Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies; Professor of Epidemiology
howstein@umich.eduOffice Information:
5514 Haven Hall
phone: 734.763.5519
Afroamerican and African Studies; Faculty
About
Howard Stein is a Professor in the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS) and the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan. He is a development economist educated in Canada, the US and the UK who has taught in both Asia and Africa. He is the editor or author of more than a dozen books and edited collections and more than 150 journal articles, book chapters and reviews. He has held various academic appointments at places like the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; Hitotsubashi University, Japan; Sussex University, UK; Trinity College, Ireland; University of Lisbon, Portugal; Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Canada; and the University of Leiden, Netherlands. His research and publications have largely focused on African countries and have covered a variety of topics including foreign aid, World Bank and IMF lending, finance and banking, neoliberalism, problems with Randomized Controlled Trials, health and gender, climate change, Covid-19, industrial policy, export processing zones, agricultural policy, African overpayment on sovereign bond issues, poverty and rural property right transformation, income and wealth inequality, Chinese economic relations and the institutionalization of neoclassical economics. He teaches a variety of courses in DAAS and Epidemiology including the history of African economic development, Africa and post-war development theory and policy, globalization and African health, pro-seminar for the Graduate Certificate in African Studies. the political economy of African development, first year seminar on Africa and health and socio-economic development
Recent and Forthcoming Books and Collections
- Editor Special Issue Critical Insights on Tenure Security in the Global South Land, 2026 (co-edited with Laura German) forthcoming
- Institutions and Industrial Policy in Africa: Toward Structural Transformation and Inclusion (co-written with Horman Chitonge and Adam Elhiraika. Oxford University Press, 2027)
- Beyond the World Bank Agenda: An Institutional Approach to Development (University of Chicago Press, 2008, paperback edition, 2014),
- Good Growth and Governance in Africa: Rethinking Development Strategies (Oxford University Press, January, 2012) co-edited with Joseph Stiglitz, Akbar Noman, and Kwesi Botchway
- Gendered Insecurities, Health, and "Development in Africa (Routledge, 2012, paperback edition 2016) co-edited with Amal Fadlalla.
- Principal coauthor of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Economic Report for Africa 2014, Dynamic Industrialization in Africa: Innovative Institutions, Effective Processes and Flexible Mechanism.
Recent and Forthcoming Journal Articles, Working Papers and Book Chapters
- Stein, H. “Structural Adjustment Plans/Policies” in Ndongo Sylla and Bruno Tinel eds. Handbook of African Political Economy Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2026 forthcoming
- Chitonge, H. and Stein, H “Sovereign Debt in Zambia: Structure, Evolution and Implications” IDEAs Working Paper Series, 01, February 2026
https://www.networkideas.org/2026/02/11/sovereign-debt-in-zambia-composition-evolution-and-implications/ - Olabisi, M. and Stein, H “Climate Change and International Finance: Toward the Creation of an African Green Bank” IDEAs Working Paper Series, 06, February, 2026
https://www.networkideas.org/2026/02/11/climate-change-and-international-finance-toward-the-creation-of-an-african-green-bank/ - Owens , Katherine, Kelly M. Askew, Faustin Maganga, Shyamala Ngaraj, Howard Stein, Rie Odgaard, “Titling as Land Reform in Tanzania: Contours, Conflicts and Convergence Land,” Published online in journal Land November 13, 2025
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/11/2247 - Stein, H. “Heterodox Economics, Neoclassical Economic Failures and Socio-economic Challenges in Africa: A Paradigmatic View" in Ndongo Sylla and Kai Koddenbrock eds Delinking and Global Reparations Alternative Perspectives on the Socio-ecological Crisis in Africa. Bielefeld, Germany: Transcript Publishing, April 2025
https://www.transcript-verlag.de/media/pdf/03/53/b0/oa9783839476659.pdf - Shyamala Nagaraj, H. Stein, K. Askew, R. Odgaard and F. Maganga “Assessing Poverty Interventions: Conceptual, Methodological and Empirical Perspectives Relating to Property Rights Formalization in Rural Tanzania.” Modern Economy, Vol. 16 No. 2, February. 2025 251-270
https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=140634 - Olabisi, M. and Stein, H “Do African Countries Still Pay More to Borrow? Evidence from 2006-22” Journal of African Trade , Vol. 11, No.1, 2024
https://jat.afreximbank.com/journal/vol11/iss1/3/ - Stein, H, Odgaard, R. and Askew, K and Maganga, F. “The World Bank and Rural Land Titling in Africa: The Case of Tanzania” Development and Change Volume 55, No.6, November, 2024
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dech.12866 - Stein, H “Policy and Performance in African Agriculture since Independence: Critical Reflections” in Eds. Pádraig Carmody and James Murphy Handbook of African Economic Development Edward Elgar Books, May, 2024
- Stein, H, Sam Cunningham and P. Carmody, “The Rise of ‘Behavioral Man’: Randomized Controlled Trials and the ‘New’ Development Agenda” Human Geography, Volume 14, No. 1, Feb., 2021
