Professor Woodruff awarded €1.983m ERC Advanced Grant

Christopher Woodruff, Professor of Economics, has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants worth €1.983m.

Over the next 2 years Professor Woodruff will collect data from at least 6 to 8 countries in Asia and Africa, allowing cross-country analysis of productivity in lower-income countries at an unprecedented level of detail.

The research will look at how differences in productivity explain much of the difference in income levels across countries, yet little is known about how to improve productivity of manufacturing in the developing world. Recent research reveals very high dispersion in productivity in low-income countries.

Professor Woodruff will examine firm productivity at a uniquely detailed level, collecting sub-factory production and survey data from hundreds of garment manufacturers in several countries.

ERC Advanced Grants are only awarded to exceptional, established research leaders who are pursuing ground-breaking, high-risk projects that open new directions in their research fields or other domains.

About the award, Head of Department and Co-director of the Warwick Policy Lab, Professor Abhinay Muthoo, said:

This is superb news for Chris and for the Department and I would like to offer a hearty congratulations to him on this terrific achievement.