About Jesus College/Our community/ People
Professor Stefan Dercon

Roles and subjects

Professorial Fellow in Economics

Contact

Stefan.Dercon@economics.ox.ac.uk

Professor Stefan Dercon is Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies.

Academic Background

BA Philosophy, Lic Economics (Leuven, Belgium), MPhil Economics (Oxon), DPhil Economics (Oxon), CMG, FRSA

Graduate Teaching Areas

Development economics

Research Interests

His research interests concern what keeps some people and countries poor: the failures of markets, governments and politics, mainly in Africa, and how to achieve change. Current research work focuses on the psychological challenges of poverty, the political economy of development, the challenges of industrialisation in Africa, the challenges and opportunities of new technologies, and how to organise and finance responses to natural disasters and protracted humanitarian crises.

Other Interests

Between 2011 and 2017, he was Chief Economist of the Department of International Development (DFID), the government department in charge with the UK’s aid policy and spending. In this position, he provided strategic advice, and was responsible for ensuring the use of evidence in decision making.

Links

Subject notes for courses taught at Jesus College:

See also the departmental website.