Welcome!
I am an economist in the Humanitarian Financing Strategy and Analysis Unit at the United Nations OCHA. I recently completed my PhD in Economics at the University of Oxford. I am affiliated with the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) and the Mind & Behaviour Research Group.
My research interests lie in labour, development and environmental economics. My current research focuses on how best to target and support households in anticipation of climate disasters and the role of labour market policies in promoting conservation. I have also designed and led field experiments on labour market and behavioural interventions.
I have previously consulted for the Centre for Disaster Protection. I obtained a MSc in Economics for Development at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and a BCom Politics, Philosophy, Economics and Honours in Economics from the University of Cape Town.
Working papers
Anticipatory cash transfers in climate disaster response
(With Ruth Hill, Stefan Dercon and Ben Brunckhorst)
Draft | CDP Blog | Pre-registration
Learning to see the world's opportunities: The impact of imagery on entrepreneurial success
(With Nava Ashraf, Gharad Bryan, Alexia Delfino, Emily Holmes and Leonardo Iacovone)
Grants: J-PAL Post-Primary Education ($181,366); J-PAL Jobs and Opportunity ($47,811); IPA Peace and Recovery ($128,970); LSE IGA-Rockefeller Research and Impact Fund (£71,436)
AI, firms and wages: Evidence from India
(With Alex Copestake, Katherine Stapleton and Max Marczinek)
Work in progress
Multi-country RCT on shock-responsive social protection in the Sahel
(With Thomas Bossuroy, Stéphanie Brunelin, Stefan Dercon, Patrick Premand, Margaux Vinez)
From farms to jobs: Creating jobs to preserve natural ecosystems in eastern DRC
(With Stefan Dercon, Sébastien Desbureaux and Gracieux Mutaka Shashi)
Grants: John Fell Fund (£38,000)
The paradox of search frictions in online job matching
Grants: J-PAL Jobs and Opportunity Initiative ($48,589); IPA Women’s Work, Entrepreneurship and Skilling (WWES) ($52,370); PEDL Exploratory Research Grant (£28,440)
Memory, trauma and economic behaviour among refugees: Experimental evidence from teaching "postive imagery" in Ethiopia
(With Gharad Bryan, Alexia Delfino, Christian Meyer and Benyam Worku)
Teaching
2016-2021: Microeconomics, MSc in Economics for Development, Oxford
2017: Development Economics Seminar Leader; Exeter Summer School, Oxford
2016: English teacher, TEACH Caribbean NGO, Jamaica
2014: Head Tutor, Advanced Micro & Macro, University of Cape Town
2012 & 2014: Tutor, Micro & Macro, University of Cape Town
Contact me
Email: ashley.pople@economics.ox.ac.uk
Address: Department of Economics
University of Oxford
Manor Road Building
Oxford OX1 3UQ