RESEARCH

We have been researching economic and social development in Africa since 1986. These days, our large team of development economists research not only countries in Africa, but also in other areas of the world.

Select a research area below to browse our projects. Scroll down to view all of our research and policy groups.

People take part in an intervention in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

FIRMS, FARMS, AND LABOUR

This research programme on private sector development focuses on understanding the behaviour of firms, farms and workers, with a view to improving policies for growth.

Aerial view of Nairobi's Business District

MACROECONOMICS AND GROWTH

This programme tackles the challenges of macroeconomic management in Africa, often in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and also looks at fundamental assumptions about growth, and its geographical and sectoral dimensions.

Kenema City Council Digital Town Halls Post in Sierra Leone

POLITICS AND INSTITUTIONS

This programme studies politics and the functioning of government and other institutions, and how this impacts on development in Africa.

Woman completes survey on tablet in Kenya

WELFARE AND BEHAVIOUR

This programme combines insights from psychology and economics to try to understand and improve the lives of poor people, mainly working with social enterprises and NGOs, such as Give Directly in Kenya.

RESEARCH AND POLICY GROUPS

Centre for Macro-Experimental Development

The Centre for Macro-Experimental Development (CMED) studies the regional and nationwide impacts of large unconditional cash transfers in Rwanda and Malawi.

Economic Policy Network

The Economic Policy Network (EPN) provides impartial, pro-bono, context-specific, research-informed advice to help developing country policymakers and their advisors deliver on their economic and development mandates.

Economic Research on Identity, Norms, and Narratives

Economic activity takes place in a social context which structures and co-determine people's preferences, beliefs, and constraints. The role of this programme is to bring these processes to the forefront of economic analysis.

Mind and Behaviour Research Group

The MBRG brings together economists, psychiatrists, and psychologists based at the University of Oxford as part of the CSAE. Their aim is to investigate the psychological impact of living in poverty and use findings to improve policy programmes.

Open Political Economy Analysis Programme

The Open Political Economy Analysis Programme seeks to shift the paradigm by delivering open access, quality assured, actionable political economy analysis (PEA) geared to any mainstream policy maker.

Oxford Digital Public Infrastructure Research Lab

OxDPI investigates the impacts of Digital Public Infrastructure on inclusion and wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries.

Oxford Martin Programme on African Governance

This programme looks at the current realities of economic, social, and political governance challenges for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), particularly in terms of decision-making and implementation. It brings together researchers from six departments and several disciplines across the University of Oxford.

Peace and Recovery in Ethiopia

This initiative aims to shed light on the background of Ethiopia's internal conflicts, quantify the social, humanitarian, political and economic implications, assess the scope for a lasting political and economic settlement, and propose policy options for an inclusive and evidence-based recovery and reconstruction effort.

Poverty Reduction, Social Protection and Employment Research Programme

The PROSPER programme tackles barriers to employment growth in low- and middle-income countries.

World map with points on countries that the CSAE is working in

Projects by location

Our team researches not only countries in Africa, but also in other areas of the world. Browse our projects by research location.

View our projects by location

Datasets

Browse our datasets made available for for academic research. We ask that the use of the data, its sources, and the financing for the surveys be acknowledged.

Browse our data sets