I work on development topics such as on technology adoption, education, and the long-term effects of early-life circumstances across Africa. Most of my research combines administrative data with field-experimental or quasi-experimental designs.
Forthcoming drafts are available on request — please email me at jemo44t@gmail.com.
Working Papers
2026
Can Games Measure Mobile Money Adoption? Evidence from Mozambique
Forecasting the adoption of technological innovations is difficult but potentially impactful, particularly in rural low-income communities worldwide. This paper tests a novel method to measure mobile money adoption by employing behavioral measures to elicit preferences for saving or remitting using mobile money. I link these game decisions to individual-level mobile money administrative transaction data; my findings show that while willingness to remit through mobile money strongly predicts adoption in the second and third years after mobile money was introduced, willingness to save in the mobile money game is a strong predictor of future mobile money cash-in and any mobile money transaction in the first, second, and third years.
Work in Progress
2026
Artisanal Mines and Women Empowerment
Using DHS data, historical gold prices, and a unique geospatial dataset of artisanal mining activities across Africa, we examine how artisanal mines affect women empowerment outcomes across the continent. We document large negative effects on women's labor force participation and educational attainment in districts near active mines, with partial offset through expanded access to local markets and microfinance.
Publications & Reports
2022
Child Labour in Uganda: An Annotated Bibliography
A comprehensive overview of child labour in Uganda, synthesizing research findings on child labour patterns, educational impacts, and intervention effectiveness. The bibliography covers work published between 2000 and 2021, with thematic indexing by region, sector, and methodology, and is intended as a reference for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on child-labour-related programming in East Africa.
If you find a typo, broken link, or a paper I’ve missed citing, please let me know.