Belinda Archibong is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Her research areas include development economics, political economy, economic history and environmental economics with an African regional focus. Her research investigates the role of historical institutions and environment in inequality of access to public services and the development of human capital, particularly in the areas of education, labor and health. Some current research studies the effects of epidemics on gender gaps in human capital investment, the economics of epidemics and vaccination, and the impacts of air pollution from gas flaring on human capital outcomes; with a focus on the ways in which institutions mitigate or exacerbate the impacts of climate change and environment on inequalities around gender and marginalized groups. Other work focuses on the effects of institutions around prison labor, protest and taxation on socioeconomic inequality, and a recent body of work studies how to leverage access to digital markets to improve employment and reduce gender inequality in labor markets.
Her research is published/forthcoming in numerous academic journals, and her work has also been cited by various media outlets including the New York Times, NPR and Al Jazeera, and informed
testimony on vaccine policy to US Congress. She was previously an Associate Professor of Economics at Barnard College, Columbia University, and is a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (
NBER). She is a faculty affiliate at Columbia University's
Center for Development Economics and Policy (CDEP),
The Earth Institute at Columbia University, and the
Center for Environmental Economics and Policy (CEEP), and is currently a
Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. She received a B.A. in Economics/Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development from Columbia University. Her CV and further information can also be found on her
personal website.