He holds a MA in Economics from the Simon Fraser University and completed his PhD in Economics at the University of Oxford in 2006. Neil is an applied micro-economist working in the areas of labour markets, firms, pricing, trade and impact evaluation. One stream of his current research work examines the links between company performance and labour market outcomes in an African context, and particularly the impact of trade at a microeconomic level. As part of his research he has managed and administered firm and labour market surveys in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda and Tanzania.