Institute of Development Studies

Biography

Dr Rachel Sabates-Wheeler is a Development Economist with extensive experience in rural development, institutional analysis and social protection, including 2.5 years leading research on Land Policy in Albania.

Rachel is now a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex since 2001, and a Director of the Centre for Social Protection since 2006. Prior to coming to IDS Rachel's geographic research focus was primarily in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Since joining IDS she has worked with poverty analysis work relating to PRSPs, social protection and migration in over 7 African countries.

At IDS, Rachel was the Director of the MPhil in Development Studies between 2003 and 2007. She has published on issues of rural institutions in post-soviet transitions, law and development, social protection in Africa, migration and poverty, and has worked for numerous international agencies, including DFID, EC, SIDA, UNICEF, WFP, FAO, ILO, the Land Tenure Center and the World Bank. Rachel is a Senior Researcher with the Migration, Globalization and Poverty Research Centre, Sussex, leading research on social protection and migration as well as poverty-migration linkages. She is currently involved in a number of studies that explore understandings of risk and vulnerability both conceptually and empirically and is writing a book on migration and social protection.

Selected Projects and Recent Work »»

• Productive Safety Net Programme, Ethiopia
• ALINe
• Future Agricultures Consortium
• Home Grown School Feeding programme
• Mainstreaming Social Protection in Uganda's Poverty Reduction Strategy
• Lessons Learnt on Scaling Up Child Sensitive Social Protection Within Eastern and Southern Africa Programmes
• Impact of the Economic Crisis on women and children in Zambia
• Malawi Social Protection Framework
• Local Economy Effects of Social Cash Transfers on Low-Income Countries
• Kenya Hunger Safety Net programme

Thematic Expertise

Agriculture; Climate Change; Gender; Migration; Social Protection.

Geographic Expertise

Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States; Sub Saharan Africa; Albania; Kenya; Mexico; Romania; Uganda.

Selected Publications »»

• Barrientos, A, and Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2010) 'Strategic Complementarities and Social Transfers: How do PROGRESA Payments Impact Non-Beneficiaries?', Applied Economics , Taylor and Francis
• Avato, J., Koettl, J. and Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2010) 'Social Security Regimes, Global Estimates and Good Practices: The Status of Social Protection for International Migrants', World Development 38.4 :455–466, Elsevier
• Sabates-Wheeler, R. and Devereux, S. (2010) 'Cash Transfers and High Food Prices: Explaining outcomes on Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme', Food Policy , Elsevier
• Sabates-Wheeler, R., Taylor, L., and Natali, C. (2009) 'Great Expectations and Reality Checks: The Role of Information in Mediating Migrants’ Experience of Return', The European Journal of Development Research 21:752-771, Palgrave Macmillan
• Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2009) 'The Impact of Irregular Status on Human Development Outcomes for Migrants', Human Development Reports Research Paper No. 26. , New York: UNDP
• Devereux, S., Hodges, A. and Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2009) 'Taking the Long View: What does a Child Focus add to Social Protection', IDS Bulletin 40.1, Brighton: IDS
• Sabates-Wheeler, R., Mitchell, T. and Ellis, F. (2008) 'Avoiding Repetition: Time for CBA to Engage with the Livelihoods Literature?', IDS Bulletin 39.4, Brighton: IDS
• Sabates-Wheeler, R., Sabates, R. and Castaldo, A. (2008) 'Tackling Poverty-Migration Linkages: Evidence from Ghana and Egypt', Social Indicators Research 87.2:307-328, Springer
• Sabates-Wheeler, R. and S. Devereux (2008) 'Transformative Social Protection: The Currency of Social Justice', London: Palgrave Macmillan
• Sabates-Wheeler, R and Macauslan, I (2007) 'Migration and Social Protection: Exposing Problem of Access', Development 50.4:26–32, Society for International Development
• Devereux, S, Baulch, B, Macauslan, I, Phiri, A and Sabates-Wheeler, R (2006) 'Vulnerability and Social Protection in Malawi', IDS Discussion Paper 387, Brighton: IDS
• Dorwood, A., Sabates-Wheeler, R., Macauslan, I., Penrose-Buckley, C., Kydd, J. and Chirwa, E. (2006) 'Promoting Agriculture for Social Protection or Social Protection for Agriculture: Strategic Policy and Research Issues' , Brighton:
• Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2006) 'Safety in Small Numbers: Local Strategies for Survival and Growth in Romania and the Kyrgyz Republic', IDS Working Paper 265, Brighton: IDS
• Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2005) Cooperation in the Romanian Countryside