Personal profile

Research interests

Comparative political economy, state-society relations, politics of social policy, agrarian change, politics of land, politics of energy and infrastructure

Current research interests include:

  • The politics of social protection. As part of the Effective States and Inclusive Development research centre (ESID) I led two research projects on the politics of social protection. The first phase focused primarily on the decision making process leading to the adoption and evolution of social assistance and health insurance schemes in  several African countries. The second phase examined the politics of implementation, with a particular interest in the ways in which implementation is shaped by variation in state-society relations. (see the resulting book here).
  • The political economy of land. My research on land to date has focused on Ethiopia, considering how the government has attempted to use land for multiple political, economic and social objectives and the tensions between these objectives in practice. This has led me to look at a range of issues related to land including, smallholder agricultural productivity and extension services, food security, commercial agricultural investments (here, here, here and here), land registration, gender in/equality in land access and ethnic federalism.
  • The politics of energy transitions. Research on the politics of dam building in Ethiopia has led me into research on the politics of energy transitions and the political economy of financing energy projects.

Teaching

I convene:

MGDI 60391 Politics and Governance of Development

I also teach on:

Development Fundamentals, Global Development Challenges, Development Fieldwork

Biography

Past employment

2014-16 Researcher, International Labour Organization (ILO)

2013-16 External Professor, University of Geneva

2013-14 Research Fellow, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

2006-08 Research Analyst, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

2004-06 Research Officer, ESRC Research Group on Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD), University of Bath

Education

2013 PhD in International Development and Social Policy, University of Bath

2008 MRes in International Development, University of Bath

2004 MSc in International Development, University of Bath

2001 BSc (Hons), University of Bristol

Opportunities

I am interested in supervising PhD research on a range of topics related to the politics of development, in particular: the politics of land, agrarian transformation, the politics of social policy, the politics of energy and infrastructure

 

Completed PhD students:

Mohammed Ibrahim, Social Protection, State Capacity And Citizenship Building In Ghana: Do Quasi-Universal Insurance And Targeted Social Assistance Policies Generate Different Feedback Effects?

Edward Ampratwum, Investigating The Politics Of Implementing Social Protection: State Formation And Local Power Configurations In Ghana

Kate Pruce, Investigating the politics of global policy transfer: the case of social protection in Zambia

Clare Cummings Understanding power, culture and institutional change; an alternative approach to political settlements analysis

Current PhD students:

Anna Thurlbeck, The Politics of Revenue Sharing Under Federalism: An Exploration of Nigeria’s Revenue Formula

Maria José Ayala Molina, The political and social economy of care work in Latin America: A case study on the National Care Policy in Paraguay

Md Imran Hossain Bhuiyan, The politics of environment and labour in the manufacturing industries of the global south: evidence from the leather sector in Bangladesh

Overview

My research focuses on the comparative political economy of development. Through most of my work I have used public policy as a lens for analysing state-society relations, both how politics shapes policymaking and how the implementation of policies, in turn, transforms state-society relations. This broad interest has led me to conduct research on a range of topics, including: land tenure and land use, agrarian transformation, agricultural production systems, social policy and social protection, energy and infrastructure, industrial policy, and ideas in political analysis.

Most of my field research has been conducted in Ethiopia, though I have also worked in Ghana, Peru, Rwanda and Uganda.

I welcome enquiries from potential PhD students working on issues related to my own work. See the 'Opportunities' tab.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 1 - No Poverty
  • SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 4 - Quality Education
  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Global inequalities
  • Sustainable Futures
  • Work and Equalities Institute
  • Global Development Institute

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Thomas Lavers is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • 1 Similar Profiles

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or