GDI Celebrates the Award of Four New Professorships
The Global Development Institute is delighted that four academic colleagues have been promoted to professor, namely , , , and . This reflects their strong and diverse contributions to Development Studies and the excellent support that they鈥檝e received from many colleagues at GDI and beyond throughout their careers.
Tom has a background in comparative political economy, state-society relations, and the politics of social policy, land, energy, and infrastructure. With a particular interest in Ethiopia, Tom鈥檚 major publications include (2023) and (2024). He also led two research projects exploring the politics of social protection as part of the research centre (ESID), culminating in the publication of an edited collection, (2022). He is now extending his research interests to the politics of green energy transitions in Latin America as well as Africa.
David has led GDI鈥檚 MSc in Public Policy and Management with distinction for many years and is currently GDI鈥檚 Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning. His research primarily focuses on poverty dynamics, gender, and social protection, having accrued significant experience in advisory and policy-oriented roles for institutions including the World Health Organization, the OECD, and UNICEF, as well as economic advisory roles for the governments of Ethiopia, Lesotho, and Uganda. In 2024, David published with Francisco V. Ayala, an operational guide for key stakeholders, officials and students to understand the design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of cash transfer programmes.
Osman is also a development economist, with expertise in the macroeconomic effects of natural disasters and climate change. He is also interested in international finance, foreign aid, poverty and inequality, and growth and productivity. Some of Osman鈥檚 recent publications include a exploring how climate variability affects labour productivity across Accra and an about climate threat and price stability in Belize. Osman also serves as Director of The Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Doctoral College, supporting the institute鈥檚 substantial number of PGRs through their doctoral programmes, and undertakes advisory work with central banks in Latin America and West Africa.
Like Osman, Antonio鈥檚 expertise lies in Development Economics, with a focus on the economics of institutions and governance, the economics of inequality, and the political economy of development. Antonio has , producing research about how developing economies can build tax systems capable of raising revenues from broad tax bases. Some of his recent co-authored working papers for UNU-WIDER include 鈥樷�� and 鈥樷��. Antonio is also Managing Co-Editor of the , a multi-disciplinary journal committed to fostering rigorous theoretical debate in the field of global development. He has strong links with the OECD鈥檚 influential tax policy team and regularly advises them on their work.
As well as this new crop of professors, has been promoted to the role of Senior Lecturer. Affiliated with the institute鈥檚 (CDD), Gianluca is especially interested in the intersections between development and digital geography, with recent work focusing on and the , which aims to use artificial intelligence to achieve the UN鈥檚 Sustainable Development Goals. Gianluca also leads GDI鈥檚 partnership with the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nairobi.
Professor Sam Hickey, GDI鈥檚 current head of institute, said:
We鈥檙e delighted to have helped secure the promotion of yet another set of highly accomplished colleagues with such an array of experiences and publications to their names. Their contributions are shaping the future of Development Studies, from the classroom through to wider academic and policy communities, and we鈥檙e excited to support them as they continue to thrive in their careers.