Stefan Dercon is Professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Economics Department at Oxford University. He is also Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. 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. Subsequently, he advised successive Foreign Secretaries at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. 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. His recent book “Gambling on Development: why some countries win and others lose” reflects on this, based on his research and on his experience in the world of policy making.
