Philip Mader is a research fellow in the Business, Markets and the State research cluster, and has over 15 years’ research and consulting experience in the field of international development. His research areas include political economy, financialisation, digital finance, taxation, financial inclusion, youth employment, intersecting inequalities and, more broadly, the politics of market-oriented interventions in development.
Phil currently co-leads a programme on Digital Public Infrastructure and taxation with the International Centre for Tax and Development. He has led impact evaluations of financial inclusion and Solidarity Groups for European and international funders. His prior research, which focused on microfinance and its connections with poverty and financial markets, was awarded the German Thesis Award and the Otto Hahn Medal. He has research and consulting experience across India and sub-Saharan Africa, and has been invited to speak at academic and practitioner events on all continents.
Phil obtained his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies. He holds an MPhil in Development Studies from Cambridge and a BA in Economics with Development Studies from Sussex.
Teaching
Phil has served as convenor of the MA in Globalisation, Business and Development and teaches a variety of economics, political economy and social development topics at IDS. He previously taught sociology, political economy and theory of knowledge at the Universities of Cologne and Basel.
Office hours for students: 11:30-12:30 on Wednesdays during term time; please e-mail in advance for an appointment.
PhD supervision
Phil has supervised the PhD of Dr. Stella Odiase. He is currently supervising the PhD project of Jose Morales. He will consider applications from applicants who reach out with a CV and (approx.) 2-page proposal that clearly states how the proposed research fits his interests and how the PhD will be funded. Regrettably, he is unable to discuss admission requirements, funding sources, or research ideas that are not yet developed into a proposal.
