Thomas Lavers

Thomas Lavers is an Associate Professor at the Global Development Institute (GDI) at the University of Manchester. His research focuses on comparative political economy, state-society relations, and the politics of social policy, land, and energy transitions. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in Ethiopia, Ghana, Peru, Rwanda, and Uganda. Lavers holds a PhD (2013), MRes (2008), and MSc (2004) in International Development from the University of Bath, along with a BSc from the University of Bristol.

His current research explores the politics of social protection implementation, the political economy of land in Ethiopia, and energy transitions. He has led projects for the Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) research centre and contributed to UN agencies like the ILO and UNRISD. Lavers teaches courses on politics and governance of development and supervises PhD students focusing on land politics, agrarian transformation, and social policy.

His recent publications analyze Ethiopia’s dam-building initiatives, the political economy of state-led development, and the socio-economic impacts of infrastructure projects. Lavers actively engages with policy debates through media contributions and consultancy, emphasizing inclusive growth and poverty reduction strategies.