Kauky , Monica
Monica Sebastian Kauky is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), University of Dar es Salaam. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Dar es Salaam (2022), an M.A. in Economics (2012), and a B.A. in Education (2009). She is an AIR P3 Equity Post-Doctoral Fellow and previously served as an AERC–World Bank Visiting Scholar in Washington, DC (2023). Dr. Kauky collaborates widely with partners including the University of Maryland, IFPRI, Duke University, and AERC Africa, and is a Co-Investigator on the Kagera Health and Development Survey (KHDS) “Transitions to Adulthood and Transmission of Inequality” project.
Her research spans development economics, labour markets, food security and nutrition, climate-smart agriculture, social protection, gender, and youth employment. Methodologically, she works with large micro-data (KHDS, NPS, ILFS, DHS) and mixed methods, including experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation (ANCOVA, IV/2SLS, FE/RE, and RCT-aligned designs). Dr. Kauky has led and contributed to policy-relevant studies and evaluations for organizations such as Save the Children (SWASH baseline in Zanzibar), CARE (gendered value-chain and HROP assessments), and the ECLT Foundation (child labour prevention in tobacco-growing areas). In Tanzania, her applied work on adolescent SRH (five-district scoping), Cash-Plus (Ujana Salama), and agricultural extension and nutrition has informed program design and implementation. She is also spearheading the establishment of a Centre for Sustainable Development Studies at DUCE and actively mentors graduate students in impact evaluation and quantitative analysis.
Research interests.
Dr. Kauky’s interests lie in evaluating how policies and market conditions shape household welfare and intergenerational outcomes in low-income contexts. She studies the links between agricultural transformation, market access, and dietary quality; the drivers of women’s and youth employment; and the effects of shocks and social protection on schooling, child nutrition, and labour allocation. Her current projects examine household energy choices and child health, agricultural extension and productivity, and the transmission of inequality through schooling and labour-market transitions in Tanzania.
Mentoring
Dr. Kauky has supervised 3+ Master’s dissertations, served on 10+ postgraduate dissertation committees, and supervised/examined 20+ undergraduate projects (Department of Geography & Economics, DUCE–UDSM). She also mentors graduate students through methods training and seminars, including recent econometrics and STATA sessions with regional network.
Grants and consultancy
- Consultancy service to undertake external final evaluation of rural enterprise support to eliminate child labour in Tanzania (prosper reset) and extension project, 2025.
- Consultancy services for scoping Study/Needs Assessment on Current Demand for Sexual and Reproductive Health among adolescent Girls and young women in Tanzania, CAMFED, Tanzania, 2024.
- Effects of Maternal education on Childhood Malnutrition in Tanzania. The World Bank, 2023.
- AERC Research Grants (2019-2021)
- Assessing the impact of Rewards on Children’s Academic Achievements in Tanzania, ESRF- Tanzania, 2022.
- Climate Smart agriculture and Food Security in Tanzania. UDSM, 2021.
Policy Engagement
Agricultural Marketing Policies and Household Dietary Diversity and Nutrition in Tanzania, African Economic Research Consortium (AERC).
Awards
- P3-Africa/UDSM Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 2024/2025
- AERC-World Bank Visiting Fellowship Award, 2023
- AERC PhD Thesis Awards, 2019
- PhD Scholarship Award- AERC, 2017
- SIDA Master’s Degree Awards 2010
