Joanna Upton

Degree	Ph.D
Area of Interest	Economics of Development and Public Policy Analysis
Chair	Christopher B. Barrett
Email Address	jbu3@cornell.edu

Joanna Upton is a PhD student in the department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell, with areas of concentration in Economics of Development and Public Policy Analysis. Her research investigates market institutions and mechanisms in sub-Saharan Africa, the ability of markets to provide for peoples' needs and foster development, and the ways in which they fail to do so. She also seeks to improve our understanding of how development and humanitarian policy, such as local and regional procurement of grains for food assistance, both interacts with and influences food markets.

Joanna holds a B.A. in Linguistics and French from Boston University and a M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School. West Africa and Niger in particular are not only central to her research interests but very close to her heart. She speaks French and Hausa and lived in Niger for four years, where she worked for a small non-profit running health and education programs with the nomadic Touareg.

When she's not either somewhere in Africa or at the library, Joanna spends her time enjoying the company of her family (and charming cat), swimming in Ithaca's lakes and gorges, educating herself about local wines, and playing the piano.