Yonas Alem
About Yonas Alem
Yonas Alem is a Senior Research Fellow at the Environment for Development. He is also the Director of Academic Programs with the main responsibility of managing the collaborative PhD programs jointly run by the Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg with universities in Africa. Alem received his PhD in Economics from the University of Gothenburg in 2011. From 2011-2019, he served as the Research Director of Environment for Development, and has been a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and Brown University. During the past decade, he has taught PhD courses in Advanced Panel Data Econometrics, Impact Evaluation and Causal Inference, and Development Economics, and supervised several PhD students at the University of Gothenburg and other universities.
In his previous research, Alem applied microeconomics and econometrics to research on a range of topics related to poverty, economic development, and the environment in developing regions of the world, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. He has used panel data econometrics and randomized controlled trials to conduct research on the impact of shocks, the dynamics of poverty, and the constraints of technology adoption. Alem has conducted research and field work in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, India, and the United Kingdom.
Alem’s current research focus is in the area of Behavioral Development Economics, an emerging sub-discipline of Economics, which applies insights from Psychology and Behavioral Economics to understand the commonly observed poor decision-making and outcomes of economic agents in developing countries. He has ongoing work investigating inconsistency in intertemporal decisions, distributional preferences, and decision-making under risk and uncertainty, using large-scale randomized controlled trials and lab-in-the-field experiments.
On other web sites
Research areas
- Development Economics
- Behavioural and Experimental Economics
- Environmental and Energy Economics
Teaching areas
- Applied Econometrics
- Development Economics
- Environmental Economics
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Blame it on the rain: Rainfall variability, consumption smoothing, and subjective well-being in rural
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, J. Colmer
American Journal of Agricultural Economics - 2022-01-01 -
Mind training, stress and behaviour-A randomised
experiment
Yonas Alem, H. Behrendt, M. Belot, A. Biro
PLoS ONE - 2021-01-01 -
The persistence of energy poverty: A dynamic probit
analysis
Yonas Alem, E. Demeke
Energy Economics - 2020-01-01 -
Smallholder rice farmers' post-harvest decisions: preferences and structural
factors
R. D. Ruhinduka, Yonas Alem, Håkan Eggert, T. Lybbert
European Review of Agricultural Economics - 2020-01-01 -
International Remittances and Private Interhousehold Transfers: Exploring the
Links
Yonas Alem, L. Andersson
European Journal of Development Research - 2019-01-01 -
Why (field) experiments on unethical behavior are important: Comparing stated and revealed
behavior
Yonas Alem, Håkan Eggert, Martin G. Kocher, Remidius Denis Ruhinduka
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization - 2018-01-01 -
Passive Learning and Incentivized Communication: A Randomized Controlled Trial in
India
Yonas Alem, Eugenie Dugoua
- 2018-01-01 -
Decision-making within the Household: The Role of Autonomy and Differences in
Preferences
Yonas Alem, Sied Hassen, Gunnar Köhlin
- 2018-01-01 -
Mindfulness and Stress - a Randomised
Experiment
Yonas Alem, Hannah Behrendt, Michele Belot, Anikó Bíró
- 2018-01-01 -
The impact of safety nets on technology adoption: a difference-in-differences
analysis
Yonas Alem, N. H. Broussard
Agricultural Economics - 2018-01-01 -
Modeling household cooking fuel choice: A panel multinomial logit
approach
Yonas Alem, A. D. Beyene, Gunnar Köhlin, A. Mekonnen
Energy Economics - 2016-01-01 -
Migration as an Adaptation Strategy to Weather Variability: An Instrumental Variables Probit
Analysis
Yonas Alem, Mathilde Maurel, Katrin Millock
- 2016-01-01 -
Why (field) experiments on unethical behavior are important: Comparing stated and revealed
behavior
