Dr Wolf Ellis

I have worked on living standards, livelihoods and food security in a wide range of contexts. At CRSP, I carry out both quantitative and qualitative research, including the collection and analysis of Minimum Income Standard (MIS) data and helping to develop a Decent Living Index to track inflation in the costs of meeting MIS-level needs. I joined the centre in January 2023.

My main research interests revolve around patterns and implications of living standards and access to resources around the world, the incomes and other factors that contribute to them, and broader issues of welfare, poverty and inequality. Methodologically, I am especially interested in the intricacies of people's experiences, and bringing data available for research and policy-making closer to real life circumstances.

For my PhD research, at King's College London, I quantified and contextualised the impacts of food aid for people visiting food banks and community meals in London, and developed new approaches to poverty measurement to fill gaps in existing data.

My other work has involved many different NGOs, universities, one UN agency, and UK government departments. I have conducted in-depth research in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda with Evidence for Development, collecting and analysing detailed livelihoods data from household survey interviews and focus groups in rural and urban areas and refugee camps, to inform the design and monitoring of humanitarian and longer-term development programmes. This included training research teams from partner organisations. I have also led a project evaluating potential sources of data for product safety monitoring systems, as part of the response to the Grenfell Tower disaster.