Research Overview

My research applies rigorous microeconomic methods to understand development challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. I focus on how individual behaviors, household decisions, and policy interventions shape outcomes in food security, natural resource management, health, and education. My work combines large-scale household surveys with econometric analysis to provide evidence for policy design.

Research Areas

Food Security and Agricultural Development

Investigating how agricultural policies, crop diversity, and market access affect household food security and nutritional outcomes in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Recent work examines the unintended consequences of agricultural input subsidies on child labor and household welfare.

Natural Resources and Environmental Economics

Examining the relationship between mining activities, water security, and health outcomes. My research explores how resource extraction affects local communities and how environmental factors shape household energy adoption decisions in developing countries.

Child Labor and Education

Analyzing the economic determinants of child labor, including the role of food prices, risk preferences, and agricultural policies. This work contributes to understanding how to design interventions that reduce child labor while supporting household livelihoods.

Gender and Intra-Household Dynamics

Studying how women's education and bargaining power influence household welfare decisions in Sub-Saharan Africa. This research examines the mechanisms through which female education translates into improved family outcomes.

Research Grants

Natural Resources and Inequality in West Africa ($5,000)
International Development Economists Associates (IDEAs), 2022
With Felicia Mabel Frempong
Socioeconomic and cultural drivers of women's formal work in rural Ghana ($10,000)
United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), 2019-2020
With Elena Gross
Impact of agricultural input subsidy on nutritional outcomes in Malawi ($12,000)
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), 2018-2020
With Jacob Novignon and Chirwa Chijere Gowokani
Access to markets, food security and poverty in Ghana ($12,000)
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), 2015-2016
With Jacob Novignon and Clifford Afoakwah

Total Research Funding: $39,000

Working Papers & Work in Progress

Frempong, R. B., & Frempong, F. M. (2023). Natural resource extraction and inequality in West Africa. [Under review]
Frempong, R. B., Stadelmann, D., & Thiam, D. R. (2022). Mineral resources extraction, institutional quality and poverty: A micro evidence from Africa.
Frempong, R. B., Stadelmann, D., & Wild, F. (2022). Ethnic identity and support for economic and political integration in Africa.
Frempong, R. B., Afoakwah, C., & Ampofo, A. (2022). Farm input subsidy programs and subjective wellbeing: Quasi experimental evidence from Malawi.
Frempong, R. B., & Gross, E. (2018). Food security and crop diversity among subsistence farmers.
Frempong, R. B., & Stadelmann, D. (2017). Does female education have a bargaining effect on household welfare? Evidence from Ghana and Uganda. CREMA Working Paper Series 2017-08.

Selected Conference Presentations

2023 — Eleventh Biennial Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy, Cape Town, South Africa
2022 — African Studies Association of Africa 4th Biennial Conference, Cape Town, South Africa
2019 — Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) Conference, Oxford, United Kingdom
2019 — African Economic Research Consortium Biannual Research Workshop, Cape Town, South Africa
2018 — Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) Conference, Oxford, United Kingdom
2017 — Lindau Meeting on Economic Sciences, Germany
2017 — African Economic Research Consortium Biannual Research Workshop, Arusha, Tanzania

Research Supervision & Mentorship

PhD Mentorship

Member of the PhD mentorship team at the Chair of Economic Policy and Economic Development, University of Bayreuth

Thesis Supervision

Master's Dissertations: 6 students supervised (Catholic University of Lille, 2023-2025)

Bachelor's Dissertations: 22 students supervised (Catholic University of Lille, 2022-2025; University of Bayreuth)

Note: One bachelor's thesis supervision led to a publication in World Development

External Examination

PhD thesis reviewer for University of Cape Town (2022–present)

Academic Service

Peer Review

Reviewer for: Energy Economics, International Economics, The Journal of Development Studies, Kyklos, The European Journal of Health Economics, German Economic Review

Proposal Evaluation

• Evaluated 4 proposals for DAAD's in-country/in-region programme across Sub-Saharan Africa

• Lindau Alumni peer reviewer for Young Economists selection (Next Gen Science presentations)

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