Rebecca Simson

Rebecca is the David Richards Junior Research Fellow in Economic History at Wadham College, Oxford.

Her research explores social and economic processes of change in postcolonial Africa, with a focus on social mobility and elite formation since independence. She has also worked extensively on questions around state development and the public service in East Africa.

Rebecca has a PhD in economic history from the London School of Economics. She previously held an ESRC postdoctoral fellowship at LSE and the Economic History Society Anniversary Fellowship at the Institute of Historical Research.

Prior to her PhD studies she spent several years working for development organisations in West and East Africa, and she continues to engage with and conduct research for think tanks and international organisations.