Jann Lay is Head of the Research Programme “Globalization and Development” at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg, Germany. As adjunct professor, he also teaches development economics at the University of Goettingen. His work is on various facets of economic development in the Global South, in particular in Africa, including on foreign investment and global value chains, employment and labour markets, rural development as well as issues related to energy, climate and development. He has published articles in internationally renowned development, environmental and agricultural economics, political science and general science journals, including in the Journal of Development Economics, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, World Development, Nature Climate Change, Journal of Politics, and the Journal of Economic Geography. He is an experienced policy advisor and has worked as a consultant for various multilateral organisations and the German Development Cooperation. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Goettingen and has previously worked at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. He is a founding member of the research network on sustainable supply chains (www.sustainablesupplychains.org) and a member of the Land Matrix Steering Committee (www.landmatrix.org).