Category Archives: Uncategorized

Poverty and wealth without a ladder?

Posted on January 26, 2024 by jedstevenson

The third post in a series introducing a new article on researching poverty and wealth in Ethiopia. In 2017 my colleagues and I launched a project that we called Shifting Inequality Dynamics in Ethiopia (SIDERA). [1] The project was led … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Schooling, life chances, and daily bread

Posted on January 25, 2024 by jedstevenson

I explain how I moved from studying schooling to researching wealth and poverty. Those years spanned the global financial crisis, which had insidious effects in Ethiopia. My doctoral project was about mothers’ schooling and health – I was interested in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Snakes and ladders

Posted on January 24, 2024 by jedstevenson

The first of a series of posts on researching wealth and poverty in Ethiopia. This month my colleagues and I published a new article on measuring poverty and wealth in Ethiopia. Here I tell the story of how I came … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A workshop on climate, water, and migration

Posted on March 13, 2020 by jedstevenson

Last week I attended a workshop on the relationship between climate change, water insecurity, and migration. Water insecurity is sorely under-researched, and much of the action at the workshop was about how to integrate recent advances in measuring household water … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Working and praying for peace in Ethiopia

Posted on November 7, 2019 by jedstevenson

Last month Ethiopia’s prime minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Felix Girke and I wrote an article in The Guardian on his achievements and on the challenges that remain. We applauded his efforts in making peace … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

*New paper* ‘Do our bodies know their ways?’ Villagization, food insecurity, and ill-being in Ethiopia’s lower Omo valley

Posted on July 13, 2017 by jedstevenson

Some results from my research in Ethiopia are now available, ahead of publication in African Studies Review. The paper, co-authored with Lucie Buffavand, is a product of several years work in the lower Omo valley, where a massive hydroelectric dam … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Books of 2016

Posted on January 23, 2017 by jedstevenson

These are the books that have made the greatest impression on me this year. 1. The idealist, by Justin Peters Aaron Swartz was an IT prodigy who hacked the scholarly literature database J-Stor.  Brought to trial for doing so, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The end of alchemy?

Posted on May 13, 2016 by jedstevenson

Is it prudent to orient our societies around the goal of achieving ‘20 years of growth and prosperity’ if, in the process, we are causing catastrophic climate change?  That’s the question I asked Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Eye cancer in Ethiopia, revisited

Posted on March 28, 2014 by jedstevenson

My son suffers from a cancer of the eyes that is fatal if untreated. Now three years old, he’s leading about as close to a normal life as a child can with such a disease — thanks in large part … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment