Edward Anderson

I have an MA in Economics from the University of East Anglia, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Sussex. During my MA I specialised in development and international economics, including a dissertation on the determinants of real exchange rates in developing countries. My PhD thesis then looked at the impacts of international trade and migration on the relative returns of skilled and unskilled labour.

CV and Experience

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I joined the School of International Development in September 2007. My research interests include globalisation and development, the allocation and effectiveness of overseas aid, the links between growth, inequality and poverty reduction, and theories of social justice. I teach courses on the economics of development at both masters and undergraduate level. 

After completing my PhD I worked as a Temporary Lecturer in Economics, first at Keele University and then at the Institute of Development Studies. During this time I gave courses in International Trade, Development Economics (the latter including significant international and macroeconomic components), and Statistics.

I then worked at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London, first as a Research Officer and subsequently as a Research Fellow. During this time I carried out further research into the effects of international trade and migration in developing countries, and on the allocation of overseas aid. I also carried out consultancy work for a variety of organisations, including DFID, the EC, UNDP, Save the Children, the Treasury, the Chronic Poverty Research Centre, and the Centre for Economic and Social Rights.

Inequality, poverty and economic growth; international trade, migration and foreign investment; the allocation and effectiveness of international aid; human rights; quantitative methods; economic appraisal (cost benefit analysis and cost effectiveness analysis). Latin America (Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador); Africa (Uganda, Kenya).

Research Groups: Business, Accountability, Regulation and Development

Research

My main research interests are in the area of Globalisation and Development. My research on the short-term international mobility of highly-skilled workers shows that developing countries to which this form of mobility remains costly have seen much smaller gains from globalisation than others (articles in Oxford Economic Papers and Journal of International Development). My work also highlights certain ‘puzzles’ in the evidence on globalisation, such as – in marked contrast to the predictions of standard trade theory – increasing relative returns to skilled labour in low-income countries, and sets out certain priorities for further research in this area (article in World Development). I have also explored the effects of time zones on international trade and communication (forthcoming in Review of World Economics).

I also contribute in the School’s work on Growth, Inequality and Poverty Reduction. This includes a recent joint paper with Lucio Esposito on the joint evaluation of absolute and relative deprivation (forthcoming in Journal of Economic Inequality). I have also worked on issues surrounding the Millennium Development Goals and the ‘scaling-up’ of overseas aid, including the controversial questions of how aid affects growth and poverty reduction, and how it should be  allocated across countries (article in Oxford Development Studies) and the growing phenomenon of aid fragmentation (article in Economics Letters).

I also have certain broader interests linked to the School’s work, including: 

- quantitative research methods (e.g. courses/training given at IDS, Keele and ODI);
- methods of economic appraisal, including professional short-course training at UEA and for the UK Government (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) 
- normative questions around inequality, social justice, and human rights (e.g. recent ODI working paper with Tammie O’Neill, and consultancy work for the Centre for Economic and Social Rights);

- regional interests in Latin America (e.g. Mexico, Ecuador) and Africa (e.g. Uganda), and also strong interests in the North-South aspects of development.