UC Berkeley Political Science Professor Cecilia Hyunjung Mo recently received several global research grants to confront some of the world’s most urgent challenges: human trafficking, child exploitation and rising social division.
Her work in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ethiopia will test real-world interventions aimed at reducing exploitation, preventing violence and strengthening trust in fragile communities. Backed by leading global development funders, the projects are designed to produce actionable evidence that governments and organizations can use to shape policy.
“I am thrilled to have received new grant funding to advance two research agendas: developing and rigorously evaluating scalable interventions to reduce human trafficking and labor exploitation, and identifying policies and programs that promote social cohesion and reduce prejudice in fragile settings,” Mo said.
The Human Trafficking Research Initiative (HTRI) at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is funding Mo’s study in Sierra Leone focused on labor exploitation in artisanal gold mining. The study tests whether offering miners low-interest loans can reduce trafficking risks. Mo will also examine whether access to finance improves income stability and working conditions.
In Liberia, a separate grant from the Fund for Innovation in Development (FID) supports a large-scale effort to reduce sexual violence against children. The program combines classroom-based education with community outreach to teach bodily autonomy, help identify abuse and strengthen reporting systems. The study will measure changes across 150 villages.
“I am leading projects on conditional access to finance to reduce labor exploitation in artisanal mining in Sierra Leone and on scalable approaches to reducing sexual violence against children in Liberia,” Mo said. “These projects are part of my broader work as co-scientific advisor of the Human Trafficking Research Initiative at Innovations for Poverty Action.”
Additional funding from Innovations for Poverty Action’s Peace and Recovery Initiative supports Mo’s work in Ethiopia, where she is studying whether sustained personal interaction can reduce ethnic prejudice. One project pairs university students with host families from different ethnic backgrounds, testing whether everyday contact can shift attitudes and build trust.
The Peace and Recovery Initiative also supports two studies on reducing ethnic prejudice through structured interaction. In partnership with the University of Gondar and Ethiopia’s Ministries of Peace and Education, one study examines how hosting students from different ethnic backgrounds shapes families’ views, and a second study explores whether a mandatory national service program that requires young adults to live and work outside of their home region could promote mutual understanding, reduce prejudice, and contribute to the development of a cohesive Ethiopian national identity. The goal is to understand whether everyday contact in a service context can build trust.
“I am leading several studies in Ethiopia, in partnership with the national government, to test interventions that reduce intergroup conflict and evaluate the impacts of national service programs on social cohesion,” said Mo.
By rigorously testing interventions in real-world settings, these studies aim to move beyond theory to develop evidence that can inform policies to reduce exploitation, prevent violence and strengthen social cohesion at scale.