Dr. Mulu Gebreeyesus


Affiliated researcher

Research group(s):
1. Economics of Knowledge and Innovation
5. Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainability Transitions

An Ethiopian national, Dr. Mulu Gebreeyesus Gebreyohannes is currently a Senior Researcher at the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI). He is also a Senior Program Lead at the Environment and Climate Research Centre (ECRC) based in EDRI. He was previously (June 2008 to May 2014) a Research Fellow at the United Nations University (UNU-MERIT) Maastricht, the Netherlands. He holds a PhD in Economics from the Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Sweden in 2006.

Gebreeyesus’s current research interest is on industrial policy practices and challenges, development of non-traditional activities, trade orientation and firm performance, and entrepreneurship and small business development. He has widely published in the field of development economics and particularly competition and enterprises dynamics (investment, growth, entry-exit and productivity), the practice and impact of industrial policy, and innovation and growth in small businesses in developing countries.

Some of his recent and ongoing research projects include:

  • Principal Investigator of an ongoing research program “SME-Finance Impact Evaluation” a collaborative work with World Bank and funded by the European Union (EU) - running from 2016-2019.
  • Principal Investigator of an undergoing long-term research program on Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development in Ethiopia (ESBDE) at EDRI funded by IDRC and ECRC/EDRI.
  • Principal Investigator of undergoing project entitled “Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Ethiopia: challenges, alternatives and opportunities” funded by the Ethiopian Policy Study and Research Centre (EPSRC).
  • Co-investigatory of undergoing project on “Interactions between Industrial Polices and Green Economy Strategies in Ethiopia” in collaboration with University College London (UCL) and funded by CDKN/DFID.
  • Principal Investigator “Protection, export incentives and export performance in Ethiopia” internally funded project.
  • Co-investigator a policy research project on “Industrial Park Development in Ethiopia” internally funded project.



Selected publications by Mulu Gebreeyesus


UNU-MERIT