Stefan Nicolaas Dercon, , is a

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British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

and a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of Economic Policy at the

Blavatnik School of Government The Blavatnik School of Government is a school of public policy founded in 2010 at the University of Oxford in England. The School was founded following a £75 million donation from a business magnate Leonard Blavatnik, supported by £26 million ...

and the Department of Economics at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He is also the Director of the

Centre for the Study of African Economies ThCentre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE)has been researching economic and social development in Africa since 1986. These days, a large team of development economists research not only countries in Africa, but also in other developing ar ...

. In 2011–17, Dercon was the chief economist of the UK Department for International Development (DfID). Before DfID, Dercon was a Professor of

Development Economics Development economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural ...

at Oxford University, and the lead academic for the Ethiopia country programme at the

International Growth Centre The International Growth Centre (IGC) is an economic research centre based at the London School of Economics, operated in partnership with University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government. The centre was launched in December 2008 and is fund ...

, which is a research centre based jointly at The London School of Economics and Political Science and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Between 2000-02, he was a Programme Director at the World Institute of Development Economics (WIDER), United Nations University, where he led their research programme on “Insurance against Poverty”. Prior to this, between 1993 and 2000, he was a tenured professor of development economics at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. He is a Senior Fellow of th
Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development
(BREAD), a Research Fellow of

Centre for Economic Policy Research The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) is an independent, non‐partisan, pan‐European non‐profit organisation. Its mission is to enhance the quality of policy decisions through providing policy‐relevant research, based soundly in e ...

(CEPR) and of

IZA Institute of Labor Economics The IZA - Institute of Labor Economics (german: Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit), until 2016 referred to as the Institute of the Study of Labor (IZA), is a private, independent economic research institute and academic network focused o ...

, and an Affiliate of the

Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fi ...

(J-PAL). Dercon studied at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), where he obtained a

BPhil Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

degree in 1985 and a Licentiate in Economics in 1986. He subsequently received an MPhil in 1988 and a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in 1992, both in Economics from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. In 2018, the Queen awarded him as an Honorary Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for services to economics and international development. In 2021, because he also acquired British nationality, his honour was converted into a substantive one. His book, ''Dull Disasters? How Planning Ahead Will Make A Difference'' was published in 2016, and provides a blueprint for renewed application of science, improved decision making, better preparedness, and pre-arranged finance in the face of natural disasters.

Key themes

His research as focused on a range of subjects including: * risk and poverty * agriculture and rural institutions, * political economy, * childhood poverty, * social and geographic mobility, * micro-insurance, and * measurement issues related to poverty and vulnerability.

Noted works

*(2022) Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose, Hurst Publishers. *(2004) Insurance against Poverty, 2004, Oxford University Press (Edited volume) *(2002) The Impact of Economic Reforms on Rural Households in Ethiopia, Washington D.C. World Bank. Together with political economist

Chris Blattman Christopher Blattman is a Canadian-American economist and political scientist working on conflict, crime, and international development. He is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago's Harris School ...

he ran a

randomized controlled trial A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical te ...

in Ethiopia that investigated the impact of low-skill industrial jobs on the welfare of the workers. The research was covered by

Our World in Data Our World in Data (OWID) is a scientific online publication that focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality. It is a project of the Global Change Data Lab, a re ...

and the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

References

External links and sources

Dercon personal webpage

International Growth Centre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dercon, Stefan Development economists Development specialists Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Living people Year of birth missing (living people)