Olugbenga "Gbenga" Ajilore (/ˈbɛŋɡə ˌædʒɪˈlɔːri/ BENG-gə AJ-il-OR-ee)^[1] is an American economist who is a senior advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture.^[2] Prior to his current role, he was a senior economist at the Center for American Progress and former associate professor of economics at the University of Toledo. He is a past president of the National Economic Association and is a frequent media commentator on the labor market, particularly for Black Americans.^[3][4][5][6]

Ajilore grew up in the city of Pasadena and attended Polytechnic School (California),^[7] before earning a B.A. in applied mathematics and economics from the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in economics from the Claremont Graduate University.^[8]

Ajilore was an assistant and associate professor at the University of Toledo from 2003 to 2018. During this period, he conducted research on tax policy and peer social networks, as well as racial bias and policing,^[9] particularly the use of lethal and nonlethal physical force by police and police militarization.^[10][11] Since joining the Center for American Progress in 2018, much of his work has focused on the economy of rural America.^[8]