Abdoul Sam’s scholarly interests center on the use of parametric and nonparametric econometrics to understand and/or solve substantive economic issues primarily in environmental economics and development economics. Abdoul’s research in environmental economics explores the determinants, effects, and effectiveness of voluntary pollution reduction programs, which have become an important element of the environmental protection toolkit in the US and many other countries.

His recent research in development economics uses household-level data to investigate whether land ownership by women in developing countries promotes their empowerment and to explain the adoption of financial and technological innovations by farmers in developing countries. Abdoul is currently leading a randomized controlled trial in Northern Ghana to study if coupling agricultural loans with index insurance to guarantee loan repayment in the event of widespread rainfall deficit can reduce the systemic risk assumed by lenders, raise smallholder credit market participation, and investment in improved production technologies.

Abdoul’s research has been published in prominent peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Law and Economics, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Land Economics, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, World Development. Abdoul has served as advisor to several PhD students and Master’s degree students. He joined the department in October 2005.