Oliver Harman is a Cities Economist for the International Growth Centre’s ‘Cities that Work’ initiative based at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, and Associate Staff at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is also a Clarendon Scholar studying the multilevel governance and financing of sustainable urban development in low-income and fast-growing cities. In these roles he attempts to help bridge the gap between research and policy, both generating and translating economic literature into clear urban policy guidance for emerging country city governments. Oliver engages with local government ministries and mayoral teams primarily across West, Central and East Africa, as well as South Asia. His three thematic interests include financing sustainable urban development, global value chains for regional upgrading and climate change in cities.