Dr Niccolò F. Meriggi
About
Dr Niccolò F. Meriggi is a development economist with a regional focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. He uses experimental methods to study the mechanisms of institutional development in fragile states. His fundamental interest is in deepening our understanding of how such positive institutional change happens, how it evolves and sustains, and its impact on development outcomes. His work sits at the intersection of development economics (primary), political economy and public economics. His research is embedded in policy reforms and development interventions.
Much of his research is the product of fruitful partnerships that he has established with policymakers, donors, development agencies and practitioners. Dr Meriggi's research has been published in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Development Economics, Nature and Science Advances.
Expertise
- Politics in West Africa and Sierra Leone
- Development economics
- Political economy
- Public finance in low income countries
- Access to health and primary healthcare in low income countries
- Sierra Leone
- West Africa politics
- Last mile vaccines in Africa
Selected publications
- Agricultural development in the poorest countries: insights from the poultry sector in Sierra Leone (2025)
- Last-mile delivery increases vaccine uptake in Sierra Leone (2024)
- COVID-19 and mental health in 8 low- and middle-income countries: A prospective cohort study (2023)
- An Experiment in Candidate Selection (2021)
Media experience
Dr Niccolò F. Meriggi has worked on the dissemination of his work through engaging journalists, media and communication professionals in his areas of expertise, writing pieces for outlets such as The New York Times, The Conversation, African Arguments and VoxDev and blogs for different organisations including the International Growth Centre (IGC), International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI) and the London School of Economics.
Recent media work
- How to get vaccines to remote areas? In Sierra Leone they’re delivered by foot, boat or motorbike (The Conversation, 2024)
- How should political parties choose candidates? (VoxDev, 2024)
- Ebola, 10 years later (Radio3 Science, 2024)
- Selecting political candidates in Sierra Leone (VoxDev, 2024)
- Going the Last Mile (with Evidence) (Yale: Economic Growth Center, 2024)
- This Country Fought Ebola. It May Beat Another Disease (The New York Times, 2020)
- Freetown just implemented a new tax system that could quintuple revenue (African Arguments, 2020)
- A mayor is reforming Sierra Leone’s rotten property tax (The Economist, 2020)
Languages
English, Italian, French, Spanish and basic Krio