Biography
Sunmibola Olaniyi is a PhD candidate in Agricultural Economics at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Her research focuses on development economics, with particular interest in child labour, rural livelihoods, gender dynamics, and human capital development in agricultural communities. She is especially interested in understanding how social norms and household decision-making shape children’s labour participation and schooling outcomes in rural areas.
Her work applies econometric and impact evaluation methods, including randomized controlled trials and large-scale household survey data, to generate evidence to inform policies aimed at improving the welfare of rural households and reducing child labour.
Sunmibola Olaniyi is a 2025 Research Fellow at the Centre for Effective Global Action (CEGA), University of California, Berkeley. She holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Her research focuses on development economics, particularly child labour, gender dynamics, and rural livelihoods. She has previously worked on development research projects focused on digital inclusion and agricultural markets among rural farming households in Nigeria.
Research Topic: Gendered Dynamics of Child Labour and Schooling in Rural Nigeria: Implications for Human Capital Formation and Structural Transformation.
Research Interests: Rural livelihoods; Child welfare; Gender dynamics.