Meshach Aziakpono

Biography

Meshach Aziakpono (PhD) is a Professor of Economics at Rhodes University, South Africa, joining in January 2023. Prior to this, he held the position of Professor of Development Finance and Economics and was the Head of Development Finance Programmes at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB). Previously, he served as an Associate Professor of Economics and the Coordinator of the Master's Programme in Financial Markets at the Department of Economics and Economic History at Rhodes University.

Throughout his career, Meshach Aziakpono has worked as a consultant for various organizations, including the OECD Centre, The World Bank, and the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). He has also been a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and INSEAD in Singapore. He has served as an external examiner to several universities in South Africa and beyond. He obtained his PhD in Economics from the University of the Free State in South Africa, where his dissertation on "The Depth of Financial Integration and its Effects on Financial Development and Economic Performance of the Southern African Customs Union Countries" was awarded the Founders' Medal for the best PhD dissertation in Economics in South Africa.

With extensive experience in teaching, research, consulting, and postgraduate research supervision, Professor Aziakpono has successfully supervised twelve doctoral and over 100 master's students. He has published over 50 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and book chapters and produced ten peer-reviewed working papers. Additionally, he has presented over 80 papers at local and international conferences and workshops. His research focuses on financial integration, financial sector development, monetary policy issues in Africa, and applied econometrics.