Bio and CV

I am a Senior Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist for the Africa Region with the World Bank in Washington, DC.  I previously served as a Senior Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist for the South Asia Region.  I received a doctorate in economics from Harvard University in 2010 and a bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard University in 2003.  My research and policy interests are diverse and include a broad set of topics and both experimental and nonexperimental work in development economics and selected areas of domestic policy.  

My recent policy writing and research includes work on skills and creating jobs in firms in Africa and South Asia, on energy reliability and innovation incentives in developing countries, on trade, on funding gaps for HIV/AIDS treatment, on financing for COVID vaccine manufacturing and on financial inclusion and women empowerment including through technology.  I have previously worked on policy and research on financing an HIV/AIDS vaccine.

My work has been published in Science, the American Economic Review, the American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings issue, the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, the American Law and Economics Review,  the Journal of Public Economics, Health Economics, the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, the Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, and the Review of Development Economics.  

I have work and research experience in country in Kenya, Zambia, Bangladesh, Uganda, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malawi and Burkina Faso, have field work in India and Pakistan and have additionally worked with microdata from Mexico and Brazil.  

jlee20@worldbank.org | CV | Google Scholar Profile | World Bank Bio