Economist · Academic Researcher · Brisbane, Australia
Researching how conflict, climate shocks and economic change shape livelihoods, labour markets, migration and development outcomes. My work combines applied econometrics, causal inference, household surveys and geospatial analysis to generate policy-relevant evidence.
I am an economist and PhD candidate at Griffith University, Australia, specialising in development economics, labour economics, and applied microeconomics. My research examines how conflict, climate shocks, and economic disruptions shape labour markets, household livelihoods, migration, and food security, particularly in developing economies. I use causal inference, econometric modelling, household survey data, and geospatial analysis to investigate these relationships and inform evidence-based policy.
My research has been published in journals including Applied Economics, Journal of Policy Modeling, Economies, and Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences. Beyond my doctoral research, I have contributed to projects on labour-market transitions, migration, road-safety economics, and policy evaluation.
I have academic teaching and research experience across Griffith University, the University of Queensland, and Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria. My teaching covers microeconomics, econometrics, quantitative methods, and international trade. My broader research interests centre on understanding economic vulnerability and identifying policies that improve livelihoods, employment opportunities, and economic resilience.
My projects connect rigorous empirical work with questions facing policymakers, communities and institutions.
Research on how violence affects household livelihoods, employment, coping strategies and forced displacement, with evidence from Nigeria.
Working-paper research examining Olympic hosting as a labour-demand shock and its implications for worker mobility and regional adjustment.
Research on food insecurity, flooding, climate vulnerability and migration, drawing on household and spatial data.
Cost-benefit research on two-tier drug-driving enforcement and school-zone road-conflict interventions undertaken at The University of Queensland.
Working-paper research on social normalisation, organisational capital and the persistence of criminal activity in Nigeria.
Research and technical support for field studies, labour-market interventions and monitoring frameworks, including active school travel.
STEG I4T Research Grant — awarded (2021–2023)
Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Project: “Breaking Barriers to Inclusion: Assessing Job Security, School-to-Work Transition and Discouragement Effects of Youth in Nigeria.”
ReCIPE Compact Research Grant — submitted (2026; outcome pending)
Principal Investigator. Project: “When Violence Becomes Persistent: Criminal Networks, Livelihood Shocks, and the Geography of Kidnapping in Nigeria.”
Published peer-reviewed papers are listed separately from manuscripts under review and ongoing working papers.
Violent Conflicts and Food Insecurity Coping Strategies: Evidence from Nigeria (2026)
Babangida, J. S., Staneva, A., Kler, P., & Kifle, T. · Applied Economics
Read publication ↗Caught in the Crossfire: Livelihood, Employment and Forced Displacement in Nigeria (2026)
Babangida, J. S., Staneva, A., & Kler, P. · Journal of Policy Modeling
Read publication ↗Examining the Shifting Dynamics of the Beveridge Curve in the Turkish Labor Market during Crises (2024)
Babangida, J. S., Khan, A., & Aysan, A. F. · Economies
Read publication ↗Beyond Borders: Exploring the Migration–Climate Change Dynamics of Asian Migrants to the Russian Federation (2024)
Babangida, J. S., Mamman, S. O., & Derbeneva, V. V. · Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences
Read publication ↗Socioeconomic Drivers and Risk Factors of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Nigeria (2023)
Sanusi, H. I., & Babangida, J. S. · R-Economy
Read publication ↗Application of a Decoupling Approach to Evaluate Electricity Consumption, Agriculture, GDP, Crude Oil Production, and CO₂ Emission Nexus in Support of Economic Instruments in Nigeria (2022)
Mathy, S., Miroslav, H., Joseph, P., Babangida, J. S., & Chukwudi, N. · Sustainability
Read publication ↗When the Flood Hits, Does Household Food Security Follow or Only When Prices Move? Evidence from Nigeria
Babangida, Staneva, Kler & Kifle · Under review, Journal of Agricultural Economics
Female Employment and Income Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa
Mamman, Babangida, Iliyasu & Abubakar · Under review, African Development Review
Domestic and Imported Sources of Second-Round Effects under New Inflation Targeting Regime
Iliyasu, Mamman & Babangida · Under review, Economic Analysis and Policy
Olympic Hosting as a Labour-Demand Shock: Quasi-Experimental Evidence on Worker Mobility and Regional Adjustment
When Crime Becomes a Livelihood: Social Normalisation, Organisational Capital, and Criminal Persistence — Theory and Evidence from Nigeria
Submitted for consideration to the Households in Conflict Network (HiCN) Working Paper Series
Is a Two-Tier Drug-Driving Enforcement Cost-Effective? An Ex-Ante Queensland Evaluation
Co-authored working paper
Evaluating Australia’s Zero-Tolerance Drug-Driving Enforcement: Associations with Road-Safety Outcomes
Co-authored working paper
Teaching in microeconomic analysis, economics and quantitative methods for managers, and trade and global strategy. Research support involving household/climate data and policy evaluation, including Brisbane City Council's Active School Travel programme.
Economic and cost-benefit analyses of drug-driving enforcement and road-safety interventions; stakeholder consultation and policy translation.
Undergraduate teaching in microeconomics and econometrics and applied development research, including agricultural risk and fieldwork.
Research Aide, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland; Field Research Officer, Roy Morgan; freelance Economic Expert AI Tutor, Mindrift.
Thesis submitted September 2026; examination and conferral pending.
I welcome conversations about research collaboration, economic policy analysis, teaching and academic opportunities.
Academic email: j.babangida@griffith.edu.au
Alternative email: jsbabangida@gmail.com
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia