Andy McKay researches on development economics, especially in relation to labour issues including female employment and informality; poverty/inequality and how these are impacted by policy (trade, fiscal etc.); agriculture; international trade; and health. In terms of geographic focus, he works predominantly on Africa and some countries in Asia.

He supervises a number of PhD students on a range of development topics at Sussex.

He has two recent large research projects with colleagues, one on early labour market transitions for young women in six Eastern and West African countries (part of an IDRC/DFID/Hewlett supported programme on growth opportuntiies for women) and a second ESRC-DFID funded project on female labour suppy and the escape from poverty (focusing on four African and Asian countries.

Andy was an associate director of the DFID-funded Chronic Poverty Research Centre (www.chronicpoverty.org) from 2005-11, and an active researcher from 2000-2011. He acts as a resource person for the biannual workshops of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC, www.aercafrica.org), a role he has played since 2005, and served on the steering committee of two AERC collaborative research project on growth-poverty reduction linkages and on regional integration in Africa.

Andy has extensive experience of giving policy advice to bilateral donors including DFID, international organisations and governments of developing countries. He also has significant experience of giving short courses, especially for government employees, in the north and south.

He has previously worked at the Universities of Nottingham (1992 to 2003) and Bath (2003 to 2006); as well as the Overseas Development Institute (2001 to 2005), and has also worked on many consultancy assignments.  He has field experience in many different countries.