Yonas Alem, Håkan Eggert, Martin G. Kocher, Remidius Denis Ruhinduka
- 2016-01-01 -
Mind, Behaviour and Health - a Randomised
Experiment
Yonas Alem, Hannah Behrendt, Michele Belot, Aniko Bíró
- 2016-01-01 -
Modelling Household Cooking Fuel Choice: a Panel Multinomial Logit
Approach
Yonas Alem, Abebe D. Beyene, Gunnar Köhlin, Alemmu Mekonnen
- 2015-01-01 -
Improving Welfare Through Climate-Friendly Agriculture: The Case of the System of Rice
Intensification
Yonas Alem, Håkan Eggert, Remidius Ruhinduka
Environmental and Resource Economics - 2015-01-01 -
International Remittances and Private Inter-household Transfers: Exploring the
Links
Yonas Alem, Lisa Andersson
- 2015-01-01 -
Improving Welfare through Climate-friendly Agriculture: The Case of the System of Rice
Intensification
Yonas Alem, Håkan Eggert, Remidius Ruhinduka
- 2015-01-01 -
Poverty Persistence and Intra-Household Heterogeneity in Occupations: Evidence from Urban
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem
Oxford Development Studies - 2015-01-01 -
The Impact of Food Price Inflation on Subjective Well-being: Evidence From Urban
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, Gunnar Köhlin
Social Indicators Research - 2014-01-01 -
Adoption and disadoption of electric cookstoves in urban Ethiopia: Evidence from panel
data
Yonas Alem, Sied Hassen, Gunnar Köhlin
Resources and Energy Economics - 2014-01-01 -
The Environment for Development Initiative: lessons learned in research, academic capacity building and policy intervention to manage resources for sustainable
growth
Thomas Sterner, Yonas Alem, F. Alpizar, C. S. Berck, C. A. C. Rebolledo, J. Dikgang, S. Kirama, Gunnar Köhlin, J. Mariara-Kabubo, A. Mekonnen, J. T. Xu
Environment and Development Economics - 2014-01-01 -
The persistence of subjective poverty in urban
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, Gunnar Köhlin, Jesper Stage
World Development - 2014-01-01 -
Optimal Expectations and the Welfare Cost of Climate
Variability
Yonas Alem, Jonathan Colmer
- 2013-01-01 -
Poverty Persistence and Intra-Household Heterogeneity in Occupations: Evidence from Urban
Ehtiopia
Yonas Alem
- 2013-01-01 -
Relative Standing and Life-Satisfaction: Does Unobserved Heterogeneity
Matter?
Yonas Alem
- 2013-01-01 -
Integrating soil science into agricultural production
frontiers
Anders Ekbom, Yonas Alem, Thomas Sterner
Environment and Development Economics - 2013-01-01 -
The Dynamics of Electric Cookstove Adoption: Panel data evidence from
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, Sied Hassen, Gunnar Köhlin
- 2013-01-01 -
Do Safety Nets Promote Technology Adoption? Panel data evidence from rural
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, Nzinga H. Broussard
- 2013-01-01 -
Integrating Soil Science into Agricultural Production
Frontiers
Anders Ekbom, Yonas Alem, Thomas Sterner
- 2012-01-01 -
The Persistence of Subjective Poverty in Urban
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, Gunnar Köhlin, Jesper Stage
- 2012-01-01 -
Life Satisfaction in Urban Ethiopia: Trends and
determinants
Yonas Alem, Gunnar Köhlin
- 2012-01-01 -
Household-Level Consumption in Urban Ethiopia: The
Effects
Yonas Alem, Måns Söderbom
World Development - 2012-01-01 -
Essays on Shocks, Welfare, and Poverty Dynamics: Microeconometric Evidence from
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem
- 2011-01-01 -
Does fertilizer use respond to rainfall variability? Panel data evidence from
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, Menale Kassie, Mintewab Bezabih, Precious Zikhali
Agricultural Economics - 2010-01-01 -
Does fertilizer use respond to rainfall variability? Panel data evidence from
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, Mintewab Bezabih, Menale Kassie, Precious Zikhali
Agricultural Economics - 2010-01-01 -
Does Fertilizer Use Respond to Rainfall Variability? Panel Data Evidence from
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, Mintewab Bezabih, Menale Kassie, Precious Zikhali
- 2009-01-01 -
Does asset index better capture households' welfare? Evidence from urban
Ethiopia
Yonas Alem, F. Nelsson
Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on the Ethiopian Economy - 2009-01-01