Dr Christian Darko

Dr Christian Darko

Department of Management
Associate Professor in Labour and Development Economics

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 7202
Email
c.k.darko@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
Address
Department of Management
Birmingham Business School
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT

Dr Christian Darko is an Associate Professor in Labour and Development Economics. Christian’s research mainly takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the process of human capital development and labour market outcomes particularly in developing countries. His primary research focuses on the education and employment of marginalised people with emphasis on inequalities including those relating to gender and poverty. Parts of his current research includes investigating and understanding; challenges to education among young children including the role of family background; health and wellbeing of young people; transition from school to work. Christian is also interested in firm level analysis and has pursued this interest in relation to the factors associated with firm performance and labour productivity.

Christian is stream lead for Gender barriers within and into work, under the Gender Equality theme of the Institute for Global Innovation; and is also co-lead for Labour Market Inequalities and Disadvantages stream of the Work Inclusivity Research Centre.

Qualifications

  • PhD, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø
  • MSc. Business Economics and Finance, University of Surrey
  • B.A. Economics, KNUST, Ghana
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Teaching

  • Business Strategies in Emerging Economies (UG Final Year)
  • Economics & Economic Policy for Business (Distance Learning MBA/MSc)
  • MA/PhD Research Methods
  • Introduction to Economics (UG First Year, Major-Minor)
  • International Economics (UG Second Year, Major-Minor)

Research

Research interests

Dr Darko’s specific areas of interest include:

  • Economics of education
  • Labour market outcomes
  • Education and skills mismatch
  • Transition from school-to-work
  • intergenerational transmission of inequality
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Firm performance and labour productivity

Current projects

2022 - : Co-Investigator on ESRC funded project “Exploring minority ethnic doctors' career transitions in medicine: a life course  approach”  (~£699,000), with Prof Jo Duberley, Dr Etlyn Kenny and Dr Dulini Fernando.

Previous projects

2018-2021: Principal Investigator - British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant “Transition from school to work: unravelling the mechanisms for employment in Ghana”, with Prof Fiona Carmichael.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Carmichael, F, Daley, P, Darko, C, Duberley, J, Ercolani, M, Schwanen, T & Wheatley, D 2024, '', Feminist Economics.

Vendrell-Herrero, F, Gomes, E, Darko, C & Lehman, D 2024, '', Small Business Economics.

Kanji, S, Carmichael, F, Darko, C, Egyei, R & Vasilakos, N 2023, '', Journal of Development Studies.

Carmichael, F, Darko, C, Daley, P, Duberley, J, Ercolani, M, Schwanen, T & Wheatley, D 2023, '', Journal of International Development.

Vendrell-Herrero, F, Darko, C, Gomes, E & Lehman, D 2022, '', Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 53, no. 7, pp. 1519-1535.

Carmichael, F, Darko, C, Kanji, S & Vasilakos, N 2022, '', British Educational Research Journal, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 640-664.

Carmichael, F, Darko, C, Kanji, S & Vasilakos, N 2022, '', Feminist Economics, vol. 2022, pp. 1-38.

Darko, C, Vanino, E & Occhiali, G 2021, '', Journal of Development Studies, vol. 57, no. 12, pp. 2112-2135.

Carmichael, F, Darko, C & Kanji, S 2021, '', Education Economics, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 359-378.

Carmichael, F, Darko, C & Vasilakos, N 2021, '', Development Policy Review.

Darko, C & Abrokwa, K 2020, '', Review of Development Economics, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 1365-1392.

Darko, C & Carmichael, F 2020, '', Journal of International Development, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 487-504.

Carmichael, F, Darko, C, Ercolani, M, Ozgen, C & Siebert, S 2020, '', Economics Letters, vol. 189, 108996.

Vendrell-Herrero, F, Darko, C & Vaillant, Y 2020, '', Socio-Economic Planning Sciences.

Darko, C & Vasilakos, N 2020, '', British Educational Research Journal, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 1445-1467.