Rocco Zizzamia
Fulford Junior Research Fellow
Rocco is a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for the Study of African Economies in the Department of Economics and at the Oxford Martin School.
He completed his DPhil at the Oxford Department of International Development. His research focuses on social protection and labour markets. In his current work, he is using experimental and quasi-experimental methods to study the potential to leverage innovations in the design and delivery of social protection systems to increase household resilience to poverty in the context of extreme climate events such as floods and droughts. In the past, he has researched labour markets, inequality, poverty alleviation, poverty dynamics, and social stratification, using a variety of methods, including longitudinal surveys, field experiments, qualitative studies, and behavioural lab experiments.
Publications
Journal Publications
This is a selection of Dr Zizzamia’s recent publications. View the complete list here.
The labor market and poverty impacts of covid-19 in South Africa South African Journal of Economics, (2023)
(joint with Ihsaan Bassier, Joshua Budlender, and Ronak Jain)
A poverty dynamics approach to social stratification: The South African Case World Development, Volume 110 (2018)
(joint with Simone Schotte and Murray Leibbrandt)
The livelihood impacts of COVID-19 in urban South Africa: A view from below. Social Indicators Research, Volume 165, 1–30 (2023)
(joint with Simone Schotte)
Snakes and Ladders and Loaded Dice: Poverty Dynamics and Inequality in South Africa South African Journal of Economics, Volume 90, Issue 2, 2022
(joint with Simone Schotte and Murray Leibbrandt)
Locked down and locked out: Repurposing social assistance as emergency relief to informal workers World Development, Volume 139, 2021
(joint with Ihsaan Bassier, Joshua Budlender, Murray Leibbrandt and Vimal Ranchhod)
Are We Really Painting the Devil on the Walls? Polarization and its Drivers in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Past Two DecadesJournal of African Economies, Volume 31, Issue 2, 2022
(joint with Vasco Molini, Michele Fabiani and Fabio Clementi)
Is employment a panacea for poverty: A mixed-methods investigation into employment decisions in South Africa World Development, Volume 130, 2020
Book Chapters
Tackling persistent poverty and inequality: A dynamic perspective In Confronting Inequality: The South African Crisis, 2019, edited by M.S. Smith. Jacana Media
(joint with Simone Schotte and Murray Leibbrandt)
Selected Working Papers
Earnings inequality over the life-course in South Africa. AFD Research Paper 160
(joint with Vimal Ranchhod)