sub-Saharan Africa

Digital financial services can meaningfully support women's economic empowerment across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, but only when products are designed around how women already manage money – with features that enable earmarking, smooth liquid...

New narrative evidence for sub-Saharan Africa shows that fiscal tightening has larger negative effects on output in downturns, when implemented through spending cuts, and when aid is scarce.

Eradicating malaria could deliver much larger economic gains in sub-Saharan Africa than previously believed. The new generation of malaria vaccines provides a highly cost-effective way to realise these benefits.

Mobile money taxes raise transaction costs and reduce usage, creating sizable efficiency losses – the burden falls disproportionately on unbanked and rural users.

Low agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa cannot be explained by farmer behaviour alone, as major supply-side failures in input markets mean improved seeds and fertilisers often fail to reach farmers at the right time, price, or scale. Understanding the risks, incentives, and constraints faced by agro-dealers is essential if technological advances are to translate into sustained productivity gains.

Children are ubiquitous in African cities but largely absent from development economics research. Here’s what we know about children’s schooling once they’ve moved to the city.

While access to schooling has improved globally, learning outcomes remain shockingly poor—particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. How can foundational learning help bridge this gap?

Although sex ratios at birth remain relatively balanced in sub-Saharan Africa, this does not necessarily imply a lack of son preference. Analysis of over 100 Demographic and Health Surveys across 34 countries reveal that having a firstborn daughter—a...

Official records may have painted an overly bleak picture of vaccination progress in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. New research suggests that LMICs may have progressed faster than expected.