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Abebe Shimeles

African Development Bank, Côte d’Ivoire, and IZA, Germany

I am privileged and honored to be part of the IZA World of Labor project. It provides a unique platform for researchers to reach policymakers, media, and the public at large by distilling the key messages of innovative and original research that otherwise would have been inaccessible

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Acting Director, Development Research Department, African Development Bank

Research interest

Labor market integration, migration issues in Africa, and impact evaluation of policy interventions

Website

http://bit.ly/Shimeles_IZApage

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Consultant, Economic and Social Policy Division, UNECA (October 2005–August 2006; October 2003–December 2004); Consultant (International), Economic and Social Policy Division, UNECA (May 1998–December 2000)

Past positions

Principal Research Economist, African Development Bank (April 2009–June 2011); Senior Poverty Economist, ETC, PREM(Rwanda), World Bank (January 2008–March 2009); Research Fellow, Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Sweden (June 2006–December 2007)

Qualifications

PhD Economics, University of Gothenburg, 2006

Selected publications

  • “The making of the middle class in Africa: Evidence from DHS data.” Journal of Development Studies 51:2 (2015): 178–193.

  • “The persistence of urban poverty in Ethiopia: A tale of two measurements.” Applied Economics Letters 18:9 (2011): 835–839 (with A. Bigstgen).

  • “Poverty transition and persistence in Ethiopia.” World Development 36:9 (2008): 1559–1584 (with A. Bigsten).

  • “Labor market integration in urban Ethiopia 1994–2004.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 61:4 (2013): 889–931 (with A. Bigsten and T. Mengistae).

  • “Can Africa reduce poverty by half in 2015?” Development Policy Review 25:2 (2007): 147–166 (with A. Bigsten).

article(s)

  • Can higher education reduce inequality in developing countries?

    Expanding higher education might solve rising youth unemployment and widening inequality in Africa

    Abebe Shimeles, July 2016
    Developing countries often face two well-known structural problems: high youth unemployment and high inequality. In recent decades, policymakers have increased the share of government spending on education in developing countries to address both of these issues. The empirical literature offers mixed results on which type of education is most suitable to improve gainful employment and reduce inequality: is it primary, secondary, or tertiary education? Investigating recent literature on the returns to education in selected developing countries in Africa can help to answer this question.
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