Jim Cust
Economist, World Bank

Jim Cust is an economist and young professional working in the Office of the Chief Economist, Africa Region at the World Bank. Prior to this position, he was the director of research and data at the Natural Resource Governance Institute and helped create the Natural Resource Charter, where he served as acting director.

Cust’s research addresses policy-relevant empirical questions on the role of government in harnessing resources for prosperity. He has recently completed work on Institutions and the Location of Oil Exploration, on Stranded Nations examining the intersection of climate policy and resource wealth, and on Investing in Africa’s Infrastructure, as well as studies on local impacts of resource wealth and challenges to diversification.

Cust holds a DPhil (PhD) in economics from the University of Oxford, an MSc from Oxford and a BA from Cambridge. He is an external research associate of the Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies at the Department of Economics in Oxford.