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.”
Tobias is a doctoral candidate at the Oxford Department of International Development. His research examines the political economy of universal health care and universal pensions. In analysing cross-national variation in welfare provision across the globe, his research explores the political and economic determinants and consequences of universal policies – with a focus on differences between the Global South and the Global North. Specifically, he is interested in the role of universalism in reducing inequality and strengthening social cohesion, as well as the role of different enabling political conditions for building truly universal welfare systems.
Outside of his academic research, Tobias works as an independent consultant in economic modelling, policy analysis, and data science. Focused on projects in health, inclusive finance, and migration, he has consulted for a variety of institutions, including UNDP, UNCDF, the Human Development Report, Chatham House, and the UK Department of International Development.
Tobias holds an MPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford and a BSc in Economics from the University of Münster. His DPhil research is funded by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Political economy, inequality, social policy, public health, pensions