Organisation profile

The Centre of African Economies (CAE) has from November 1, 2021 been transformed into the Socio-Economic Research Centre (SECO) in order to better capture the research on contemporary political and socio-economic dynamics in advanced, emerging and developing countries.

The Socio-Economic Research Centre (SECO) is an interdisciplinary centre conducting research on contemporary political and socio-economic dynamics in advanced, emerging and developing countries in the intersections between economic sociology, political economy and heterodox economics.

In particular, the Centre explores:

• The organization of labour markets
• The nature, pace and outcomes of processes of capitalist transformation
• The links between the regulation of economic transactions and state formation
• The social and financial challenges of transitioning to a net-zero carbon economy
• The political economy of natural-resource extraction, with implications for political instability
• How processes of commodification shape relationships between humanitarianism and development
• The objectives and effects of changing economic policies, from industrial policy to financial regulation

Researchers at the Centre provide unique insights into these issues by applying methodologies that emphasize in-depth political and socio-economic knowledge at different social scales, as well as comparative work.

Theoretically, the Centre’s research is multi-faceted, but its affiliated researchers all share an interest in pluralism in the global political economy and socio-economics.