Welcome to my website!

I am an applied microeconomist completing my Ph.D. at the London School of Economics. I study how legal assistance expands economic opportunity, with a focus on the fiscal and social returns to legal aid. 

In 2024-26, I am a Visiting Research Fellow at Opportunity Insights, invited by Professor Raj Chetty, at the Harvard Economics Department. I am also a  Senior Researcher at Policy in Practice, and an American Bar Foundation Access to Justice Early Career Scholar. Please reach out if you are in the Boston area!

Research

My research lies at the intersection of public economics, public finance and empirical legal studies.  I study access to justice reforms, examining how legal support in housing, debt, and welfare disputes affects benefit take-up, health, and economic inequality. 

Access to Justice Data

I collect budget time series to create the World Legal Aid Database and provide insights into the cost structure of the Justice Gap. I am the Principal Investigator of the Economics of Legal Aid Project, mapping changes in the provision of social welfare advice in England and Wales. 

I collaborate with the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Access to Justice / Legal Aid Practitioners Group and the Justice Data Observatory to map access to justice initiatives and design AI tools for the legal aid sector.

Background

I graduated from the Paris School of Economics and the European University Institute. Before my Ph.D., I worked at the European Systemic Risk Board Secretariat and contributed to the World Political Cleavages and Inequality book project.

I am affiliated with Opportunity Insights, the International Inequalities Institute and the World Inequality Lab.

Contact & CV

You can download my CV here and find some of my work on Google Scholar. I'd love to hear from you! Contact me at: j.uraz@lse.ac.uk / julietniluraz@fas.harvard.edu

Twitter: @JulietUraz

Bluesky: @julieturaz.bsky.social