I’m a development economist working on poverty, institutions and conflict in low- and middle-income countries. I currently serve as Senior Economist & Director at IDinsight. Prior to this, I’ve been Director of Research and Growth at The Life You Can Save, where I led in-house research and evaluation and help set strategy for charity selection, fundraising, and partnerships; Director of Research at UC Berkeley’s Center for Effective Global Action, where I oversaw the Center’s research grant portfolio; and an Economist in the World Bank’s Development Impact Evaluation department, where I worked with governments to embed impact evaluation into their operations, and oversaw global research programs on justice reform and digital ID systems.

My academic research applies experimental methods to fundamental problems of development. My work has been published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Science, Lancet, and others, and covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, CBS, New York Magazine, Voice of America, Le Monde, VoxEU, the Daily Mail, Economic and Political Weekly, the Hindustan Times, Público, El Espectador, and several other outlets. Along the way, I’ve received generous support from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, USAID, the US DoD’s Minerva Research Initiative, the World Bank, the UN Peacebuilding Fund, the Open Society Foundation, 3ie, the International Growth Centre, and Stanford University.

I’m also a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development, a member of Evidence in Governance and Politics, a research affiliate of the International Growth Centre and Innovations for Poverty Action, and a fellow of the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan, the Consortium for Development Policy Research and the Mahbub Ul Haq Research Centre. In the past I was a Minerva Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University as part of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project, and a Marie Curie AMID Scholar at the Institute for International Economic Studies at Stockholm.  I received my Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Economics from Oxford University, where I studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

Research

Journal articles

“Building resilient health systems: Experimental evidence from Sierra Leone and the 2014 Ebola outbreak” (with D. Christensen, O. Dube, J. Haushofer & M. Voors). 2021. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 136 (May), 1145-98
» Abstract
» IPA policy brief and blog post
» Press: New York TimesNPR Hidden BrainCBS Chicago, VoxEU

“Could gentrification stop the poor from benefiting from urban improvements?” (with C. Balboni, G. Bryan & M. Morten). 2021. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 111 (May), 532-37
» Abstract

“Community-based crisis response: Evidence from Sierra Leone’s Ebola outbreak” (with D. Christensen, O. Dube, J. Haushofer & M. Voors). 2020. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 110 (May), 260–64
» Abstract

“Reconciling after civil conflict increases social capital but decreases individual wellbeing” (with J. Cilliers & O. Dube). 2016. Science, Vol. 352 (May), Issue 6287, 787–94
» Abstract
» Replication data
» IPA policy brief
» Press: Washington Post, NPR Hidden BrainVoice of AmericaLe MondeScience Daily, The Daily MailPacific Standard, Público, El Espectador, El Economista, Diariomedico, El Digital de Asturias, Sinc, Infosalus

“The white-man effect: How foreigner presence affects behavior in experiments” (with J. Cilliers & O. Dube). 2015. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 118 (Oct), 397–414
» Abstract
» Online appendix
» Press: NY MagazineQuartzDebraj Ray

“Global Fund grant programmes: An analysis of evaluation scores” (with S. Radelet). 2007. Lancet, Vol. 369 (May), 1807-1813
» Abstract

Working papers

“In-group bias in the Indian judiciary: Evidence from 5 million criminal cases” (with E. Ash, S. Asher, A. Bhowmick, S. Bhupatiraju, D. Chen, T. Devi, C. Goessmann & P. Novosad). 2021.
» Abstract
» Paper summary and blog
» Dataset
» PressEconomic & Political Weekly [pdf], Hindustan TimesTelegraph, The Print, Indian Express, News18, Logical Indian, Data for Justice, Bar and Bench

“Can biometric verification get more cash to poor women? Evidence from Pakistan” (with M. Haseeb, A. Jalal & K. Vyborny). 2021.
» Abstract

“Transportation, gentrification, and urban mobility: The inequality effects of place-based policies” (with C. Balboni, G. Bryan & M. Morten). 2020.
» Abstract

“Delivering justice to the poor: Experimental evidence from Liberia” (with J. Sandefur). 2015.
» Abstract

“The long-run impacts of colonial village institutions on development: Evidence from Pakistan” (with A. Cheema, A. Naqvi & F. Naseer). 2015.
» Abstract

“The economics of due process: Police monitoring vs. legal aid in Sierra Leone” (with J. Sandefur & A. Varvaloucas). 2015.
» Abstract

Book chapters

“Improving the justice sector: Law and institution building in Sierra Leone” (with A. Varvaloucas, S. Koroma, J. Sandefur & M. Turay). 2012. In O. Johnson (ed.) Economic Challenges and Policy Issues in Early 21st Century Sierra Leone. International Growth Centre.

“Rights or remedies? Shopping for justice in Liberia’s dualistic legal system” (with J. Sandefur). 2011. In E. Harper (ed.), Working with Customary Justice Systems in Post-Conflict and Fragile States. International Development Law Organization.

Policy and other publications

Impacts of judicial reforms to address court congestion and delays in justice in the Philippines (with A. Orbeta & V. Paqueo). 2021. International Initiative for Impact Evaluation.

Tracking concession activity: A census in Sierra Leone (with D. Christensen & M. Voors). 2019. International Growth Centre.

Reclaiming prosperity in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa: A medium-term strategy for inclusive growth (with K. Ikram, T. Hussain, et. al.). 2015. International Growth Centre.

Impact evaluation of Timap for Justice’s Criminal Justice Project (with J. Sandefur & A. Varvaloucas). 2012. Centre for the Study of African Economies.

Customary justice and the rule of law in Liberia (with M. Best, J. Sandefur, G. Gordon, J. Ndebe, A. Varvaloucas & A. Zeitlin). 2009. Centre for the Study of African Economies.

US development aid and the Millennium Challenge Account: Emerging trends in appropriations (with K. Brown & M. Sessions). 2006. Center for Global Development.

“Aiding development: Tracking the flows” Finance & Development, 42(3), Sept. 2005. IMF & World Bank.

US pledges of aid to Africa: Let’s do the numbers (with S. Radelet). 2005. Center for Global Development

Towards a prosperous Pakistan: A strategy for rapid industrial growth (with F. Bari, A. Cheema, I. Nabi, A. Nasim, S. Kardar, et. al.). 2005. Islamabad: Ministry of Industries, Govt. of Pakistan.

Public expenditure allocation in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, 1990-1999 (with A. Cheema & H. Rahman). 2002. Islamabad: National Reconstruction Bureau, Govt. of Pakistan.