Carlos Oya is Professor of Political Economy of Development at SOAS University of London.
Carlos Oya is a political economist of development, and development economist by training.
He has degrees in Economics from Universidad Complutense of Madrid and SOAS (MSc Econ) where he also did his PhD in Development Economics. He has three main research areas: political economy of development and economic transformation; agrarian change and development; labour relations, global production, and labour markets. He also has a strong interest and expertise in research methodology and survey design. He worked for several years in government in Mozambique (Ministry of Planning and Finance), contributing to national poverty eradication strategies and economic development planning.
Carlos has done extensive field-based research on agrarian change, and contemporary labour market dynamics in many African countries, especially in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Angola and Senegal. His earlier work centred on processes of agrarian change, agricultural policy and agrarian capitalist transformations in Africa. He then engaged in research on labour dynamics in agriculture, and the impact of sustainability standards systems (e.g. Fairtrade) on working conditions, followed by pioneering evidence synthesis in the form of systematic reviews of the socio-economic effects of agricultural certification schemes worldwide.
He led a project on structural transformations and employment outcomes in infrastructure construction and manufacturing sectors in Ethiopia and Angola, with a special focus on Chinese firms and comparative employment outcomes ( www.idcea.org ). His work has been published in leading journals in development, agrarian and African studies, such as World Development, Journal of Agrarian Change, Journal of Peasant Studies, Journal of Development Studies, Review of African Political Economy, African Affairs, and Journal of Southern African Studies. He also co-edited volumes like Rural Wage Employment in Developing Countries (2015)and Global Land Grabs: History, Theory and Methods (2015).
He has held visiting teaching positions in various universities worldwide, such as China Agricultural University, Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique), Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva (Switzerland), and Universidad Complutense in Madrid (Spain).
Carlos has provided technical advice and conducted research and impact evaluations for a range of international organisations, including the ILO, the World Bank, FAO and UNDP; government institutions in Mozambique, Angola, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Gambia, and Burkina Faso; INGOs, including Save the Children, ISEAL, and ActionAid, and various research think tanks. He was co-editor of the Journal of Agrarian Change between 2008 and 2022.
Agricultural commercialization in the Mekong region: A meta-narrative review and policy implications
Nguyen, Anh-Thu, Oya, Carlos, Beban, Alice, Gironde, Christophe, Cole, Rob and Ehrensperger, Albrecht, 2023, Journal of Land Use Science (18), 1, pp 128-151
The politics of labour relations in global production networks: collective action, industrial parks, and local conflict in the Ethiopian apparel sector
Oya, Carlos and Schaefer, Florian, 2021, World Development (146), 105564
Contributions of Chinese Firms to Employment Dynamics in Africa: A Comparative Analysis Based on a Large-scale Survey = 中国企业对非洲就业发展的贡献: 基于一项大规模调查的比较性分析
Oya, Carlos, Schaefer, Florian and Qi, Hao, 2020, China Review of Political Economy = 政治经济学评论 (11), 6, pp 184-224
The challenges of screening and synthesizing qualitative research in a mixed-methods systematic review. The case of the impact of agricultural certification schemes
Skalidou, Dafni and Oya, Carlos, 2018, Journal of Development Effectiveness (10), 1, pp 39-60
How to do (and how not to do) fieldwork on Fair Trade and rural poverty
Cramer, Christopher, Johnston, Deborah, Mueller, Bernd, Oya, Carlos and Sender, John, 2014, Canadian Journal of Development Studies (35), 1, pp 170-185
Doing labour regime research with large-scale surveys in Africa
Oya, Carlos (2022). In: Baglioni, Elena, (eds.), Campling, Liam, (eds.), Coe, Neil M., (eds.) and Smith, Adrian, (eds.), Labour Regimes and Global Production. Newcastle: Agenda Publishing, pp 101-119
Pérez Niño, Helena and Oya, Carlos (2021). In: Akram-Lodhi, A.H., (eds.), Dietz, K., (eds.), Engels, Bettina, (eds.) and McKay, B.M., (eds.), Handbook of Critical Agrarian Studies. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp 417-426
