Emilia Tjernström

I joined the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability (CDES) as a Senior Research Fellow in 2022. Previously, I’ve held academic positions at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (joint appointment between the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Agricultural and Applied Economics department) and the School of Economics at the University of Sydney.

My research draws on insights from behavioral economics and employs econometrics, field-, and lab-in-the-field experiments to examine a variety of topics within development economics. I also think a lot about heterogeneity: how it shapes the success and optimal design of public policy, and how heterogeneous returns affect individual decision-making.

In recent interdisciplinary work, I collaborate with atmospheric scientists to improve access to and analysis of air quality data in sub-Saharan Africa. Towards this goal, I co-founded AfriqAir, a cross-continental research network that has to date deployed over 50 low-cost sensors and reference-grade monitors in 11 African countries.