I am currently a Ph.D. student at Fordham University. Before beginning my doctoral studies, I worked as an academic associate at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. My research interests lie at the intersection of gender and development in India. I explore how social norms, policies, and economic factors shape women’s opportunities and agency. I am particularly focused on understanding the barriers women face in accessing resources and fully participating in economic and social life. Through my work, I aim to contribute to policies that promote gender equity and inclusive development.

Lemekezani is a research analyst at MwAPATA Institute in Malawi and is currently studying for a PhD in Agriculture and Resource Economics. He holds a Master’s Degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). In his professional career, Lemekezani has extensive expertise in research, data analysis, and project management, where he has been involved in conducting research, training research assistants, developing data collection tools, writing manuscripts, working papers, survey reports and policy briefs. Lemekezani has also served as a consultant for various organisations, including the "Research Supporting African MSMEs to Provide Safe and Nutritious Food” project in Tanzania, IITA, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, and Communications Development Initiatives, where he worked as a data analyst, survey administrator and programmer, field coordinator, and data quality controller. He has also worked as a lecturer for the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) Continuing Education Centre.

Murielle FOKOU PEPOUNG DZEUKOH is a recently graduate PhD from the University of Yaoundé II. Her research is in applied macroeconomics, with a focus on the political economy of education, women’s empowerment, and environmental performance. She is interested in analysing the effects of top down and bottom-up approach to institutional change on education inequalities, environmental sustainability, and women’s political empowerment. Passionate about research, she has different papers published in peer review journals such as Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, The journal of International Trade and Economic Development, Revue d’Economie du Développement, etc.

Sarita Oré is a Ph.D. Candidate in Economics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently conducting her dissertation research on how institutional incentive structures influence public service delivery and health outcomes, using a large-scale randomized controlled trial in Peru. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and a master’s degree in Economics from Universidad de los Andes. Her research interests lie at the intersection of Development Economics, Health Economics, and the Economics of Education.

Fabrice Ewolo Bitoto, is a Ph.D. recently graduated from the University of Dschang, Cameroon. His dissertation focuses on the financing of social sectors from natural resource rents in Africa, with an emphasis on innovative governance mechanisms. Dynamic and strongly involved in international scientific activities, his research focuses on Development Economics, Political Economy, Energy and Inequality. He has published in journals such as Journal of Knowledge of Economy, Resource Policy, Public Integrity and several works in progress at African Development Review and many others. He is optimistic about Africa's emergence and development, and about reducing the inequalities of opportunity caused by globalization. Mr. Bitoto hopes to capitalize on his participation in AMIE's mentoring program to build a solid profile as a seasoned economist and international consultant.

Jijeebisha Bhattarai is a PhD candidate in Economics at Binghamton University, specializing in applied microeconomics with a focus on gender and discrimination. Her research examines gender and health in developing economies, with a focus on intrahousehold inequalities and policy implications. Originally from Nepal, she draws on her background to study how reforms like abortion legalization affect fertility and child health. She is also passionate about teaching and has taught courses including the Economics of Poverty and Discrimination.

Ricardo is a fourth-year PhD candidate in Economics at the Aix-Marseille School of Economics. He studies economic development and agriculture using tools from international trade and spatial economics. His research focuses on policies that lift supply-side constraints to agricultural technology adoption. In his job market paper, Ricardo studies the arrival of patented crop technologies and its implications on productivity and development in sub-Saharan Africa. He obtained his master's and undergraduate degrees from the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Nur Banu Kartal is a final-year PhD candidate in Economics at Yıldız Technical University and a research assistant at the Turkish-German University. Her research lies at the intersection of behavioural economics and applied microeconometrics, with a particular focus on cognitive and non-cognitive skills, relative concerns, and time preferences. She works extensively with large-scale panel datasets and experimental data.

Divyanshu is a PhD candidate in Economics at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India. His research is related to labor economics, organizational economics, and applied microeconomics. His dissertation focuses on the economics of monitoring and evaluation. He explores how improvements in monitoring technology influence outcomes in competitive settings using data from professional sports. His latest work investigates the role of math-intensive evaluation in driving science gender gaps. Prior to joining PhD, Divyanshu worked for 1.5 years in the investment banking division of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and a Bachelor’s degree in commerce from University of Delhi, India.

Saleem Shah is a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at Clark University. His research explores the persistent role of institutions, culture, and traditional practices in shaping health and development outcomes, as well as the impact of public policies on healthcare access and health outcomes. He holds MS and BS degrees in Economics from the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, both earned with distinction. Before joining Clark, he worked as a lecturer and research fellow in Pakistan.