Bio
I am currently a DPhil (PhD) in Economics student in the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford. I am affiliated with the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), Mind & Behaviour Research Group and the PACE Lab.
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 and lab-in-the-field experiments on labour market and behavioural interventions in close collaboration with partner organisations.
I am also consulting for the Centre for Disaster Protection on a number of anticipatory action pilots in partnership with UN OCHA. I previously 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)
Latest 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)
Latest draft | Pre-registration
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 and Katherine Stapleton)
Cash transfers and crowding out of remittances: Evidence from South Africa
Work in progress
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)
From farms to jobs: Creating jobs to preserve natural ecosystems in eastern DRC
(With Stefan Dercon and Sébastien Desbureaux)
Grants: John Fell Fund (£38,000)
Meta-beliefs and effort: Experimental evidence from school children in Malawi
(With James Walsh, Sonja Vogt, Thokozani Chikuni and Salman Asim)
Grants: ERINN (£32,000)
Teaching
2016-present: Microeconomics, MSc in Economics for Development, Oxford
Contact me
Email: ashley.pople@economics.ox.ac.uk
Address: Department of Economics
University of Oxford
Manor Road Building
Oxford OX1 3UQ