Stephen Paduano is a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics. He studies Chinese investment and development policy in sub-Saharan Africa. His research is at the intersection of macroeconomics, development, and international political economy. Stephen’s PhD is funded by the Michael Leifer Scholarship, and his fieldwork is supported by the Sir Patrick Gillam Scholarship Fund. He has taught “China & The Global South” and “International Political Economy” at the London School of Economics, and he teaches “Critical Theories of International Relations” and “Global Development” at Sciences Po (Paris).
Stephen is a consultant for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, for which he is the lead author of their IMF & The Future of the Global Financial Architecture report. He is also the Executive Director of the LSE Global Economic Governance Commission, chaired by LSE Director Minouche Shafik. He was previously the Executive Director of the LSE Economic Diplomacy Commission.
Stephen served on the Economic Policy Committee of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, and he was a staffer on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. He has written for The Atlantic, The Council on Foreign Relations, The Economist, The Financial Times, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, The Washington Post, and others. Prior to his doctoral studies, he received an MSc with Distinction from LSE, where he was awarded the Fred Halliday Prize for the highest-scoring dissertation in the programme, and a BA with Honors from Stanford.
Research topic
Chinese investment and development policy in Sub-Saharan Africa; macroeconomics, development, international political economy
Teaching experience
- IR373: China and the Global South (LSE)
- IR206: International Political Economy (LSE)
- Critical Theories of International Relations: The Making of the Modern World (Sciences Po)
- Global Development: Theory, Policy, Practice (Sciences Po)
Academic supervisor
Chris Alden
Research Cluster affliation
International Political Economy Research Cluster
Security and Statecraft Research Cluster