Professor Alfredo Saad-Filho
Professor of Political Economy and International Development
Research interests
- Economics
- International development
- International relations
- Policy
Contact details
Biography
Alfredo Saad-Filho is Professor of Political Economy and International Development in the Department of International Development. Previously, he was Professor of Political Economy at SOAS University of London; Chair of the SOAS Department of Development Studies (2006-10); Head of SOAS Doctoral School (2018-19); and Senior Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2011-12).
Alfredo was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Medal from the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil in 2014 and the SOAS Director’s Teaching Prize in 2016. He has degrees in Economics from the University of Brasília (Brazil) and SOAS University of London and has taught in universities and research institutions in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mozambique, Switzerland and the UK.
His academic publications include nine authored or edited books, 70 journal articles and 50 book chapters, as well as 30 reports and other contributions for the United Nations and other international agencies (UNCTAD, UNDP, UN-ESCWA, and UN-DESA). His work has been published in 15 languages and presented over 200 academic events in 30 countries.
These writings range across critiques of the (Post-)Washington consensus; International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank policies and pro-poor policy alternatives. They also include concrete analyses of fiscal, monetary, financial, balance of payments and employment policies, as well as inflation targeting, resource use (including ‘resource curse’ and Dutch Disease) and policy-making in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America (especially Brazil) and the Middle East.
Research
- The political economy of development
- Industrial policy
- Neoliberalism, democracy, and alternative economic policies
- Latin American political and economic development
- Inflation and stabilisation
- The labour theory of value and its applications
Alfredo is currently researching the political economy of Brazil, especially the transitions from import-substituting industrialisation to neoliberalism, and from military dictatorship to democracy.
He is also investigating the recent trajectory of Brazil, and the achievements and limitations of the administrations led by the PT and by President Jair Bolsonaro.
Further details
Research
Poverty, Inequality & Inclusive Growth research group
Exploring the causes of poverty in emerging economies and the factors that prevent people from escaping it, including who remains vulnerable to economic slow-downs.
Contemporary Marxism Research Group
The Contemporary Marxism Research Group use the varieties of Marxist theory to analyse the contemporary world, with special reference to political economy and to political and social movements.
Governance, leadership and democracy
This research group explores Brazil's transition to democracy, the quality of democracy, transitional justice and human rights.
London Political Economy Network
The London Political Economy Network aims to foster cross-university exchange and networking between London-based political economy research centres
News
'We need a democratic economic strategy to overcome current global crisis': Professor Alfredo Saad-Filho
Professor Saad-Filho delivered the Dudley Seers Lecture at the 2023 general conference of the European Association of Development Research Training Institutes...
Academic network celebrates milestone
An innovative academic network which brings together scholars in the field of political economy is celebrating a new milestone.
New DID Outstanding Teaching Award
Dr Anna Grimaldi has been awarded the Department of International Development's inaugural Annual Teaching Award.
Has austerity led us to the COVID-19 pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic could have been prevented if not for decades of austerity measures, says Professor Alfredo Saad Filho.
Events
The COVID-19 pandemic and the Indian economy
Join us for this talk with Jayati Ghosh about the COVID-19 and the Indian economy.
Please note: this event has passed.
Climate change in the context of neoliberalism
Join student reps and the Head of the Department of International Development to hear about economic alternatives in the age of global climate crisis.
Please note: this event has passed.
Lawfare: Waging War through Law with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 35th President of Brazil
This special event from the Department for International Developement will discuss the concept of lawfare and examine in detail the best-known case of lawfare...
Please note: this event has passed.
Covid and Development: a roundtable discussion with members of the Department of International Development
'What has Covid revealed? And what will it result in?', with a focus on various Global South contexts.
Please note: this event has passed.
The Election of Jair Bolsonaro: Why Did This Happen?
King's Brazil Institute seminar on the Brazilian election and its links to modern global society.
Please note: this event has passed.
The crises of neoliberalism
Professor Alfredo Saad Filho (King’s College London) talks about the overlapping crises of global politics and the global economy.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
COVID-19 in Brazil: how Jair Bolsonaro created a calamity
Brazil has had what is arguably the worst pandemic policy response in the world, driven by its far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Coronavirus: how Brazil became the second worst affected country in the world
The COVID-19 pandemic has stress-tested countries, economies and political systems like never before. Nowhere has the outcome been more devastating than in...
Research
Poverty, Inequality & Inclusive Growth research group
Exploring the causes of poverty in emerging economies and the factors that prevent people from escaping it, including who remains vulnerable to economic slow-downs.
Contemporary Marxism Research Group
The Contemporary Marxism Research Group use the varieties of Marxist theory to analyse the contemporary world, with special reference to political economy and to political and social movements.
Governance, leadership and democracy
This research group explores Brazil's transition to democracy, the quality of democracy, transitional justice and human rights.
London Political Economy Network
The London Political Economy Network aims to foster cross-university exchange and networking between London-based political economy research centres
News
'We need a democratic economic strategy to overcome current global crisis': Professor Alfredo Saad-Filho
Professor Saad-Filho delivered the Dudley Seers Lecture at the 2023 general conference of the European Association of Development Research Training Institutes...
Academic network celebrates milestone
An innovative academic network which brings together scholars in the field of political economy is celebrating a new milestone.
New DID Outstanding Teaching Award
Dr Anna Grimaldi has been awarded the Department of International Development's inaugural Annual Teaching Award.
Has austerity led us to the COVID-19 pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic could have been prevented if not for decades of austerity measures, says Professor Alfredo Saad Filho.
Events
The COVID-19 pandemic and the Indian economy
Join us for this talk with Jayati Ghosh about the COVID-19 and the Indian economy.
Please note: this event has passed.
Climate change in the context of neoliberalism
Join student reps and the Head of the Department of International Development to hear about economic alternatives in the age of global climate crisis.
Please note: this event has passed.
Lawfare: Waging War through Law with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 35th President of Brazil
This special event from the Department for International Developement will discuss the concept of lawfare and examine in detail the best-known case of lawfare...
Please note: this event has passed.
Covid and Development: a roundtable discussion with members of the Department of International Development
'What has Covid revealed? And what will it result in?', with a focus on various Global South contexts.
Please note: this event has passed.
The Election of Jair Bolsonaro: Why Did This Happen?
King's Brazil Institute seminar on the Brazilian election and its links to modern global society.
Please note: this event has passed.
The crises of neoliberalism
Professor Alfredo Saad Filho (King’s College London) talks about the overlapping crises of global politics and the global economy.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
COVID-19 in Brazil: how Jair Bolsonaro created a calamity
Brazil has had what is arguably the worst pandemic policy response in the world, driven by its far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Coronavirus: how Brazil became the second worst affected country in the world
The COVID-19 pandemic has stress-tested countries, economies and political systems like never before. Nowhere has the outcome been more devastating than in...