Professor Jackline Wahba OBE FAcSS is an economist who has been at the forefront of scholarship on international migration for over 25 years. She has gained recognition for her specialist pioneering research in the area of return migration. In 2020 she was awarded an OBE for services to economic policy.
Professor Jackline WahbaOBE FAcSS
Professor Wahba has published over 100 articles and working papers and her work has been widely cited by the World Bank, OECD, ILO, IOM and across academia. In 2016 she was named as one of six vital voices on the economics of migration by News Deeply.
Her research has delivered many important real world impacts nationally and internationally. In 2020 she was awarded the ESRC Outstanding Public Policy Impact Prize with her co-authors and has performed consultancy services for the OECD. She also served as an independent member of the UK government’s Migration Advisory Committee between 2012-2021.
Professor Wahba is an elected member of the Council of the Royal Economic Society and among her numerous distinguished contributions to the social sciences, she was appointed a member of the REF sub-Panel for Economics 2021 and is a serving member of GCRF Peer Review College.
How do you feel about becoming a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences?
I am honoured to be conferred as a Fellow. I am delighted to join a community of world-leading social scientists and engage with leading scholars across the social sciences, and to support the work of the Academy in bridging the gap between research and evidence-based policy.
Why does social science matter?
Bringing social science perspectives to addressing local, national global challenges is essential. Understanding how individual, collective and societal behaviour and incentives shape our society, economy, and politics is one of many examples of how fundamental social science is in contributing to advancing knowledge and informing policy.
What is the most urgent issue that you feel social scientists need to tackle at this time?
There are many urgent issues that social scientists need to tackle. However what is crucial is for social scientists is to bring rigorous and robust empirical evidence that can be used to inform policymakers.