Research interests

Jamelia's research interests include education, training and skills - particularly issues related to skills mismatch; transitions from education to work; the future of work; job quality; and fair and decent work. Jamelia is trained as an economist, and uses mixed methods in her research (including surveys, secondary data analysis, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions). Jamelia's research focuses on developing countries.

Academic profile

Jamelia joined the Institute for Employment Research as a Research Fellow in January 2023. Before joining IER, she was a Research Economist at Fiscus Ltd and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies, Warwick. Jamelia has taught at various universities - including Cambridge University (UK), University College London (UK), University of Warwick (UK), Oxford University (UK), ISM University (Lithuania) and Fourah Bay College (Sierra Leone). She also worked as a researcher at the University of the West Indies (Trinidad and Tobago) and the University of Oxford.

Jamelia has gained significant policy experience in international development having worked as an economist on various projects with organisations such as the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NGRI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Fiscus Ltd. She has extensive experience working in countries like Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Trinidad and Tobago.

Jamelia holds a DPhil in International Development from the University of Oxford. Her doctoral research explored the economic effects of donor institutions on the labour market of developing countries - focusing on how workers and employers search in the labour market, how perceptions shape behaviour among jobseekers and the transition from education to employment. Jamelia also holds an MSc. in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BSc. in Economics and Actuarial Science from the University of Southampton.

Current Projects:

• Colonial legacies and the labour market in the English-speaking Caribbean; Funded by the British Academy; Project duration: August 2025 - March 2026
• New challenges for occupational safety and health in times of the digital transformation in Europe: the role of digital labour platforms, with Trine Larsen, Chris Warhurst, Beate Baldauf and Stef Poole, Funded by CHANSE; Project duration: November 2022 - October 2025

All projects

Selected publications

• Harris, J. (2024). Not for us? Vocational training in the social and policy space in Sierra Leone. Education + Training. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-09-2023-0356Link opens in a new window
• Erickson, E., Atfield, G., Balogh, R., Harris, J., and Warhurst, C. (2024). Building a business case for good jobs: The links between Good Work and innovation, productivity and employee health/wellbeing.Link opens in a new window (Evidence paper). ReWAGE and Warwick Institute for Employment Research.
• Erickson, E., Atfield, G., Balogh, R., Harris, J., and Warhurst, C. (2024). Building a business case for good jobs: Links between Good Work and innovation, productivity and employee health/wellbeingLink opens in a new window (Policy Brief). ReWAGE and Warwick Institute for Employment Research.
• Harris, J. (2024). Digital Platform Work in Developing Countries: Enabling Capabilities or Perpetuating Dependencies?. Development. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41301-024-00403-9Link opens in a new window 
• Harris, J. (2023). Estimating the Size of the Target Population in Data Limited Settings. Field Methods, https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X231195726Link opens in a new window
• Lawson, A. & Harris, J. (2023). Is the problem driven iterative adaptation approach (PDIA) a panacea for public financial management reform? Evidence from six African countries. World Development Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2023.100526Link opens in a new window 
• Cardenas Rubio, J., Harris, J., Warhurst, C., Day, R., and Bosworth, L. (2023). Green and Hydrogen Jobs in the MidlandsLink opens in a new window. Midlands Engine.
• Harris, J. (2023). Do development initiatives in Sierra Leone contribute to (dis)connections in the Education-Training-Work-Continuum? NORRAG Special Issue 08, pp.94-97, Geneva: NORRAG.
• Harris, J. (2023). Exploring donor-driven skills development as a channel of continued aid dependency, Third World Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2023.2178889Link opens in a new window 
• Harris, J. (2023). Occupational preferences of skilled workers in the presence of a large development sector. Journal of Development Studies 59)3, 342-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2022.2139605Link opens in a new window

• Harris, J. (2023). Opting out of public sector employment: Gender and occupational aspirations among university graduates in Sierra Leone. Journal of International Development, 35(5), 897–914. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3712

• Harris, J. (2022). Exploring the desire to be an entrepreneur among university-educated youths: Lessons from Sierra Leone. Development in Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2022.2030673Link opens in a new window
• Harris, J. (2022). Mixed Methods Research in Developing Country Contexts: Lessons From Field Research in Six Countries Across Africa and the Caribbean. Journal of Mixed Methods Research 16(2),165-182. https://doi.org/10.1177/15586898211032825Link opens in a new window.
• Harris, J. (2021). Foreign aid, human capital accumulation and the potential implications for growth. Rev Int Organ 16, 549–579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-020-09408-8Link opens in a new window
• Harris, J. (2020). If you can’t do teach: Exploring short-termism in the teaching profession. International Journal of Educational Research, 99, 101519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.101519Link opens in a new window

All publications

All conference presentations

Current Teaching

• Seminar Tutor, EC331: Research in Applied EconomicsLink opens in a new window

Previous Teaching

Postgraduate

• Social Science Research Methods Programme, University of Cambridge: Module Director for 'Introduction to Stata' (2022-23) and 'Introduction to Mixed Methods Research' (2022-23)
• Development Planning Unit, University College London: Module Director for 'Public Economics and Public Policy' (2020-21)

• Economics Department ISM University (Lithuania): Module Director for 'Comparative Economics' (2020-21) and 'Development Economics' (2017-21)

• Oxford Department for International Development, University of Oxford: TA for 'Quantitative Research Methods' (2018-20)

Undergraduate

• Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick: Module Director for ‘Introduction to Qualitative Methods’ (2019-20), ‘Intermediate Social Analytics: Survey Design and Data Collection’ (2019-21), and ‘Intermediate Social Analytics: Survey Analysis and Reporting’ (2019-21). Seminar Lead for ‘Political Research in the 21st Century’ (2020-21)
• Department of Economics, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone: Module Director for 'Macroeconomic Analysis' (2012-14).

Research Fellow

Institute for Employment Research
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL

Tel: +(44)024 76 528463
Fax: +(44)024 76 524241

Jamelia.Harris@warwick.ac.uk