PhD Scholar, RESEP · Stellenbosch University
Over eight years bridging rigorous empirical research and development policy across Africa — from Malawi's digital economy to education inequality spanning fifteen countries.
An economist and impact evaluation specialist with over eight years of experience in development policy, research, and project implementation across Africa. My work focuses on generating credible evidence that informs policy on poverty reduction, education, digital transformation, and inclusive growth.
I am currently a PhD scholar under the Research on Socio-Economic Policy (RESEP) group at Stellenbosch University, where my dissertation investigates spatial and structural determinants of educational inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa using quasi-experimental methods.
Previously, I served as Impact Evaluation Coordinator (STC) with the World Bank's Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) team (January 2024 – June 2025), supporting rigorous evaluations of social protection programmes in Malawi and Sierra Leone — including baseline data collection covering over 10,000 households. Prior to that, I worked as an Economist for the Malawi Government's Ministry of Information and Digitalization, contributing to the National Digitalization Policy, Digital Economy Strategy, and Malawi Postal Policy.
I am a partner at Everest Intelligent Consult Limited, a research consultancy in Lilongwe, and serve as Secretary of the Emerging African Researchers' Network (EARN). I am a member of the African Association of Agricultural Economics (AAAE) and the Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA).
My dissertation employs quasi-experimental methods — instrumental variables, staggered difference-in-differences, and within-pupil first-difference designs — to isolate causal mechanisms behind educational outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I am open to research collaborations, consultancy engagements, and conversations about development economics, education policy, and impact evaluation across Sub-Saharan Africa.
chrispineadamsmtocha@gmail.com