Institute Seminar Series: The socio-economic consequences of vector borne disease

Biography

I'm an applied microeconomist with an interest in crime, education, health and development. In my research I focus on the evaluation of public policies and aim to contribute to the understanding of the intended and unintended consequences of these policies. For the evaluation I use quasi-experimental methods and randomized-controlled trials.

I received my MSc in Economics from University College London and my PhD from Queen Mary University of London.

I currently work on two overarching projects using Brazilian administrative data. In the first project, the Understanding Crime Project, we provide new insights on the cost of crime using large linked individual datasets that allow us to look at the consequences of direct and indirect exposure on the health, education, and labour market outcomes of individuals. We also provide new insights on how institutions respond to crime and violence. In the second arm of the project, we work to establish the root causes of crime using uniquely suitable microdata that allow us to investigate individual pathways to entering criminal careers. Papers from this project have been published in the Journal of Labor Economics, American Economic Journal: Economics Policy and the Journal of Development Economics.

In a second overarching project, The Cost of Diseases Project, I provide new insights on the cost of disease, focusing currently on dengue fever in Brazil. The first paper from the project has just been published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. We are working closely with policy makers in Brazil, the WHO and PAHO to use insights from our research to inform policy making on vector-borne diseases, including on the vaccine roll-out of newly available dengue vaccines, and vector control interventions.

I've held grants by the ESRC, Wellcome Trust, the British Academy, UKRI-GCRF, ESRC-DFID, the Ministry of Justice PCC, and the IDB. 

I am a Research Fellow at IZA, an invited researcher at J-Pal, an adviser to the Evaluation and Trial Advise Panel (ETAP), serve as scientific advisor to the Home Office on the evaluation of domestic abuse policies and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on their STEP Ukraine Evaluation. I also closely collaborate and advise a number of state government departments in Brazil, including health, education and public security. 

Currently I am leading a consortium of researchers on the evaluation of the State Evaluation System in Brazil, supported through a British Academy Evidence-informed Policymaking Grant.

Please view my CV for more information.

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