ODID - Oxford Department of International Development

How to Reduce Child Poverty: What Two Decades of Progress in Peru Can Tell the World Poverty affects millions of children around the world. Children under the age of 18 make up less than a third of the global population but more than half of those in extreme poverty. This post draws on two recent publications that share lessons on what has been effective in reducing child poverty ac...

We are recruiting!

Five posts are currently advertised:

Research Officer – Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). Deadline: 14 August

Senior Programme Manager (Professional Pathways Pillar, Refugee-Led Research Hub). Deadline: 17 August

Academic Content and Facilitation Manager (Refugee-Led Research Hub). Deadline: 19 August

Research Officer (Comparative Law). Deadline: 11 September

Research Officer (Comparative Politics). Deadline: 11 September

Details here: https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/content/vacancies

Writing for Project Syndicate, Adeel Malik (ODID) & Ibrahim Jamal Haidar (Lebanese American University) argue that durable peace in the Gulf region requires making the costs of violent conflict prohibitively high. Building on the analytical framework in North, Wallis, and Weingast's "Violence Trap", they offer a new justification for why regional economic linkages are needed to increase the cost of violence.

Why the Gulf Needs Economic Ties with Iran Adeel Malik & Jamal Ibrahim Haidar argue that durable peace in the region requires making the costs of violent conflict prohibitively high.

New book: The Refugee Trap: The Economics of Displacement

Refugee movements are one of the defining issues of the Twenty-First Century. But what difference does it actually make to be a refugee? This new book by Alexander Betts, Naohiko Omata, Jade Siu and Olivier Sterck addresses this question by examining the economic constraints placed on refugees.

Drawing upon original data collected in camps and cities across East Africa, 'The Refugee Trap: The Economics of Displacement' shows that refugees confront a series of poverty traps that make them systematically worse off compared to citizens. These relate to trauma, dispossession, uprootedness, and rights. By understanding the mechanisms underlying these traps, we can in turn identify the policy interventions needed to support restoration, and thereby address the sources of economic disadvantage that result from forced displacement.

The book, published by Cambridge University Press, is available to buy in print and can also be accessed free of charge online through Cambridge Core.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/refugee-trap/979A132CB0D407870886FEC1C2725840

📢 Exciting Opportunity! Young Lives is recruiting a Quantitative Research Officer.

This is an exciting time to join one of the world's leading longitudinal studies of childhood poverty and development as we prepare for our eighth round of surveys and launch the next phase of the Young Lives Research Hub on Climate Change and Environmental Shocks!

📜 Do you hold or are you close to completing a DPhil/PhD in Economics or other relevant quantitative social science discipline?

📉 Do you have experience in quantitative child poverty research with excellent analytical and statistical skills?

🌍 Do you want to work with an amazing international team of researchers, policy influencers and support staff?

Then why not apply to become Young Live's new Research Officer!

Application link: https://my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecruit/erq_jobspec_version_4.display_form?p_company=10&p_internal_external=E&p_display_in_irish=N&p_process_type=&p_applicant_no=&p_form_profile_detail=&p_display_apply_ind=Y&p_refresh_search=Y&p_recruitment_id=187186

⏰ Application deadline: 12 noon, 24 July 2026

Closing out our seminar series on ‘Climate change and the challenges of development: how can we respond to this systemic crisis?’ led by Prof Laura Rival 👇

Join us at ODID on Wednesday 24 June, 3-5pm, when Dr Luci Attala (University of Wales Trinity Saint David) will join us for a discussion on UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES (Bridging Knowledge Systems for Sustainable Futures) and the Educere Alliance - two complementary international initiatives working to transform how knowledge informs governance, sustainability and global policy.

On Oxford Events 👉 https://events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event/20b6755c-783d-f111-88b4-7ced8d99a758

Writing in the journal Contemporary Political Theory, Karolin Tuncel (& Tobias Müller, University of Cambrige) unpack intersectional theory’s contested relationship with religion, arguing against dismissing intersectional feminism’s capacity to conceptualise religious agency.

Read the paper ‘Is religion a problem for intersectional theory? Muslim women, feminism, and varieties of patriarchy’ here:

Is religion a problem for intersectional theory? Muslim women, feminism, and varieties of patriarchy - Contemporary Political Theory Intersectional theory has been criticised for neglecting religion and for being unable to account for religion’s social complexities. This contribution interrogates this critique by disaggregating different relationships of Muslim women to secular and religious varieties of patriarchy. We argue th...

Next in our seminar series on ‘Climate change and the challenges of development: how can we respond to this systemic crisis?’ led by Professor Laura Rival 👇

Join us at ODID on Wednesday 17 June, 3-5pm, when Professor Roger Merino (Universidad del Pacifico) will join us for a discussion on his book “Governing International Commons: From Polycentric to Plurinational Governance in the Amazon”.

On Oxford Events 👉 https://events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event/19c7fd69-773d-f111-88b4-7ced8d99a758

New report from UNDP & TIDE!

Everyone is talking about the AI 'race'. But how can developing countries make sure they are not left out of this race? In this report, Riad Meddeb, Amir Lebdioui, Angel Melguizo, and Clement Amponsah provide new data, a framework and concrete policy recommendations for latecomers to make the most of AI as an industrialisation opportunity.

AI offers a powerful opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of sustainable energy efforts—if deployed responsibly. By centring equity, transparency, and local ownership, AI can support a just energy transition that leaves no one behind.

Read the report here:

The Energy Sprint of the AI Race This paper explores how AI can enhance decision-making, optimize energy systems, and enable more inclusive, data-driven policy and planning in low- and middle-income countries.

Next in our seminar series on ‘Climate change and the challenges of development: how can we respond to this systemic crisis?’ led by Professor Laura Rival:

Join us at ODID on Wednesday 27 May, 3-5pm, when Api’soomaahka – Running Coyote (William Singer III) will share his experience of the consensus-building process that led to the signature of the Buffalo Treaty of cooperation, renewal and restoration in 2014. Api’soomaahka is Steward of Naapi’s Garden and Katoyiss Seed Bank and a member of the Kanai Ecosystem Protection Association (KEPA).

On Oxford Events: https://events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event/c9e46d76-cf3c-f111-88b4-6045bdcfe41f