Photo: © Kiel Institute / Michael Stefan
I am a PhD researcher at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, and I expect to complete my PhD at Kiel University (CAU) at the end of 2026.
My research produces reliable data on Africa where such data are scarce, particularly on poverty, inequality and the size of the middle class. I combine household surveys, satellite imagery, infrastructure data and machine learning to estimate consumption and middle-class shares across African countries under competing definitions. I also worked in the DYNAMIG project, which collected primary data through a multi-country online survey on living conditions and migration attitudes in Africa.
Building on these measures, I study the political economy of development. In my job market paper, I examine how export booms relate to the demand for democracy across African districts, linking crop maps and world prices to Afrobarometer respondents.
I also work on international macroeconomics. I study how central banks prepare for foreign exchange intervention through their exchange rate regime, the level of their reserves and the share of reserves available for intervention.
Finally, I build reproducible research pipelines for African microdata.