Presenting our paper with @nonsoobikili.com @chinemeluokafor.bsky.social and Ajuwon on Monday in the 10:15am session @assameeting.bsky.social, in case anyone wants to come listen to research on the effects of women's protests on gender gaps in political participation #ASSA2026 #Econsky

Playing this as my anthem in 2026, since apparently this is what my fellow Americans think all of us Black African immigrants from '3rd world democracies' are up to in the US *cryinglaughing, sigh: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUYJ...

Happy new year all, my yearly reminder that we should all cite Black scholars, especially folks doing research on race/ethnicity/gender/Africa, and inequality. I look forward to seeing all the citations of Black/African scholars in the research and referee reports forthcoming in 2026

Was just talking to my brother about the horrifying levels of anti-Black racism in boxing and we were discussing how amazing Anthony Joshua is and just found out this news- apparently his trainers were killed in the crash- what an awful tragedy and, really hoping he pulls through ok

Sokoto state in Nigeria is 99% Muslim (in a region that has dealt with a US company conducting drug trials on children in the past, with devastating lasting effects- see Pfizer drug trials: www.brookings.edu/articles/we-...) So, which Christians are being saved by the US bombing Sokoto?

“I assumed he was Black,” Mr. Rosenbluth said in an interview. “Why else would he be in ICE custody?”: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/u... In between this and the US bombing in Nigeria, the quiet part is very, very loud indeed. Like we can all see and hear this, right

Just received my student evaluations this morning and they're the best Christmas gift to enter my email/inbox. So thankful for my fantastic students after my first semester teaching at @johnshopkinssais.bsky.social. What a wonderful gift to receive today and Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Are there any US lawmakers fighting to protect the rights of Black/African immigrants that I/we can support? Because oof- what a dismal way to end the year/start 2026 and I've heard not a peep from any of our representatives: abcnews.go.com/Internationa... #Blacksky

I had a fantastic time visiting Accra, Ghana recently to present research on how to use online labor markets to reduce gender gaps in employment at the University of Ghana and huge thanks to the excellent fellow scholars there for very helpful comments and suggestions on the research #Econsky

ECON CONFERENCE: NBER Race and Stratification Working Group will have its annual meeting Friday, March 27, 2026. @franciscaantman.bsky.social, Bocar Ba, Robynn Cox and I are organizing the program. Submit your paper by the December 11, 2025 deadline! @nber.org #Econsky www.nber.org/conferences/...

With all the recent news, I just want to note that unfortunately Nigerians can be scammed too 😂 IYKYK

Just returned from presenting research in Accra, Ghana and it is literally one of the best cities I've ever visited. Beautiful city/country, warm, lovely, kindest people and a powerhouse of Black and Pan-African history/visionaries (visited the gravesites of both Du Bois and Nkrumah). 10/10 visit

Black Americans fought bravely to protect defend a nation that defined them as second class citizens. The #GreenBookProject shows how they left and returned to a nation that was unsafe and hostile to their daily passage, and worked to dehumanize them at every turn greenbookproject.osu.edu #EconSky

Normalize telling people they are bad people loudly and clearly in public, and bring back courses on courtesy and good manners/how to treat your fellow humans with civility and respect in schools because good Lord

Political scientist colleagues, what is this called, especially in African countries, when the federal government acts in this way?: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

And to highlight the power of citizen mobilization, even under authoritarian regimes who curtail civil liberties, here is an updated version of our paper on the effects of protests on economic redistribution using evidence from the Occupy Nigeria movement: www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Happy Nigeria Freedom from British Colonialism Day!

Adding this as a news PSA for my H1B work visa holders, especially for African citizens and who now apparently need to return to the US before September 21, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. EDT or pay a $100,000 to the Trump administration: www.bbc.com/news/article...

The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama. His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful. Now he is tweeting in support of me. This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*. Or used to work.

The @nber.org Race and Stratification in the Economy working group is seeking submissions for our upcoming Spring 2026 meeting to be held on March 27, 2026. The submission deadline is December 11, 2025. The call for papers is here: www.asc.ohio-state.edu/logan.155/pd...

Exactly. There's a serious discussion we need to have about political violence in the US, and it goes back to the history of racial violence against Black citizens in this country: academic.oup.com/qje/advance-...

Thank you @postguild.bsky.social ❤️

Historically, the victims of political violence in America have been Black people, a fact that our country seems to conveniently forget anytime discussions about political violence come up

Important new paper from Williams and Testa on how political factors shaped racial violence in @qjeharvard.bsky.social. Finds rise in lynchings of Black people in counties where Democrats lost the popular vote. Highlights the historically deadly consequences of elections for Black people in the US

Low-income adults in Ghana who got small, regular mobile communication credits during COVID-19 experienced lower mental distress and violence, showing the power of staying connected. 👤 @belindaarch.bsky.social writes on mobile communication and mental health in Ghana. voxdev.org/topic/health...

