My research addresses questions at the centre of public policy, from ageing and migration in Europe to political participation and child labour in Africa, to poverty, schooling, crime and social assistance in Latin America. It has informed the work of governments and international organisations, several of which I have advised directly.
I was Lead Academic Advisor for Chapter 3 of the EBRD Transition Report 2025–26, Brave old world, which examines how artificial intelligence, targeted migration policies and better support for entrepreneurs can help economies cope with ageing and shrinking workforces.
Policy documents: EBRD (2025)
My work on how new technologies shape political participation in Africa has informed the analysis of international organisations, including the World Bank.
Policy documents: World Bank (2020, 2025), International Monetary Fund (2021), International Labour Organization (2026), Asian Development Bank (2025)
Evidence from my studies of pre-school attendance and grade retention has informed education policy in Uruguay and Argentina and the Inter-American Development Bank’s work on early childhood.
Policy documents: OECD (2017, 2018, 2020), UNICEF (2019), World Bank (2016), European Commission (2014), Inter-American Development Bank (2015)
Minimum wage policy in Argentina and Mexico has drawn on my work on minimum wages and the returns to education in Latin America, as have international organisations’ recommendations on education policy in the region.
Policy documents: International Labour Organization (2020), OECD (2015), World Bank (2017, 2018), Inter-American Development Bank (2012), UN ECLAC (2015)
My work on how immigration affects wages in Britain has informed UK policy debate, including at the House of Lords, the Bank of England and the Migration Advisory Committee. I was a member of the OECD Scientific Committee for the Review of Labour Migration Policy in the EU (2014–15).
Policy documents: House of Lords (2008), Bank of England (2015), Migration Advisory Committee (2014, 2018), OECD (2016), World Bank (2018)
Media: Euronews, Voice of America
I advised Uruguay’s Ministry of Social Development (2006–07) on the design and evaluation of the Plan de Atención Nacional a la Emergencia Social (PANES), the country’s largest emergency poverty relief programme, and co-authored the government’s impact evaluation of the programme.
Policy documents: Government of Uruguay (2009), World Bank (2007, 2012, 2018), Department for International Development (2011), International Labour Organization (2019)
As a member of the Inter-American Development Bank’s Crime Prevention Roundtable (2015), I worked on the costs of crime and on crime prevention policies in Latin America. My evidence on the effects of violence on infant health in Brazil has informed the Bank’s advice on violence prevention.
Policy documents: Inter-American Development Bank (2015, 2020, 2024), World Bank (2020)
From 2007 to 2011 I was Lead Research Advisor for Understanding Children’s Work, the joint UNICEF, ILO and World Bank programme on child labour, and in 2009–10 I sat on the Technical Advisory Group of the US Department of Labor’s Child Labor Initiative. My research on child labour and schooling has informed the work of these organisations.
Policy documents: ILO, UNICEF and World Bank (2010); ILO (2017); ILO and UNICEF (2020); Understanding Children’s Work reports on Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Vietnam and Zambia
Media: The Lancet, Al Jazeera English
I welcome enquiries from policy makers and the media on topics related to my research.