Lazare Kovo is currently a Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the African School of Economics (ASE) and a researcher at the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy (IERPE). He earned a Masters in Mathematics Economics and Statistics with Honors in Economics at ASE and a Bachelors in Applied Econometrics at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Department of Economics. His research explores economics policies and the role of political institutions on electoral accountability, with a focus on developing countries, particularly in Africa.

His current research examines the threat that weak institutions constitute to local administration performance and how to overcome this threat. Thus, using individual-level survey data combined with audits report, he finds that in an environment where mayors have sufficient discretion to hire and appoint office heads, that skill-position-matching matters the most for better performance regardless of the appointment process. His work has been presented at the Public Management and Public Finance Workshop in Africa, an Oxford University Event held in Accra, Ghana. In addition, the paper has been accepted for presentation in two upcoming major conferences, namely “Working Group in Africa Political Economy (WGAPE) Conference, NYU at Abu-Dhabi” and “Land and Poverty Conference 2019: Catalyzing Innovation, Washington DC.”

Kovo hopes to go on to pursue a PhD where he will continue his research work in the field of political economy. He hopes to further contribute to the ongoing debate about the future of the economic development of developing regions, particularly Africa, in order to increase the quality of life in these communities.