Portrait of Paul Schöpfer
PS

Development economics · Economics of education

Paul Schöpfer

Applied microeconomist working on the economics of education and development. I design and evaluate interventions that shape how children in low- and middle-income countries learn, in schools and at home.

I am currently on the job market.

Research Download CV
01 About

About me

I am a Junior Researcher at Utrecht University School of Economics and am finishing my PhD in Development Economics at Wageningen University & Research. I am currently on the job market.

My work combines randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental methods with hands-on fieldwork in The Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, and Bulgaria. Since 2022 I have designed and run field experiments together with ministries of education, NGOs, and survey teams, and presented the results to policymakers, including the Gambian Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and the Vice President of The Gambia.

Beyond my own studies, I organize and connect. I co-organized the ALiVE co-creation workshops in Utrecht and Nairobi, which expanded the consortium to four East African universities and several policy institutes. I coordinate and teach master's courses at Utrecht University whose community-engaged learning component works with community-based organizations in Elangata Wuas, Kenya, and I mapped and interviewed 30 such organizations for the SDG Platform to connect them with Utrecht lecturers. I review impact evaluation proposals for NIERA and was guest editor of a special issue on international community-engaged learning.

I grew up in Graz, Austria, and studied economics at the University of Vienna before moving to the Netherlands for an MSc in Economic Policy at Utrecht University. Before academia I worked at the Austrian Federal Chancellery during the EU Council presidency and at the Austrian Financial Market Authority.

02 Research

Research

My dissertation, Enhancing Life Outcomes: The Interplay of Holistic Skills, Preschool Education, and Technology of Instruction, consists of three papers on educational interventions in low- and middle-income countries.

Work in progress

  1. 2026
    Does Extra Exam Practice Raise Test Scores? Experimental Evidence from Kenya and Nigeria
    with Guthrie Gray-Lobe, Ronak Jain, Michael Kremer, Joost de Laat, and Becky Scurlock

    Two cluster-randomized trials on frequent testing in 245 schools with more than 3,700 students. We use administrative test-score records and national leaving-exam data to estimate whether additional exam practice improves learning.

    Draft, available on request
  2. 2026
    Strengthening Student Outcomes Through Active Learning Methods. Experimental Evidence from The Gambia
    with Joost de Laat, Thomas van Huizen, Hamidou Jawara, and Tomohisa Miyamoto

    A randomized evaluation of a national competency-based curriculum reform and teacher training in 90 primary schools with more than 2,100 students, implemented together with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.

    Draft, available on request
  3. 2026
    Parental Beliefs and Home Investment. Evidence from Bulgaria
    with Joost de Laat, Esther Gehrke, and Thomas van Huizen

    A survey of 1,000 parent-child pairs across 121 communities with a vignette-based belief elicitation that separates beliefs about how skills are produced from beliefs about the returns to skills.

    Draft, available on request

Policy reports

  1. 2024
    Integrating Whole Child Development into Teacher Training
    Heller Crespo, R., van der Harst, M., Schöpfer, P., et al. NORRAG.
    Read at NORRAG
  2. 2024
    Integrating Measurement into Education Systems
    Schöpfer, P., van der Harst, M., et al. NORRAG.
    Read at NORRAG

Editorial work

  1. 2025
    Guest Editor, Special Issue on International Community-Engaged Learning (ICEL)
    Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, Vol. 29, Issue 2
    Read the issue

Field projects

I lead two design-based research pilots in Kenya and Malawi as principal investigator, one on garden-based education and one on foundational literacy and numeracy, in partnership with Edukans and local universities. The interventions are developed iteratively with teachers, parents, and communities rather than fixed in advance.

I also design studies for partners. For the ALiVE consortium (Assessment of Life Skills and Values in East Africa, led by Zizi Afrique) I co-created the research proposal and designed a multi-country RCT on life skills covering Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. For Reach a Hand Uganda (RAHU) I designed a peer-education RCT.

03 Teaching

Teaching

My teaching connects economics to real problems and real partners. Students in my courses work with organizations in the Netherlands and in rural Kenya, and their projects feed back into the research and practice of those partners.

  • Economics of Global Challenges 2024 – 2026
    Lecturer, master's level, Utrecht University

    Lectures, tutorials, and the community-engaged learning component with partners in southern Kenya (academic years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026).

  • Tackling Real-World Problems through Interdisciplinary Collaboration (TIC) 2024 – 2025
    Co-coordinator, Utrecht University

    Designed and managed an interdisciplinary, project-based course with societal partners including Commonland, RIVM, Triodos Bank, and Stichting Vluchteling.

  • Thematic Interdisciplinary Challenge (TIC) 2023 – 2024
    Course instructor, Utrecht University

    Taught and supervised student teams in a project-based course on societal challenges.

  • Youth, Education and Society 2025
    Guest lecturer, master's program, Utrecht University

    Lecture on monitoring and evaluation in education programs, with a focus on measuring holistic and non-cognitive skills.

04 CV

Curriculum vitae

My full CV covers education, research and professional experience, manuscripts, publications, teaching, skills, and languages.

Download CV (PDF)
05 Contact

Get in touch

I am open to collaboration, research inquiries, and requests for working paper drafts.

paul.schoepfer@pm.me