Hello, I'm Oliver Harman, and I work primarily as a Cities Economist for the International Growth Centre's (IGC) Cities that Work initiative based at Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. I am also Associate Staff and Occasional Researcher at the London School of Economics. In these roles I attempt to help bridge the gap between research and policy translating economic literature into clear urban policy guidance for emerging country city governments.

A secondary part of my focus is as a Clarendon scholar studying Sustainable Urban Development at the University of Oxford. I am using mixed methods to try to understand decentralisation and (local) development in low income and fast growing East & Central African cities.

The following webpage is a collection of my policy research, academic literature, commentary and talks. My current focuses are financing sustainable urban development, climate change in cities and global value chains for regional upgrading—the last a subject of a recent book publication online and in print.

In my roles I have engaged with local government Ministries and Mayoral teams across Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean and Europe. Specific work includes local government reform in Guyana, urban resilience in Ghana, post-disaster policy in Mozambique and municipal finance in Malawi, Senegal, Somaliland and Uganda as well as inclusive growth in my hometown, Oxford. Prior to working with governments and undertaking with policy focused research I spent a few years in the private sector on large scale urban regeneration projects in London.

My email address is oliver.harman@bsg.ox.ac.uk 

If you are ever in Oxford I am (nearly) always available for a cup of tea!

Webpages: Profile on IGC | Profile on BSG | Twitter | LinkedIn