Land and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sep
25
05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Livestream
Unlocking land access
Join our webcast with Lorenzo Casaburi, UBS Foundation Associate Professor of Development Economics, to learn more about the impact of development economics.
Population pressure, urbanization, and climate change are causing major changes in land policies and land markets across Sub-Saharan Africa. These changes have implications for land use, economic development, and social stability. New research approaches, including analysis of large-scale administrative data and experimental trials, can shed light on these dynamics. In this webcast, Prof. Casaburi presents recent research on land tenure systems in Uganda and rural land rental markets in Kenya and discusses how the results can inform actions to ensure safe and productive land access.
Live from the UZH Studios, we reviewed recent economic research on the topic and took questions from the audience via Mentimeter. The host was Matthias Ammann, Managing Director of the UBS Center.
This was a public event with free access via livestream on our website in association with the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
Join our webcast with Lorenzo Casaburi, UBS Foundation Associate Professor of Development Economics, to learn more about the impact of development economics.
Population pressure, urbanization, and climate change are causing major changes in land policies and land markets across Sub-Saharan Africa. These changes have implications for land use, economic development, and social stability. New research approaches, including analysis of large-scale administrative data and experimental trials, can shed light on these dynamics. In this webcast, Prof. Casaburi presents recent research on land tenure systems in Uganda and rural land rental markets in Kenya and discusses how the results can inform actions to ensure safe and productive land access.
Lorenzo Casaburi is UBS Foundation Associate Professor of Development Economics at the University of Zurich
Speakers
UBS Foundation Associate Professor of Development Economics
Lorenzo Casaburi is the UBS Foundation Associate Professor of Development Economics (with tenure) in the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich. His research focuses on economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular emphasis on agricultural finance, competition, and land markets His work has been supported by several funders, including the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant 2019 and ERC Consolidator Grant 2025), the Swiss National Science Foundation, USAID, and DFID. Lorenzo serves as an Associate Editor for Econometrica and The Economic Journal and is a member of the BREAD Board of Directors. He is also a Research Fellow at BREAD, CEPR, IGC, IPA, and J-PAL. He received his B.A. from the University of Bologna and his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. Before joining the University of Zurich, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR).
UBS Center Managing Director
Dr. Matthias Ammann joined the UBS Center as COO in September 2020. Prior to that, he was a Fellow at Avenir Suisse from 2017 to 2020, where he focused on education policy and on the potential of digitization for government and administration. He completed his doctorate at the University of St. Gallen after his studies in International Affairs and Governance as well as International Management at the University of St. Gallen and the Copenhagen Business School.
UBS Foundation Associate Professor of Development Economics
Lorenzo Casaburi is the UBS Foundation Associate Professor of Development Economics (with tenure) in the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich. His research focuses on economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular emphasis on agricultural finance, competition, and land markets His work has been supported by several funders, including the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant 2019 and ERC Consolidator Grant 2025), the Swiss National Science Foundation, USAID, and DFID. Lorenzo serves as an Associate Editor for Econometrica and The Economic Journal and is a member of the BREAD Board of Directors. He is also a Research Fellow at BREAD, CEPR, IGC, IPA, and J-PAL. He received his B.A. from the University of Bologna and his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. Before joining the University of Zurich, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR).
UBS Center Managing Director
Dr. Matthias Ammann joined the UBS Center as COO in September 2020. Prior to that, he was a Fellow at Avenir Suisse from 2017 to 2020, where he focused on education policy and on the potential of digitization for government and administration. He completed his doctorate at the University of St. Gallen after his studies in International Affairs and Governance as well as International Management at the University of St. Gallen and the Copenhagen Business School.