CV
Research Manager & Development Economist with 7+ years of experience leading the complete research lifecycle, from research design and rigorous RCT protocol development to large-scale field survey operations and econometric analysis. Proven track record of directing complex data collection pipelines, managing field teams, and translating data into peer-reviewed publications and actionable policy insights.
Download PDF CV7+
Years research experience
6
Peer-reviewed publications
15,000+
Household panel survey field implementation
100+
Field staff managed
Stata / Python
Analysis and automation
SurveyCTO/ODK/Kobo
Field data systems
Work Experience
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
Manila, Philippines
Senior Research Associate
October 2025 - Present
- Lead implementation of the Philippines Socioeconomic Panel Survey (PSPS), a longitudinal study tracking 15,000+ households across 500 communities, covering budget planning, stratified sampling design, SurveyCTO programming, donor reporting, and data management.
- Direct and mentor junior research staff; design high-frequency data quality controls, back-checking protocols, and debrief processes across large-scale multi-wave operations.
- Serve as a Senior Research Associate on a cross-border remittances study in the Pakistan-GCC corridor using a discrete choice experiment to quantify preferences for cost, speed, convenience, and transparency.
- Supervise follow-up surveys for a Dean Karlan-led RCT on ultra-poor livelihoods interventions.
- Presented Code in the Machine: Can Large Language Models Reproduce Econometric Analyses? at the World Bank and CEGA Measuring Development Conference 2026.
- Pioneered a feasibility study on WhatsApp-based longitudinal data collection in the Philippines.
- Represent IPA at workshops with Philippine government counterparts.
Research Associate
December 2022 - September 2025
- Co-led PSPS from inception through first-wave completion, including questionnaire design, sampling strategy, SurveyCTO programming, and data quality assurance.
- Hired, trained, and co-managed 100+ field staff across 500 communities; built monitoring dashboards with consistency checks and attrition tracking.
- Contributed technical leadership to an IPA Philippines aspirations and wellbeing RCT, including power analysis, pre-analysis plan drafting, and Stata workflows.
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Lilongwe, Malawi
Research Analyst
November 2020 - November 2022
- Led agricultural commodity price monitoring across Malawi and produced monthly maize market reports for emergency food security responses.
- Presented findings before the Donor Committee in Agriculture and Food Security (DCAFS).
- Co-authored peer-reviewed research and policy briefs on farmer prices, commercialization, and household welfare.
- Developed the price monitoring methodology published in The Journal of Development Studies (2024).
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
Lilongwe, Malawi
Research Fellow
June 2019 - June 2020
- Won a competitive IFAD-CARE research fellowship to study ICT adoption and profitability among young agribusiness entrepreneurs in Malawi.
- Managed the full research lifecycle independently from concept development to publication in Sustainability (Jolex & Tufa, 2022).
Malawi National Statistical Office
Lilongwe, Malawi
Field Supervisor, 2018 Population and Housing Census
September 2018
- Supervised and quality-checked enumerators for Malawi's national decennial census.
Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC)
Lilongwe, Malawi
Research Assistant
November - December 2017
- Collected electronic data for the 2017 MVAC market situation analysis supporting national vulnerability mapping.
Education
- M.A. in Economics, University of Malawi, 2018 - 2022. Specialization: Quantitative Methods and Econometrics.
- B.Sc. in Social Science (Economics Major), University of Malawi, 2012 - 2016.
Technical Skills
Econometrics & Causal Inference
- Randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
- Instrumental variables
- Propensity score matching
- Fixed effects / panel data methods
- Power analysis
- Pre-analysis plans
- Heterogeneous treatment effects
- Quasi-experimental methods
Programming & Software
- Stata (advanced - primary analysis tool)
- Python (data processing, automation, scripting)
- R (working knowledge)
- SurveyCTO / ODK
- LaTeX
- Git / GitHub
Survey & Field Research Methods
- Multi-stage stratified sampling
- CAPI/CATI instrument design
- High-frequency monitoring systems
- Attrition management
- Back-checking and data quality protocols
- Digital data collection
AI & Emerging Methods
- LLM capability evaluation
- Automated econometric replication
- AI validation frameworks
- Human-AI collaboration protocols for quantitative research
Research Management
- Multi-study portfolio oversight
- Budget planning and financial reporting
- Donor reporting
- IRB / ethics compliance
- Procurement contracts
- Work-planning and risk management
Languages
- English - C2
- Chichewa - Native
- French - basic knowledge
Peer-Reviewed Publications
- Jolex, A. (2026). The Overeducation Trap: Household Wealth and Education-Occupation Mismatch Among College Graduates in the Philippines. Education Economics.
- Jolex, A., & Felizardo, M.A. (2026). Does home food production insure against food price shocks? Evidence from matched subsistence and market households in the Philippines. Cogent Economics & Finance, 14(1).
- Baulch, B., Kok, S.K., & Jolex, A. (2024). A New Approach to Monitoring Farmer Prices: Method and an Application to Malawi. The Journal of Development Studies, 60(6), 874-894.
- Jolex, A. (2022). Influence of Agricultural Extension Services on Technical Efficiency of Maize Farmers in Malawi. African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 17(1), 91-105.
- Jolex, A., & Kaluwa, B. (2022). Crowding Out Effects of Alcohol Consumption Expenditure on Household Resource Allocation in Malawi. PLoS ONE, 17(2), e0263330.
- Jolex, A., & Tufa, A. (2022). The Effect of ICT Use on the Profitability of Young Agripreneurs in Malawi. Sustainability, 14(5), 2536.
Working Papers & Policy Reports
- Jolex, A. (2026). Code in the Machine: Can Large Language Models Reproduce Econometric Analyses? Working Paper WP2026_07.
- Chiwaula, L., De Weerdt, J., Duchoslav, J., Goeb, J., Gondwe, A., & Jolex, A. (2024). Welfare Impacts of Seasonal Maize Price Fluctuations in Malawi. MaSSP Working Paper 45.
- Jolex, A., & Benson, T. (2021). Are the Drivers of Production and Sales of Maize, Groundnut, and Soyabean by Farming Households in Malawi Changing? MaSSP Working Paper 38.
- Baulch, B., & Jolex, A. (2021). Mixed Fortunes: Prices Paid to Soybean Farmers Have Improved in 2021...But Not Those to Maize Farmers. MaSSP Policy Note 41.
- Benson, T., & Jolex, A. (2022). Key Facts Sheet on Agricultural Commercialization. MaSSP Key Facts, January 2022.
- Benson, T., & Jolex, A. (2022). Key Facts Sheet on Employment. MaSSP Key Facts, May 2022.
- Banda, C., De Weerdt, J., Duchoslav, J., & Jolex, A. (2022). Self-targeted Fertilizer Subsidies. MaSSP Policy Note 48.
Conference Presentations
- Jolex, A. (April 2026). Code in the Machine: Can Large Language Models Reproduce Econometric Analyses? World Bank and CEGA Measuring Development Conference 2026, Washington, D.C.
References
- Rene Marlon Panti - Senior Research Manager, Innovations for Poverty Action
- Dr. Jan Duchoslav - Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI-Malawi)
- Dr. Gowokani Chirwa - Associate Professor of Economics, University of Malawi