Yonas Alem

Bio

Yonas Alem is a Research Professor at the School of Economics, University of Cape Town, and Director of Academic Programs at the Environment for Development (EfD) initiative. He is also a researcher at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, where he previously served as an Associate Professor of Economics. His research lies at the intersection of Development Microeconomics, Behavioral and Experimental Economics, and Environmental Economics, with a focus on gender, energy transitions, technology adoption, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Alem has published extensively in leading academic journals. His empirical work primarily employs panel data econometrics and impact evaluation methods, especially large-scale randomized controlled trials—an area in which he has also taught Ph.D.-level courses for over 15 years.