Human Economy Project (Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation)

Professors Keith Hart and John Sharp

The Human Economy Programme started in 2011 with the goal of bringing back human conerns in economic studies. Economies have always centred around humanity, in that people are indispensible to them; but how human interests are expressed in the dominant economies of our world is less obvious. This programme explores economy from the vantage point of people’s concrete activities and aspirations, while taking in the human predicament as a whole. Southern Africa and the global South is the principal focus of the research undertaken in this programme. The current world crisis provides a context for addressing the sources of inequality and devising development strategies based on what people want and are doing already.

Some 20 post-doctoral fellows from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe have been appointed; and in 2012 an inter-disciplinary group of eight African PhD students from five countries was appointed and their main research focus is on Southern Africa with the participants bringing research expertise from many geographical areas. The interdisciplinary approach of this programme includes participants with backgrounds in Sociology, History, Anthropology, Political Science, Development Studies, Religion and Economics. 

Curent PhD Students of the Programmes are:

Mr Ferron Pedro

Mr Josiah Taru

Mr Mandla Mokoena

Ms Maureen Kademaunga

Mr Mike Chipere

Mr Saint Jose Camille Inaka

Since July 2013 the programme has been housed in the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship. 

See website