I am Iddrisu “Idris” Kambala, a Ph.D. Candidate in Economics at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. My research lies at the intersection of applied microeconomics, political economy and economic history, with a focus on how institutions, governance, and historical shocks shape long-run outcomes. I am currently on the 2025/2026 academic job market and available for interviews.
I grew up in Ghana, where, like other developing countries, questions about governance, development, and opportunity were part of everyday life. Those early experiences shaped my interest in economics and continue to guide the questions I ask in my research. My academic journey has also taken me across borders, from undergraduate and master’s studies in Turkey to doctoral training in the United States. This gives me a broad perspective on how institutions and policies shape people’s lives in different settings.
My Ph.D. dissertation exemplifies this agenda. It explores Africa’s democratic transitions, the role of subnational governance in shaping wellbeing, and the long-term consequences of early-life adversity. The first chapter, which is my job market paper, provides the first causal evidence on the long-run effects of Africa’s wave of democratization, showing that democratic transitions fostered persistent gains in income, education, and human development. Beyond my dissertation, I pursue solo and collaborative projects on mining and support for democracy, missionary presence and brain drain, climate shocks and social cohesion, remote work dynamics, and the interplay roles of remote work and climate hazard risks in recent migration.
I also have a proven track record of publications in leading field journals. My work has appeared in The Journal of Development Studies and Oxford Development Studies. More importantly, my work has received significant recognition including the 2024 Sanjay Lall Prize for Best Article in the Oxford Development Studies over a two-year window. I was also honored with the 2023 Graduate Student Award from the Southern Economic Association. Further, my research has also been featured in reputable media outlets, notably The Conversation. This underscores the broader relevance of my work to public debates on governance and development.
In addition to research, I am deeply committed to teaching and mentorship. At the University of South Carolina, I have served as Instructor of Record for Introduction to Economics for multiple semesters. I am also currently serving as Instructor for the Honors College’s senior thesis seminar (SCHC 390), where I not only guide students through the research process but also provide individualized mentorship as they design, develop, and defend their senior theses. As an instructor, I strive to create an engaging and inclusive classrooms where every student feels welcome to participate.
Beyond academia, I bring applied experience as a Ph.D. Economist Intern at Amazon, where I developed causal inference models and data pipelines to evaluate marketplace policies. This experience strengthened my ability to translate complex econometric methods into insights for decision-making in real-world settings.
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