Featured economist, February 2023

Belinda Archibong

Professor Archibong's research areas include development economics, political economy, economic history and environmental economics with an African regional focus.

Professor Archibong’s research areas include development economics, political economy, economic history and environmental economics with an African regional focus. Her research investigates the role of historical institutions and environment in inequality of access to public services and the development of human capital, particularly in the areas of education, health and labor. Some current research studies the effects of epidemics on inequality, the economics of epidemics and vaccination, and the impacts of air pollution from gas flaring on human capital outcomes; with a focus on the ways in which institutions mitigate or exacerbate the impacts of climate change and environment on inequalities around gender and marginalized groups. Other works study the economics of prisons, the effects of protests on fiscal transfers and gender gaps in political participation, and the drivers of gender gaps in labor markets in African countries. She is a faculty affiliate at Columbia University’s Center for Development Economics and Policy (CDEP), The Earth Institute at Columbia University, the Institute of African Studies, the Institute for Research in African-American Studies, the Columbia Population Research Center (CPRC), and the Center for Environmental Economics and Policy (CEEP), and is currently a David M. Rubenstein Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

She joined the Barnard Economics faculty in 2015 and received a B.A. in Economics/Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development from Columbia University.

Follow Belinda on

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Follow Belinda on

Website

Twitter

Professor Archibong’s research areas include development economics, political economy, economic history and environmental economics with an African regional focus. Her research investigates the role of historical institutions and environment in inequality of access to public services and the development of human capital, particularly in the areas of education, health and labor. Some current research studies the effects of epidemics on inequality, the economics of epidemics and vaccination, and the impacts of air pollution from gas flaring on human capital outcomes; with a focus on the ways in which institutions mitigate or exacerbate the impacts of climate change and environment on inequalities around gender and marginalized groups. Other works study the economics of prisons, the effects of protests on fiscal transfers and gender gaps in political participation, and the drivers of gender gaps in labor markets in African countries. She is a faculty affiliate at Columbia University’s Center for Development Economics and Policy (CDEP), The Earth Institute at Columbia University, the Institute of African Studies, the Institute for Research in African-American Studies, the Columbia Population Research Center (CPRC), and the Center for Environmental Economics and Policy (CEEP), and is currently a David M. Rubenstein Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

She joined the Barnard Economics faculty in 2015 and received a B.A. in Economics/Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development from Columbia University.

In their own words…

IEA: Can you tell us how you got interested in economics and decided to pursue an academic career?

Belinda: I immigrated to the US from Nigeria with my family at the age of 12, and we went from living a relatively stable middle-class lifestyle to really struggling financially in the US. My mother worked extremely hard to get her law degree and was the first to go to university in her family, but found that foreign degrees didn’t translate to the US and was having to start from scratch in America, while raising 3 kids on her own. While we struggled financially, I was fortunate to have a mother who valued quality education for her children and invested significantly in our schooling. These events really crystallized my understanding of the role of arbitrariness of country of origin and gender, race, ethnicity and family and how all this affects peoples’ economic outcomes in ways often beyond their control. I thought that was unfair, and I remember being 12 and thinking, ‘how does this happen?’. This sparked my interest in studying economic inequality, and after taking my first introductory class at Columbia University as an undergraduate, I decided that economics was the best way to answer the questions I’d been thinking about since I was 12 and figure out what policies work to reduce inequality and improve economic outcomes for all- to make economic outcomes less arbitrary.

IEA: Your work brings a historical dimension to discussions of development, inequality, and political economy. Can you tell us briefly what you have learned from your research about the historical origins of underdevelopment in contemporary Africa?

Belinda: There’s a quote I like from the philosopher Brian Barry’s book “Why Social Justice Matters”, that I have posted on my office and home walls to remind me about why I study economics and focus on studying inequality within economics- “Social institutions perpetuate cumulative inequality. If there is any determinism involved, it is political”. A key theme in my research on the effects of colonial and postcolonial era institutions on economic development in Africa, is understanding the incentives of governments and individuals, and how those incentives affect the decisions they make with consequences for both concurrent and long-term economic inequality and development. I do this through principal-agent frameworks that take seriously the role of power, particularly social, political and labor market power, in framing the choice sets, strategies and actions these actors take. A key implication of my work is that the distribution of power among various actors can lead to multiple, realized equilibria reflected in heterogeneous, and persistent effects of historical institutions on group-based inequality and economic development. My research on prison labor, precolonial centralization, Washington Consensus policies and protests all illustrate this, and point to the importance of corrective, redistributive policies to address and reduce economic inequality, and improve development outcomes.

IEA: You have worked on the effects of the Covid pandemic in Nigeria. What do you think were the most important obstacles to a more effective pandemic response? 

Belinda: My research has focused on the effects of epidemics, and meningitis epidemics, endemic in Africa, on human capital development outcomes. A recurring theme in my work is on the effects of epidemics in worsening group-based inequality in human capital outcomes, especially among more vulnerable populations like women. We also have research showing that policy interventions like health aid and mobile calling credits that allow households to smooth consumption and improve communication during the pandemic significantly improve human capital outcomes. So, we know the effects of these types of epidemics and the policy interventions needed to mitigate their effects, and many stakeholders in Nigeria and other African countries are also aware of them. Nigeria, like many other African countries has dealt with past epidemics from meningitis to Ebola prior to the COVID pandemic, and the Nigerian CDC took admirable measures to implement many policies, that were instrumental in keeping caseloads and mortality rates low in Nigeria and throughout Africa. There are key financing obstacles currently that prevent widescale adoption of the kind of health aid and communication credits interventions, that we know from the research, work to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on households. This is where large scale, targeted, coordinated financing from the international community would be useful as well as I’ve mentioned previously.

IEA: What advice would you have for younger economists, particularly those from low-income nations, who want to get their voices heard at the frontiers of academic research? 

Belinda: Find a research topic you’re passionate about and use the resources available to you, like your expert knowledge of your study context, if you are studying questions in your country/region, to inform your research. Also, it is perfectly fine to reach out to scholars in rich country regions whose work aligns with yours to partner with on research. That way, you contribute your expert knowledge/resources, which opens up productive partnerships for grants and knowledge production. Your voice is extremely needed and valuable, and it’s completely ok to share your thoughts with senior scholars. Apply for grants to attend conferences to share your work (there are great conferences like WGAPE that will subsidize travel for accepted papers/scholars) and get feedback on your work that will help you to improve your research. Finally, social media, like (Econ)Twitter can be a useful platform to publicize your research as well.

IEA: Researchers from developing countries, especially women, can face serious obstacles in accessing research networks in advanced countries. Did you face such obstacles? What was most helpful in overcoming them?

Belinda: Yes definitely, though I was fortunate enough to have gone to university in the US and built good networks there. For me, attending conferences and joining networks that highlighted and encouraged the work of scholars like me- Black/African scholars and Black/African women, was very helpful. These include networks like the Association for the Advancement of African Women Economists (AAAWE) and organizations like the National Economic Association. CSWEP, CSMGEP, PASRC and the Sadie Collective are great networks as well. Joining these networks, attending conferences and talking to people about my research at my institution and through these networks was and has been very helpful in expanding my research network.