and studied governments in the developing world.
In collaboration with UCL Union's Global Development Initiatives, I have organised a number of workshops on policy making in the developing world. The aim is to give students an understanding of what it's like to have to make policy in a typical developing country government. Here's the introduction:
Participants are tasked to come up with five strategic recommendations on how to reduce rates of child and maternal mortality in Nigeria and build on recent successes in the sector.
If you are a student or professional interested in the process of policy making in the developing world, you may find holding a similar workshop useful. As a policy maker for the evening, you must assess what the priorities are for development in Nigeria, identify the key constraints to overcoming these challenges, and provide recommendations for achieving the goals. Some resources prospective participants may be interested in are provided below:
Worksheet for the event is available here (a broader worksheet focussing on the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals is available here)
My teaching philosophy is summarised in my teaching statement. As part of the 2013 University College London Provost Teaching Awards, UCL made a video about the teaching philosophies of the winners. As a winner of the student choice outstanding teacher award, here are clips from my interview that describe my teaching style and philosophy:
