Research Project
Project Title: Digital Identity and Diaspora Economic Integration: Evidence from Biometric ID Rollout in Fragile Regions
This project evaluates the effects of biometric digital ID rollout on access to public services, financial inclusion, citizen attitudes toward the state, and diaspora economic integration. The research is conducted in collaboration with Prof. Andreas Stegmann (University of Münster) and leverages a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a national biometric ID system in fragile states context to generate causal evidence on the impacts of digital identification.
Fragile and post-conflict regions represent a unique setting for this research. Following prolonged periods of marginalization and institutional breakdown, states in such contexts are rebuilding their administrative reach from a minimal base, and many citizens have never held any form of government-issued ID. In such environments, digital ID systems are not merely tools of administrative efficiency but profoundly political instruments that define who counts as a citizen, who is eligible for services, and who gains recognition by the state.
The experimental design uses a staggered rollout of biometric ID enrollment centres across localities, creating exogenous variation in access to digital identification. This enables causal identification of effects across four dimensions: service delivery, financial inclusion, state legitimacy, and diaspora economic relationships.
My independent research contribution focuses on diaspora economic integration outcomes, examining how digital ID systems affect remittance flows, cross-border financial services, and diaspora-homeland economic relationships. In the contexts under study, diaspora communities play a critical economic role, and remittances constitute a major share of household income, making diaspora-homeland financial integration a key policy issue. The project bridges development economics, political science, and migration studies, aligning directly with MDC’s interdisciplinary focus on migration, diaspora, and citizenship.
Research Interests
- Digital public goods and state capacity in sub-Saharan Africa
- Diaspora economics and transnational financial integration
- Experimental methods and randomised controlled trials (RCTs)
- Enterprise development and small firm behaviour
- Financial inclusion and mobile money
- Migration, cultural capital, and labour market integration
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Academic Background
2019 – Nov 2023: PhD in Sociology – Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
Dissertation: The Importance of Cultural Capital on Education and Economic Outcomes of African Migrants and Returnees
Advisors: Prof. Anette Fasang (Humboldt University) & Prof. Macartan Humphreys (Columbia University)
2022: Visiting Fellow, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Mentor: Prof. Marcel Fafchamps
2010 – 2012: MSc in Sociology – Top 10%, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Advisor: Prof. Muyiwa Omobowale
2004 – 2008: BSc in Sociology and Anthropology – Top 10%, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Professional Background
From 2026: Post-Doctoral Fellow (COFUND MDC) – Universität Münster, Germany
Research Topic: Digital Identity and Diaspora Economic Integration: Evidence from Biometric ID Rollout in Fragile Regions. Supervisor: Prof. Andreas Stegmann
June 2025 – Present: Associate Manager, Research and Policy – Innovations for Poverty Action
Dec 2024 – May 2025: Policy Lead – Policy Innovation Centre
Nov 2018 – Present: Project Lead – Empowerment for Local People (ELP) Foundation
Dec 2019 – Feb 2023: Research Associate (Doctoral Researcher) – Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
May 2022 – June 2022: Project Manager – Data Science for Social Good Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon University
Oct 2017 – Nov 2018: Research Project Manager – American University DC (Lagos)
2017: Research Consultant – Reboot & DFID-PERL / Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Abuja
Jan 2014 – May 2016: Research Associate – International Institute for Local Development / Bridge International Academies
Memberships
- American Sociological Association (since 2022)
- American Political Science Association (since 2019)
Publications
Peer-Reviewed (In Press)
In Press: Miske, O., Abatayo, A. L., Daley, M., … Oyebanjo, A., … Nosek, B. A., & Errington, T. M. (in press). Investigating the reproducibility of the social and behavioural sciences. Nature.
In Press: Tyner, A. H., Abatayo, A. L., Daley, M., … Oyebanjo, A., … Nosek, B. A., & Errington, T. M. (in press). Investigating the replicability of the social and behavioral sciences. Nature.
Under Review
Under Review: Can Transparency and Salient Communication Build Trust in Digital Platforms? Evidence from a Policy Test in Nigeria. Oyebanjo, A. et al.
Under Review: Americanah: Does Signalling “Foreignness” Reduce Benefits of Transnational Education? Evidence from Nigeria. Oyebanjo, A.
Under Review: Old But Not Late: The Age-of-Arrival Effect on Wage Gap. African Immigrants in the US. Oyebanjo, A.
Under Review: The Role of Pentecostalism on College-bound Anglophone Africans in OECD Countries. Oyebanjo, A.
Other Writings
2021 Vaccine Nationalism: Focus on Africa
2014 This is Not the Time to Save Mafa
2013 Ode to the Late Freedom Fighter Madiba
Selected Conference Presentations
October 2025 Presenter, PEDL Early-Career Researchers Workshop, Yale University, New Haven, USA
July 2025 Panelist, Evidence-based Decision-Making Roundtable, ICED, Accra, Ghana
April 2025 Presented, WGAPE Annual Meeting, Ohio State University, USA
August 2022 Presented, American Sociological Association, Los Angeles, USA
April 2022 Presented, WGAPE Annual Meeting, Cornell University, USA
July 2019 Presented, WGAPE Annual Meeting, University of Cape Town, South Africa