Meseret Abebe
Meseret Birhane Abebe is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Environmental Policy Research Unit (EPRU) within the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town, and Project Coordinator for the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) Nigeria Country Study. He is an applied microeconomist whose work focuses on Sub‑Saharan Africa and South Asia, spanning agricultural, environmental, climate, and development economics.
His research evaluates the effects of climate shocks—including heat stress, drought, and ambient air pollution—on livestock productivity, structural transformation, and market integration. He specializes in advanced econometric methods such as difference‑in‑differences, staggered treatment estimators, local projections, and spatial regression discontinuity designs, combining large‑scale household survey microdata with high‑resolution geospatial and satellite climate datasets.
In addition to leading large‑scale field data collection and impact assessments, Abebe is an active member of the Economic Society of South Africa and participant in the Environment for Development (EfD) network.
Selected Publications:
Abebe, M., & Alem, Y. (2025). Drought, Livestock Holding, and Milk Production: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 52(2): 240-272. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbaf014
Working Papers:
Abebe, M., & Alem, Y. Covariate Shocks Increase Calorie Consumption: Unravelling the Paradox. (Under Review).
Alem, Y., & Abebe, M. The Impact of Heat Stress on the Livestock Sector: Evidence from Large-Scale Data.
Abebe, M. Motherhood Timing and the Production of Gender Inequality