Challenging our WEIRD perspective on African development

African History through the Lens of Economics, an innovative, open-access, online course which attracted over 27,000 people from across the world, explored how history has shaped and continues to influence domestic policies and economic development in Africa. A reflective essay by David Jones, MBA 2022 graduate from London Business School and intern at the Wheeler…

Political Organisation and Social Structure

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history The Wheeler Institute’s open access online course, African History through the Lens of Economics, covered pre-colonial political organisation and contemporary social structures in two lectures, the first by Stelios Michalopoulos, Eastman Professor of Political Economy at Brown University, and Warren Whatley,…

The importance of education for economic development

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history The penultimate lecture in the Wheeler Institute’s open access online course, African History through the Lens of Economics, considered the impact of education on social mobility in Africa. David Laitin, Professor of Political Science at Stanford University, Leonard Wantchekon, Professor of…

Professional Opportunity | Pre-Doctoral Research Assistant programme

Applications are now closed. What is the Wheeler Institute Research Assistant programme? Our Pre-Doctoral Research Assistant programme offers a unique opportunity for recent or imminent postgraduates to pursue their career in a top business school PhD programme. Successful candidates will be responsible for assisting faculty in a number of tasks, depending on the type of…

“It’s the best way to gain real-world insights” | Pre-Doctoral Research Assistants at the Wheeler Institute

Two Pre-Doctoral Researchers at the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development reveal how the experience has profoundly shaped their academic ambitions – and yielded some surprising insights along the way Whatever preconceptions Pre-Doctoral students have before they join the Wheeler Institute, they are always surprised to find that the experience is much broader than they…

A career inspired by a journey from Cape Town to Cairo with Till Trojer

“Anthropology forces you to reset and rewire your own thinking process. You have to train yourself to be open to the world around” An anthropologist and filmmaker, Dr Till Trojer recently joined the Wheeler Institute as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow.  We touched on his ambition for his research at the Wheeler Institute, and discussed his…

Resisting the stereotypes of an undeveloped, unchanging continent

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history In the first session of the Wheeler Institute’s new ten-part open access online course, African History through the Lens of Economics, Christopher Ehret, Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA and author of a classic treatise on The Civilizations of Africa, gave a…

Voice of the Village: Results-based Financing for Clean Energy Access

The global drive to replace traditional energy sources with renewable energy will require significant investments in addressing market failures. These investments would need to promote substantially higher use of renewable energy products among consumers households and among businesses. Could results-based financing help achieve these outcomes? Join us the Wheeler Institute in collaboration with Dharma Life…