Winner. Scientist of the Year 2022

Felix Fofana N'Zue

Academic title, degree: Professor, Ph.D.
Fields of science: Economics
Research interest: Development Economics
Career Development: Senior
Institution: Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Position: Principal Programme Officer
City: Abuja
Country: Nigeria

Felix Fofana N'Zue earned his M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics (area of specialization: Production Economics and Econometrics) in 1993 and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics (area of specialization: Econometrics, Price Analysis) in July 1995 from the Oklahoma State University, USA.

He was awarded the 1993 Oklahoma State University Graduate Research Excellence Prize.

He began his professional activity in August 1992 as a Research Assistant at the Department of Agricultural Economics of Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.

From October 1995, he served as a Consultant, and from 1996 to 1998 as a Research Associate for the CIRES (Centre Ivoirien de Recherches Economiques et Sociales), and also as Assistant Professor at the University of Bouaké. In 1996, he was appointed the Head of the Human Resources and Poverty Alleviation Division at CIRES.

From October 1996 to January 1998, Dr. N'Zue worked as Deputy Director of Research at the Ministry of Labor, Public Service, and Social Insurance.

In September 1997, he became a Deputy Chairman of CIRES’ Graduate Programme in Agricultural Economics, and in February 1998 – a SADAOC-CI program Co-Officer.

From February 1998 to February 1999, he was Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Cocody, Côte d'Ivoire.

From February 1999 to September 2001, he was a Senior Expert in Agricultural and Rural Employment at the “ILO Jobs for Africa - Poverty Reducing Employment Strategies for Africa” Programme based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (countries covered included Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal).

In October 2001 – July 2004: Senior Development Economist on an ACBF (African Capacity Building Foundation) funded project at CIRES and an International Consultant for the International Labor Office (ILO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

From May 2002 to March 2004, Dr. N’Zue has been a Technical Advisor to the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire in charge of Employment and Professional Training.

Since July 2002: Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Cocody, the Department of Economics and Business.

From March 2004 to November 2007, he is the Director General of Employment at the Ministry of Civil Service and Employment, Côte d’Ivoire.

From January 2008 to June 2009: Manager of Collaborative Research with the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) in Nairobi, Kenya.

In July 2009 – July 2010: Senior Research Fellow with the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) in Accra, Ghana.

2010 – May 2019: Manager, Economic Policy Analysis Unit of ECOWAS in Abuja, Nigeria, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of West African Integration of the ECOWAS Commission.

October 2013 - February 2015: Technical Adviser to the President-elect of Cote d’Ivoire’s Region of the Great Bridges (Region des Grands Ponts).

Since June 2019: Prof. Dr. N'Zue has been the Principal Programme Officer, Research, Knowledge Management, and Economic Policy Analysis of ECOWAS in Abuja, Nigeria.

Professor Dr. Felix Fofana N'Zue has been awarded:
• Certificate of Completion for the Leading Economic Growth Program, 2012, at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Executive Education;
• Certificate for Training on Monitoring and Evaluation, 2012, by ACBF;
• Certificate for successfully completing the intensive Programme on Quantitative Methods for Fiscal and Budgetary Policies, 2014, by EcoMod Modeling School;
• Certificate for Training on Enterprise Risk Management, 2016, ECOWAS Commission;
• Certificate for UNICEF-ECOWAS Training on Social Protection, 2017;
• Certificate for Training on Results-Based Management (RBM), 2017;
• The 2020 Reviewer Certificate, in recognition of hard work as a peer reviewer for Transnational Corporations Review.

He is a winner of the World Championship 2018 in International Finance.

Prof. Dr. Felix Fofana N'Zue has made a prominent contribution to his field of expertise. Among his recent achievements are several brilliant publications, including a book:
• Felix Fofana N’Zué (2020). Rethinking Africa's Development, Genesis Publishing, ISBN 978-9975-154-10-9.

In addition, several research articles have been published in international refereed journals. Among them:
• Should countries restrict remittances outflow? Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire.
• Access to Electricity and Economic Performance in West Africa: How do they relate?
• The Ivorian External Debt: Is there a Threshold?

• Has Export Diversification Impacted Economic Growth in Cote d’Ivoire? Evidence from the econometric analysis.
• Climate Change and Cocoa Production in Côte d’Ivoire: Should we Worry?
• Is External Debt Hampering Growth in the ECOWAS Region?
• Should we Restrict the Wage Bill to Tax Revenue Ratio in West African Countries? Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire.
• Do Remittances Have a Real Impact on Economic Performance: Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire.
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions in Côte d’Ivoire: Should We Worry?
• Does Climate Change Have Real Negative Impact on Economic Performance in Poor Countries? Evidence from Cote d’Ivoire.

• The Environment and Growth Nexus: An Empirical Examination of the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis in Cote d’Ivoire.
• Explaining Structural Transformation in the ECOWAS Member States.
• The Ivorian Debt: Should we worry? (This last article was the winner of the World Championship in International Finance in 2018).

Prof. Dr. Felix Fofana N'Zue served as an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Business and Economic Development (JBED) from 2018 to 2020. He is currently a reviewer for the International Journal of Educational Administration and Policy Studies (IJEAPS); the Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development (JAERD); the African Journal of Agricultural Research (AJAR); the Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics (JDAE); the Journal of Reviews on Global Economics (JRGE); the Laboratory of Analysis and Research in Mathematical Economics (LAREM), and the Transnational Corporations Review (TNCR).