Industrial Hubs and the Industrial Labour Force in Africa and Asia
Oya, Carlos and Schaefer, Florian (2020). In: Oqubay, Arkebe, (eds.) and Lin, Justin Yifu, (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Hubs and Economic Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 381-400
Labour Regimes and Workplace Encounters between China and Africa
Oya, Carlos (2019). In: Oqubay, Arkebe, (eds.) and Lin, Justin Yifu, (eds.), China-Africa and an Economic Transformation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 239-262
Oya, Carlos (2019). In: Cheru, Fantu, (eds.), Cramer, Christopher, (eds.) and Oqubay, Arkebe, (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Ethiopian Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 668-686
The policy neglect of rural wage employment: The cases of Rwanda and Ethiopia
Rizzo, Matteo and Petit, Nicolas (2015). In: Oya, Carlos, (eds.) and Pontara, Nicola, (eds.), Rural wage employment in developing countries: Theory, evidence, and policy. Abingdon; New York: Routledge
Les politiques agricoles 2000-2012 : entre volontarisme et incohérence [Agricultural policies 2000-2012: between voluntarism and incoherence]
Oya, Carlos and Ba, C.O. (2013). In: Diop, M.C., (ed.), Sénégal 2000-2012. Les institutions et politiques publiques à l’épreuve d’une gouvernance libérale. Paris: Karthala
Crise Global, Crescimento e Desafios para Moçambique e a sua Estratégia de Desenvolvimento [Global Crisis, Growth and Challenges for Mozambique and its Development Strategy]
Oya, Carlos (2012). In: de Brito, Luis, (eds.), Castel-Branco, Carlos Nuno, (eds.), Chichava, Sergio, (eds.) and Francisco, Antonio, (eds.), Desafios para Moçambique 2012. Maputo: IESE, pp 387-409
Agriculture in the World Bank: Blighted Harvest Persists
Oya, Carlos (2011). In: Bayliss, Kate, (eds.), Fine, Ben, (eds.) and Van Waeyenberge, Elisa, (eds.), The Political Economy of Development. The World Bank, Neoliberalism and Development Research. London: Pluto Press, pp 146-187
Discretion and Heterogeneity in Mozambican Rural Labour Markets
Oya, Carlos, Cramer, Christopher and Sender, John (2008). In: de Brito, Luis, (eds.), Castel-Branco, Carlos Nuno, (eds.), Chichava, Sergio, (eds.) and Francisco, Antonio, (eds.), Reflecting on Economic Questions. Maputo, Mozambique: IESE, pp 50-71
Pobreza y empleo en África Subsahariana: Mitos y realidades [Poverty and labour in Sub-Saharan Africa: Myths and realities]
Oya, Carlos and Sender, John (2007). In: Oya, Carlos, (eds.) and Santamaría, Antonio, (eds.), Economía Política del Desarrollo en África. Madrid: Akal, pp 85-108
Desarrollo agrícola, transformaciones agrarias y agro-pesimismo [Agricultural development, agrarian transformations and agro-pessimism]
Oya, Carlos and Santamaría, Antonio (2007). In: Oya, Carlos, (eds.) and Santamaría, Antonio, (eds.), Economía Política del Desarrollo en África. Madrid: Akal, pp 133-159
'The Origin of PARPA poverty projections: a practical model of growth, distribution and poverty simulations' (in Portuguese).
Oya, Carlos and Bolnick, B (2002). In: Rolim, C, (eds.), Franco, A, (eds.), Bolnick, B, (eds.) and Anderson, P, (eds.), A Economica Moçambicana Comtemporânea: Ensaios (The Contemporary Mozambican Economy: Essays). Mozambique: Gabinete de Estudos, Ministry of Planning and Finance
The politics of labour relations in global production networks: Collective action, industrial parks, and local conflict in the Ethiopian apparel sector. IDCEA Working Paper n. 076.
Oya, Carlos and Schaefer, Florian (2020). London: (SOAS University of London)
Employment patterns and conditions in Angola. A comparative analysis of the infrastructure construction sector and building materials industry. IDCEA Research Report
Oya, Carlos and Wanda, Fernandes (2019). London: (SOAS, University of London)
Employment patterns and conditions in construction and manufacturing in Ethiopia: a comparative analysis of the road building and light manufacturing sectors. IDCEA Research Report
Oya, Carlos and Schaefer, Florian (2019). London: (SOAS, University of London)
The political economy of development aid as main source of foreign finance for poor African countries: loss of policy space and possible alternatives from East Asia
Oya, Carlos(2006). In: International Forum on Comparative Political Economy of Globalization, 1-3 September 2006 :Beijing, China
Review of Morten Jerven Poor Numbers. How We Are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do about It Ithaca / Londres, Cornell University Press, coll. « Cornell Studies in Political Economy », 2013
Oya, Carlos (2014). Politique Africaine 133, pp 187-192
