Dr Eleni Yitbarek is a senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria and a junior fellow at the Pan-African Scientific Research Council. She obtained her PhD in Development Economics from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

Dr Yitbarek has a strong background in quantitative analysis, with extensive experience in designing and analysing household survey data for poverty and inequality analyses.
Her interest is primarily in economic development, especially the role that social and economic policies play in it. Dr Yitbarek is particularly interested in answering these central questions, among others: why do some people remain poor while others become prosperous; and what drives social mobility in developing countries?

She collaborates widely with international development organisations such as the World Bank, the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), European Investment Bank, Global Development Network, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the African Climate Policy Centre.

In her relatively young academic career, Dr Yitbarek is contributing to applied research in poverty dynamics, the socioeconomic effects of idiosyncratic and transient shocks, and gender-based social mobility in the African context.

She has published papers in international peer-reviewed journals such as Economics Letters, Contemporary Economic Policy, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Journal of Development Effectiveness and African Development Review.

Dr Yitbarek hopes her research will make a significant and concrete contribution towards informed policymaking that aims to improve the lives of the poor.