Nkechi Owoo

Dr. Nkechi S. Owoo is a Research Fellow at the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP). She is also an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Ghana with extensive experience in research, teaching, and policy engagement. Her expertise spans health and demographic economics, gender, poverty and inequality, spatial econometrics, environmental sustainability, and climate change. She holds a PhD and MA in Economics from Clark University, USA, and a BA in Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Ghana.

She is currently affiliated as a non-resident research fellow with institutions such as MIT’s JPAL, IZA Institute of Labour Economics (Germany), Center for Global Development (USA), and PEP (Kenya). Dr. Owoo has published widely in high-impact journals, including Population and Development Review, Feminist Economics, Science of the Total Environment, and Research in Developmental Disabilities, and contributed to numerous book chapters, technical reports, and policy briefs.

Her research is policy-relevant and often interdisciplinary, addressing gender inequalities, fertility, education, climate adaptation, informal work, health access, and youth livelihoods. She has led and contributed to major research projects funded by organizations such as the Wellcome Trust, IDRC, Gates Foundation, JPAL, and the World Bank. Notably, she is a Co-Investigator and Work Package Co-Lead on the £6.3 million CLARITY-Africa project on equitable and climate-resilient African cities.

As a consultant, she has worked with a range of national and international agencies, including the World Bank, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, GIZ, and government ministries in Ghana and Sierra Leone. She has authored influential policy reports and advised on issues such as gender equity, food security, climate resilience, and youth employment.

Dr. Owoo is an editorial board member of Feminist Economics, Canadian Studies in Population, and European Journal of Population, and serves on the Governing Board of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP). She has mentored emerging researchers across Africa and regularly participates in policy dialogues, academic conferences, and public outreach. She has presented at over 90 international events, including those hosted by NBER, World Bank, IAFFE, and UN agencies.

Through a career that bridges academia and policy, Dr. Owoo remains committed to producing impactful, inclusive research that informs equitable development across Africa.

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