The department is a lively community that is recognised internationally as one of the top centres for research and teaching in development studies.

Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
Muhammad Meki has co-authored a 'dynamic literature review' summarising existing research into microfinance as part of the VoxDevLit series, with Jing Cai of the University of Maryland and Simon Quinn of the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE).
Microfinance has become a widely used tool to provide credit to areas and populations that traditionally lack access to conventional banking services. Originating as a poverty alleviation mechanism, microfinance has grown in scope and design as a larger means of improving financial inclusion.
Despite the increase in access for new borrowers, much of the existing evidence has failed to find transformational effects on key outcomes such as profits and income. However, results are subject to significant variation across geographies, programme design and beneficiaries, and the heterogenous effects do lead to significant gains for certain populations. The incentives given to borrowers to encourage on-time repayment, the timing of repayments, and the flexibility of borrowers’ contracts all have an impact on both business outcomes and loan default rates.
More recently, there is a growing body of literature looking at alternatives to loans, such as asset-based microfinance, that also show promise. Yet, as new innovations to microfinance are adapted around the world, further research is needed to explore which adaptations prove effective, in which contexts, and for whom.