- “Institutionalizing Neoclassical Economics in Africa: Instruments, Ideology and Implications” Economy and Society Volume 50, No.1, 2021
About
Howard Stein is a Professor in the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS) and the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan. He is a development economist educated in Canada, the US and the UK who has taught in both Asia and Africa. He is the editor or author of more than a dozen books and edited collections and more than 150 journal articles, book chapters and reviews. He has held various academic appointments at places like the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; Hitotsubashi University, Japan; Sussex University, UK; Trinity College, Ireland; University of Lisbon, Portugal; Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Canada; and the University of Leiden, Netherlands. His research and publications have largely focused on African countries and have covered a variety of topics including foreign aid, World Bank and IMF lending, finance and banking, neoliberalism, problems with Randomized Controlled Trials, health and gender, climate change, Covid-19, industrial policy, export processing zones, agricultural policy, African overpayment on sovereign bond issues, poverty and rural property right transformation, income and wealth inequality, Chinese economic relations and the institutionalization of neoclassical economics. He teaches a variety of courses in DAAS and Epidemiology including the history of African economic development, Africa and post-war development theory and policy, globalization and African health, pro-seminar for the Graduate Certificate in African Studies. the political economy of African development, first year seminar on Africa and health and socio-economic development
Recent and Forthcoming Books and Collections
- Editor Special Issue Critical Insights on Tenure Security in the Global South Land, 2026 (co-edited with Laura German) forthcoming
- Institutions and Industrial Policy in Africa: Toward Structural Transformation and Inclusion (co-written with Horman Chitonge and Adam Elhiraika. Oxford University Press, 2027)
- Beyond the World Bank Agenda: An Institutional Approach to Development (University of Chicago Press, 2008, paperback edition, 2014),
- Good Growth and Governance in Africa: Rethinking Development Strategies (Oxford University Press, January, 2012) co-edited with Joseph Stiglitz, Akbar Noman, and Kwesi Botchway
- Gendered Insecurities, Health, and "Development in Africa (Routledge, 2012, paperback edition 2016) co-edited with Amal Fadlalla.
- Principal coauthor of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Economic Report for Africa 2014, Dynamic Industrialization in Africa: Innovative Institutions, Effective Processes and Flexible Mechanism.
Recent and Forthcoming Journal Articles, Working Papers and Book Chapters
- Stein, H. “Structural Adjustment Plans/Policies” in Ndongo Sylla and Bruno Tinel eds. Handbook of African Political Economy Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2026 forthcoming
- Chitonge, H. and Stein, H “Sovereign Debt in Zambia: Structure, Evolution and Implications” IDEAs Working Paper Series, 01, February 2026
https://www.networkideas.org/2026/02/11/sovereign-debt-in-zambia-composition-evolution-and-implications/ - Olabisi, M. and Stein, H “Climate Change and International Finance: Toward the Creation of an African Green Bank” IDEAs Working Paper Series, 06, February, 2026
https://www.networkideas.org/2026/02/11/climate-change-and-international-finance-toward-the-creation-of-an-african-green-bank/ - Owens , Katherine, Kelly M. Askew, Faustin Maganga, Shyamala Ngaraj, Howard Stein, Rie Odgaard, “Titling as Land Reform in Tanzania: Contours, Conflicts and Convergence Land,” Published online in journal Land November 13, 2025
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/11/2247 - Stein, H. “Heterodox Economics, Neoclassical Economic Failures and Socio-economic Challenges in Africa: A Paradigmatic View" in Ndongo Sylla and Kai Koddenbrock eds Delinking and Global Reparations Alternative Perspectives on the Socio-ecological Crisis in Africa. Bielefeld, Germany: Transcript Publishing, April 2025
https://www.transcript-verlag.de/media/pdf/03/53/b0/oa9783839476659.pdf - Shyamala Nagaraj, H. Stein, K. Askew, R. Odgaard and F. Maganga “Assessing Poverty Interventions: Conceptual, Methodological and Empirical Perspectives Relating to Property Rights Formalization in Rural Tanzania.” Modern Economy, Vol. 16 No. 2, February. 2025 251-270
https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=140634 - Olabisi, M. and Stein, H “Do African Countries Still Pay More to Borrow? Evidence from 2006-22” Journal of African Trade , Vol. 11, No.1, 2024
https://jat.afreximbank.com/journal/vol11/iss1/3/ - Stein, H, Odgaard, R. and Askew, K and Maganga, F. “The World Bank and Rural Land Titling in Africa: The Case of Tanzania” Development and Change Volume 55, No.6, November, 2024
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dech.12866 - Stein, H “Policy and Performance in African Agriculture since Independence: Critical Reflections” in Eds. Pádraig Carmody and James Murphy Handbook of African Economic Development Edward Elgar Books, May, 2024
- Stein, H, Sam Cunningham and P. Carmody, “The Rise of ‘Behavioral Man’: Randomized Controlled Trials and the ‘New’ Development Agenda” Human Geography, Volume 14, No. 1, Feb., 2021
- “Institutionalizing Neoclassical Economics in Africa: Instruments, Ideology and Implications” Economy and Society Volume 50, No.1, 2021
