I am a Senior Economist at the Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) Department, in the World Bank Research Group. I received a Master’s in Public Affairs and Economics from Princeton University and a PhD in Social Intervention from Oxford University. My main research interests are in development economics, big data applications, behavioral economics, and mass media and behavior change. 

I founded and lead the World Bank’s research program on Entertainment-Education, the use of media entertainment with development objectives.  I run this program in close collaboration with researchers and practitioners from governments, the World Bank, development partners and global media and technology firms. This fun job entails working with celebrities, including Golden Globe, International Emmy and Nobel Prize winners. 

I am currently running experiments in the fields of sexual health, gender-based violence, girl education, hate-speech, social cohesion, early grade literacy, and youth addictions; with entertainment-education producers and distributors MTV, Impact(Ed) International, Curious Learning, IN2, Cinepolis, Population Foundation of India, Twitter and Facebook.   

How did I end up with an International Emmy award in my hands? Our impact evaluation of the edutainment program 'My Better World' revealed its remarkable cost-effectiveness in transforming gender norms, fostering higher aspirations, and reducing the number of out-of-school children in northern Nigeria. MBW won the 2022 International Emmy award in the Kids: Factual & Entertainment category. We invited the masterminds behind MBW to the World Bank to train project teams interested in edutainment and edtech. And well, they brought the bling! 

FAQ about Development, Edutainment Research, and Examples of High-Impact Edutainment