Evans Tindana Awuni, PhD

Short Biography

Evans is a political economist whose research focuses on technological change, social policy, and socioeconomic development, particularly in the context of Africa. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Erfurt and is currently a research associate at the Gerhard Haniel Chair of International Development and Public Policy at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy. Evans’s recent work investigates how digitalisation and the green transition are reshaping labour markets, social protection systems, and inequality in low and middle income countries.

Evans has extensive teaching experience at both undergraduate and graduate levels, lecturing in courses such as Microeconomics, Labour Economics, Research Methods, Political Economy of Development and Policy Analysis. In the Summer Semester of 2024, he was awarded first prize by the University of Erfurt’s Faculty of Economics, Law and Social Sciences in recognition of his innovative teaching methods, student engagement, and practical relevance in the courses "Policies for Fighting Poverty and Inequality" and "How to Make Aid Policies Smarter”.

Prior to joining the Willy Brandt School, Evans held research positions at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA). At GIGA, where he remains affiliated, he has participated in diverse projects, including experimental field research in Liberia and Ghana on Religion, Conflict, and Sustainable Peace, as well as analyses of Africa's emerging role in global value chains.

While Evans held a doctoral scholarship from the Claussen-Simon Stiftung in Hamburg from October 2020 to September 2023, he earned his master's degree in Public Economics, Law & Politics from Leuphana University of Lüneburg as a DAAD Helmut Schmidt Scholar (2017-2019), receiving the DAAD prize for best international student. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Integrated Development Studies, specialising in Economics and Entrepreneurship Development, from the University for Development Studies in Ghana.