Muangi, Winnie Costancia

Winnie Costancia Muangi is a Junior Research Fellow at EfD Tanzania and an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam’s School of Economics. She is a PhD student at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, and she holds an M.A. and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Dar es Salaam.

Research interests

Winnie’s main research interests are Social Protection, Natural Resources Environmental Economics, and Behavioral Sciences. Her current research project focuses on improving the livelihoods of the ultra-poor, specifically the beneficiaries of the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) cash transfer program. She is looking at the designing of a graduation strategy for those benefiting from it, as well as financial inclusion, and trust. She has also worked on the fisheries sector and on WASH projects, including the designing a national sanitation campaign and a handwashing project. She is mainly interested in applying behavioral insights to assist programs in achieving their outcomes at low costs.

Grants and consultancy

• PhD research project on cash transfer program, graduation, and trust. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 2021
• Behavioral nudges consultant to support the integration of behavioral nudges in the Livelihood Enhancement program of Tanzanian Social Action Fund (TASAF), 2021 – 2023
• Consulting Projector Manager on incorporating behavioral nudges on the cash transfer program. Ideas42, 2018 – 2021
• Local consultant to develop a novel soap product for handwashing project. London School of Economics and Tropical Medicine, and Imperial College London, 2019 – 2020

Policy Engagement

• Technical team member to assess the uptake of e-payment services for beneficiaries of cash transfer program. Tanzanian Social Action Fund (TASAF), January – June 2023
• Technical team member to implement the cost-of-living subsidy for beneficiaries affected by the construction of Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system in Dar es Salaam. Tanzanian Social Action Fund (TASAF), July 2023 – present

Awards

• Visiting PhD Fellowship at United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki, Finland, September – November 2023
• Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Scholarship Award to pursue PhD studies at the University of Reading, England, 2020-2024

Fellowship by SIDA-Tanzania Bilateral Program to pursue a master’s degree in economics with specialization in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics at the University of Dar-es-Salaam 2013-2015