Dr. Solomon Owusu




Research group(s):
2. Structural Change and Economic Development
1. Economics of Knowledge and Innovation
4. Governance and institutions

Solomon is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford. At University of Oxford, he is affiliated with the St. Anthony's College and the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE). He is a former World Bank Africa fellow (Washington, DC) and also serves as a Coordinator of the Complexity Economics Working Group of the Young Scholars' Initiative, Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET, New York, USA). Before joining University of Oxford, Solomon held a Research Economist position at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Germany where he is now a research associate. Prior to that he worked and consulted for reputable academic and development policy institutions such as the World Bank, UNIDO, European Commission (EU-JRC, Belgium), Asian Development Bank, UNU-MERIT, and Ghana Statistical Service.

Solomon holds a PhD in Economics from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and two Masters degrees in Economics: MA in Economics from Leuphana University Lüneburg (Germany), and Erasmus Mundus Advanced MSc in Economics from Staffordshire University (UK), University of Cantabria (Spain), and University of Brasilia (Brazil). He had his undergraduate training in Economics and Management from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.

Solomon's research interest focuses broadly on development economics in areas such as the economics and measurement of structural transformation, jobs and inclusive growth; global value chains and trade; and issues at the intersection of technology adoption, climate change and productivity in developing countries with particular focus on countries in Africa.




Selected publications by Solomon Owusu


Articles (journal, professional, popular)
Ndubuisi, Gideon, Chuks Otioma, Solomon Owusu & Godsway Tetteh, 2022, ICTs quality and technical efficiency: An empirical analysis, Telecommunications Policy, 46(10), More information
Mensah, Emmanuel Buadi, Solomon Owusu, Neil Foster-McGregor & Adam Szirmai, 2022, Structural change, productivity growth and labour market turbulence in Sub-Saharan Africa, Journal of African Economies: 1-38, DOI: 10.1093/jae/ejac010, More information
Albaladejo, Manuel, Nicola Cantore & Solomon Owusu, 2022, Circular Economy to fight climate change: Are countries walking the talk?, Unido Industrial Analytics Platform, April, More information
Ndubuisi, Gideon & Solomon Owusu, 2022, Wage effects of global value chains participation and position: An industry-level analysis, The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Online, DOI: 10.1080/09638199.2022.2058068, More information
Ndubuisi, Gideon & Solomon Owusu, 2021, Trust, Efficient Contracting and Export Upgrading, The European Journal of Development Research, Online, DOI: 10.1057/s41287-021-00486-x, More information
Ndubuisi, Gideon & Solomon Owusu, 2021, How important is GVC participation to export upgrading?, The World Economy, 44(10): 2887-2908, DOI: 10.1111/twec.13102, More information
Danquah, Michael, Abdul Malik Iddrisu, Ernest Owusu Boakye & Solomon Owusu (eds.), 2021, Do gender wage differences within households influence women's empowerment and welfare? Evidence from Ghana, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 188: 916-932, DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.06.014, More information
Ndubuisi, Gideon & Solomon Owusu, 2021, How important is global value chain participation for export upgrading, The World Economy, Online, DOI: 10.1111/twec.13102, More information


Book chapters
Owusu, Solomon, Adam Szirmai & Neil Foster-McGregor, 2021, The Rise of the Service Sector in the Global Economy, in: New Perspectives on Structural Change: Causes and Consequences of Structural Change in the Global Economy, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK


UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Owusu, Solomon, Gideon Ndubuisi & Emmanuel Buadi Mensah, 2022, Import penetration and manufacturing employment: Evidence from Africa, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2022-007
Ndubuisi, Gideon & Solomon Owusu, 2021, Wage effects of global value chains participation and position: An industry-level analysis, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2021-042
Owusu, Solomon, 2021, Powering structural transformation and productivity gains in Africa: The role of global value chains and resource endowments, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2021-022
Owusu, Solomon, Adam Szirmai & Neil Foster-McGregor, 2020, The rise of the service sector in the global economy, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2020-056
Mensah, Emmanuel Buadi, Solomon Owusu & Neil Foster-McGregor, 2020, Productive efficiency, technological change and catch up within Africa, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2020-033
Ndubuisi, Gideon & Solomon Owusu, 2020, How important is GVC participation to export upgrading, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2020-026
Mensah, Emmanuel Buadi, Solomon Owusu, Neil Foster-McGregor & Adam Szirmai, 2018, Structural change, productivity growth and labour market turbulence in Africa, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2018-025


Research reports
Ndubuisi, Gideon & Solomon Owusu, 2022, Sub-Saharan Africa’s prospect of economic development through global supply chains, In Sustainable Global Supply Chains Report 2022, Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains, More information
Hollanders, Hugo, Gideon Ndubuisi, Solomon Owusu, Monika Matusiak, Alexander Kleibrink, Elena Andonova, John Mark Boden, Vlado Cetl, Olga Diukanova, Mafini Dosso, Jean Dusart, Petros Gkotsis, Ales Gnamus, Alexander Kotsev, Carlo Lavalle, Giovanni Mandras, Nikola Radovanovic, Alessandro Rainoldi, Milena Slavcheva, Miroslav Veskovic & Slavo Radosevic, 2018, Supporting an Innovation Agenda for the Western Balkans - Tools and Methodologies, This report gives an overview of the Western Balkans region, looking at challenges and emerging potentials for innovation. It also presents tools and methodologies available at the JRC to support an innovation agenda for economic transformation and inspired by Smart Specialisation. Each challenge is supported by a concrete implementation example, More information


Theses
Owusu, Solomon, 2021, Powering Structural Transformation and Economic Development in Africa: The Role of Services, Manufacturing and Global Value Chains, PhD dissertation Maastricht University / United Nations University


UNU-MERIT