Ntuthuko Hlela

Ntuthuko Hlela is a Research Associate at J-PAL Africa. Previously, he worked at the World Bank, the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU), and the University of Cape Town (UCT).

At the World Bank, he contributed to projects analyzing how fiscal systems affect poverty and inequality in Asian and African countries. His responsibilities included coding, data analysis, and report writing.

At SALDRU, he was part of a team of experts that modeled and produced a report advising the South African Presidency on strategies to optimise the Social Relief of Distress Grant. During his time at UCT, he served as a tutor for Quantitative Methods in Economics.

Ntuthuko holds a BA in Economics and a BCom Honours in Economics, both earned with distinctions—Summa Cum Laude and Cum Laude, respectively. He recently completed a two-year Master's in Economic Development at the University of Cape Town, spending one year at the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne in France.