Dr Lisa Cook is a fantastic economist and person, and the attacks lobbed against her are absolutely egregious. Sharing the letter in support of her below. #Econsky

New(ish) research evidence on the value of providing low-cost communication/mobile phone credits for improving mental health (paper is now conditionally accepted at the Economic Journal ‪@theeconjournal.bsky.social‬) and you can read more about the results/policy implications in @voxdev.bsky.social

"In the absence of a third party sufficiently strong to make sure all sides stick to their promises, the powerful can renege on the powerless. The powerless, seeing this, wisely choose to not contract with the powerful." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/o... Powerful piece from my former phd advisor

I'll be presenting this paper at the World Bank ECINEQ conference today, for any interested folks in the area/attending the conference: www.worldbank.org/en/events/20...

Thanks to the University of Lagos Economics department and the excellent scholars at the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa for hosting me recently. Really fantastic scholars and much appreciation for the helpful questions and comments on our (new, thread forthcoming) Firm Culture paper

This, 100%. Source: Personal experience + research: www.kff.org/racial-equit...

Yay to my girl Ayra Starr for winning BET's Best International Act award! She is absolutely my favorite pop artist atm, and her music is phenomenal- I highly recommend everyone listen to her songs ("Rush" and "Jazzy's Song" are on replay in my household): www.hot97.com/news/ayra-st... #Blacksky

Was lamenting the state of affairs to a colleague and how any progress seems to get eroded, and he said progress is a pendulum, but our goal as researchers/scholars with the privilege to pursue knowledge is/should be to point the way forward for everyone, and hanging that on my wall #Academicsky

Participated in a great panel @brookings.edu on how to boost employment and structural transformation in Africa/job creation in "industries without smokestacks", following up on our research on the potential of online job portals for boosting employment: www.brookings.edu/articles/how...

Didn't think it needed to be said, but banning international students from attending university in the US is bad- not just bad as in unethical, it's bad for innovation and both domestic and global economic growth/welfare. Harvard is right to fight this: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/u...

📄 New @g2lmlic.bsky.social paper: Using data from Nigeria’s job platform,‪ @belindaarch.bsky.social, @oyebolaoo.bsky.social, Francis Annan, Anja Benshaul-Tolonen & Ifeatu Oliobi show that co-ethnicity with hiring managers favors male applicants over their female counterparts. Read: bit.ly/4knVR5x

The level of vitriol that so-called liberals have towards immigrants is astounding. People really just want immigrants to suffer/die, 'liberal' values be damned, forgetting that dismantling healthcare etc for the most vulnerable will eventually come back to bite you, regardless of your status

I am constantly blown away by the brilliance of our students @jhu.edu and had a wonderful time speaking at the Africa Business Club conference this weekend. Truly excellent conference and highly recommend everyone check out their events: carey.jhu.edu/student-expe...

My brilliant co-author, Dr Francis Annan, will be presenting research on how policies to redistribute transportation costs can reduce economic inequality at the @johnshopkinssais.bsky.social economics seminar tomorrow in case DC based folks want to stop by: www.eventbrite.com/e/sais-econo...

Amazing: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/u...

It struck me recently that Elon Musk resembles a Nigerian style godfather- IYKYK, if you don't know watch the excellent King of Boys on Netflix (www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF-F...) to find out. America looking more and more like my birth country everyday...

This sounds like an excellent event, and definitely a much needed discussion. I look forward to the economics of art paper estimating the value of reparations needed from Europe to Africa for stolen African heritage and art #Econsky

OK, Harvard 👏, "No government- regardless of which party is in power-should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” said Alan Garber, Harvard’s president.Hint at my alma mater @columbiauniversity.bsky.social 👀

I can honestly state, after 22 years here as a previously noncitizen, that there are few experiences as anxiety-inducing as living as an immigrant, and esp as a Black immigrant,in the US.Thankful to @jhu.edu for taking a stance to protect international students: www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2025...

A famous economist whose work I also enjoy said that the problem (when it came to interactions between Africans and Europeans re slave trade and colonialism) is that Africans were too open and welcoming to strangers, and assumed, erroneously, that Europeans would be the same, and I was like 😳 🤯

Nigerian women really go through it, with the high levels of institutionalized sexism/misogyny and disrespect/violence against women. I am so happy Senator Natasha is taking a stance as a female lawmaker and proud of her constituents in Kogi state for standing by her: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/05/w...

This is possibly the most awesome move by a Nigerian politician in recent history. Senator Natasha Akpoti is an absolute badass and super inspired and impressed with how valiantly she’s fought back against sexual harassment and discrimination against women in Nigeria: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CYm...

Forthcoming in the AER: "Innovative Ideas and Gender (In)Equality" by Marlène Koffi. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

Favorite news of the week is South Korea emerging as the apparent savior of/shining beacon for Western liberal democracy

Applaudissement South Korea, applaudissement 👏: www.wsj.com/world/asia/s...