Students publish research-based blog pieces on ROAPE website
Recent graduate Nataliya Mykhalchenko and current student David Johnson have published work for the Review of African Political Economy (ROAPE) under the tutorship of Dr Jörg Wiegratz.
The students’ research and blog writing was informed by a research project titled ‘The Political Economy of anti-fraud measures in the Global South’ (Jörg Wiegratz, British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant).
Dave Johnson’s piece entitled, ‘Faking the Poor: Counterfeits and Class’ argues that instances of fraud have increased since the liberalisation of the economies examined in his research. However the wider social harm of consuming and using fraudulent goods falls unevenly on the poor yet these consequences seems low on the official anti-fraud agenda. Dave studies International Development in the School of Politics and International Studies. His research has been supported by the five weeks ESSL Summer Research Internship Scheme in 2016, funded by the alumni Footsteps and Q-steps project.
Recent graduate Nataliya Mykhalchenko’s piece entitled, ‘Cashless Banking: Fraud in Nigeria’ looks at Nigeria as an example of a country that is rapidly adopting new technologies in its banking sector. It highlights both the phenomenon of rising fraud in this sector as well as the adoption of new technologies to counter this in various anti-fraud initiatives. The article also explores the question on whether the ‘technological fix’ is a solution to the rising levels of fraud in sectors such as banking.
Nataliya graduated from the University of Leeds in 2016 with a BA in International Development. She now works in London for a company that helps education, research, healthcare, non-profits and civil society institutions. Nataliya started researching anti-fraud initiatives in 2015 as part of a five weeks ESSL Summer Research Internship Scheme, funded by the alumni Footsteps and Q-steps project. The research included looking at six countries on the African continent, identifying and analysing various drivers, characteristics and repercussions of the anti-fraud measures. In 2016 Nataliya (supported by ROAPE), continued the research by looking at three more countries, including Nigeria.
