Associate Professor in Economics, University of Surrey
I'm an applied microeconomist with an interest in crime, education, health and development. My research mostly uses large linked administrative datasets from Brazil to which I have gained access for a number of research projects. 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 large projects using Brazilian administrative data. In the first project, the Understanding Crime Project, we study the cause and consequences of crime. In the first arm of the 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. We also aim to understand what works to break cycles of violence and crime and we have recently completed a pilot study of an intervention to reduce recidivism, and we are now preparing a large scale randomized evaluation of the intervention.
In a second overarching project, The Cost of Diseases Project, I provide new insights on the cost of disease and illness, focusing currently on dengue fever in Brazil. The results of the research have been used by policy makers in Brazil to inform about vaccine adoption decisions and the optimal design of vector control programmes.
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 and an invited researcher at J-Pal. I am an adviser to the Evaluation and Trial Advise Panel of the UK Evaluation Task Force and serve as scientific advisor to the Home Office. I also closely collaborate and advise a number of State Departments in Brazil.
