JOHANNA BEDUHN
Development Economist
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ABOUT ME
I'm a subject matter expert in development microeconomics and labor economics, including gender, agriculture, land rights, and the US food processing and retail sectors. I design and implement studies to evaluate development programs and guide policy recommendations. I combine social and microeconomic theory with direct practice field experience to build research designs on deep insight into how people think and make decisions. A highly adaptable professional known for enhancing the performance of a team through creative strategy, organization, and superior communication, I thrive in a fast-paced work environment with opportunities for leadership and cross-disciplinary interactions.
WORK EXPERIENCE
RESEARCH ASSISTANT, LANDESA, CENTER FOR WOMEN'S LAND RIGHTS
June 2019 - May 2022
Impact evaluation of first and second level land certification interventions in three regions of Ethiopia. Quantitative research on gender and customary land allocation in Sub-Saharan Africa, using data from impact evaluations of USAID land interventions. Quantitative and qualitative meta-analysis of USAID data, Millennium Challenge Corporation data, Prindex tenure security data, and national censuses to inform a land rights secondary research proposal. Developing research questions, and developing applications for spatial data analysis in land rights research. My portfolio includes:
RESEARCH ANALYST, THE FUND FOR PEACE
December 2018 - July 2019
Qualitative research on the role of divestment, socially responsible investing, and shareholder action in promoting responsible business practices. Developed study design and interview questionnaires. Conducting case study analysis and key informant interviews with stakeholder groups including industry and activists leaders and subject matter experts in international transactions and development projects.
LEARNING, EVALUATION, AND ACCOUNTABILITY DEPARTMENT (LEAD) SPRING FELLOW, OXFAM AMERICA
January 2019 - March 2019
Quantitative data analysis on gender and public budgets, with a focus on identifying solutions to gender discrimination inherent in tax policy and government spending. Supported Oxfam America and Oxfam in Kenya programming with research on the absence of affordable school transport in Kenya and its gender-disparate effects on education outcomes. Developed findings, conclusions, and recommendations from Oxfam performance evaluation survey data.
RESEARCH ANALYST, ME&A
October 2017 - October 2018
Evaluation technical support for USAID Feed the Future performance evaluations including conducting key informant interviews, quantitative and qualitative analysis, report writing and technical review. My portfolio includes:
• Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation
• Maximizing Agriculture Revenue and Key Enterprises in Targeted Sites (MARKETS II)
• Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry
• Innovation for Agricultural Training and Education (InnovATE)
• Burma Value Chains for Rural Development (VC-RD)
• Bureau for Food Security Service Center (FSSC)
FIELD ORGANIZER, UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION
January 2009 - August 2014
Interpreted economic research to apply to campaign objectives and strategy regarding corporate income tax, jobs bills, minimum wage, workplace safety, collective bargaining in the public and private sectors, and immigration. Supported workplace organizing campaigns for common issues including workplace safety, employer social media policies, and wage-and-hour complaints.
PROGRAM ASSISTANT, GLOBAL PACT
2007 - 2008
Designed surveys and analyzed qualitative survey data of education programs in Thailand, South Africa, Croatia, and New Jersey. Developed conclusions and recommendations for programs. Designed a mentorship program for at-risk youth in Mae Sai, Thailand and Tachilek, Myanmar in collaboration with the Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities Centre in the Greater Mekong Subregion (DEPDC/GMS).
RESEARCH ASSISTANT, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
2006 - 2008
Assisted with literature reviews on US health policy and immigration law in the 19th and 20th centuries, including race-based exclusion and family reunification in US immigration law, the intersection of immigration and welfare policy, US health policy, and racial/ethnic health disparities.
EDUCATION
PHD ECONOMICS, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
Coursework completed 2021
Development economics, applied microeconomics, labor economics, gender, agriculture.
MA DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
December 2016
Transportation Infrastructure and Agricultural Exports (unpublished thesis)
MSW, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
May 2008
BA SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
April 2006
CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS
WORLD BANK LAND AND POVERTY CONFERENCE 2020: INSTITUTIONS FOR EQUITY AND RESILIENCE
Gender Bias in Customary Land Allocation: Micro-Level Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
My paper was accepted for presentation in the session Ensuring Gender Sensitive Land Administration. The 21st annual conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and accepted papers made available online.
GRUNIN CENTER CONFERENCE ON LEGAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND IMPACT INVESTING – IN THE US AND BEYOND, JUNE 2019
Impact Terms: Strategies to Measure and Increase Impact
This panel discussed mechanisms to increase and measure impact in impact investments and limited partnerships targeting impact investments, including the use of impact terms and reporting on and measuring impact. Drawing on game theory and the principal-agent problem, I propose embedding monitoring and enforcement mechanisms within the terms of legal agreements and sharing performance with the broader impact community.
RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICES AND THE ROLE OF DIVESTMENT, MAY 2019
Roundtable Event
I facilitated a closed-door group discussion among impact investment, SRI, and development experts. Subtopics included analysis of historic divestment campaigns and the evolution of individual and group private investments as tools to influence social and environmental outcomes in developed and developing contexts.
PUBLICATIONS
Beduhn, J. and Linkow, B. (2021). Gender Disparities in Customary Land Allocation: Lessons from USAID Impact Evaluation Data. United States Agency for International Development, Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment.
Beduhn, J. and Linkow, B. (2020). Gender Bias in Customary Land Allocation: Micro-Level Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. Accepted for presentation at the World Bank Land and Poverty Conference 2020: Institutions for Equity and Resilience, March 16-20, 2020, Washington, DC.
Schou Larsen, C. E., Collins, C., Nyangara, F., Scham, S., and Beduhn, J. (2018). Performance Evaluation of the Innovation for Agricultural Training and Education (InnovATE) Project. United States Agency for International Development, Bureau for Food Security.
Contributing researcher: Bernal, L., Ashwell, C., and Miller, P. (2018). Performance Evaluation Report for Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry (GIP-IL). United States Agency for International Development, Bureau for Food Security.
Contributing researcher: Gunawardena, C., Jansen, C., Chandran, R., Aung, M., and Myint, W. W. (2018). Feed the Future Performance Evaluation of the Value Chains for Rural Development (VC-RD) Activity in Burma. United States Agency for International Development, Bureau for Food Security.
Contributing researcher: Lee, C. (2013). Fictive Kin: Family Reunification and the Meaning of Race and Nation in American Immigration. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Contributing researcher: Lee, C. (2010). “‘Where the Danger Lies’: Race, Gender, and Chinese and Japanese Exclusion in the U.S., 1870-1924.” Sociological Forum, 25(2), 248-271.
Contributing researcher: Lee, C. (2009). “‘Race’ and ‘Ethnicity’ in Biomedical Research: How Do Scientists Construct and Explain Differences in Health?” Social Science and Medicine, 68(6), 1183-1190.
