Matt Collin

Hi there! I am an Anglo-American economist currently based in Paris, where I am a Senior Researcher (Economist) and Director of the Illicit Financial Flows Program at the International Tax Observatory at the Paris School of Economics and the Centre for Tax Research (SKATTEFORSK) at NMBU. I am also a Non-Resident Fellow the Center for Global Development and a Visiting Fellow at the LSE International Inequalities Institute.

Until recently I worked at the World Bank in their Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth unit. Prior to that I was a David M. Rubenstein Fellow at the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. I was also both a Young Professional and later an economist in both the World Bank's Global Tax Team and in the office of the Chief Economist for Human Development. I've also worked as a Research Fellow at the Center for Global Development, a Research Officer at the Centre for the Study of African Economies, and as a Budget Officer (ODI Fellow) in the Ministry of Finance in Malawi. 

My research and policy work is currently focused on curbing illicit financial flows, particularly those from developing countries. I work in the space between cross-border tax evasion and anti-money laundering (AML) policy, where my goal is to ensure that policies in this space are data and evidence-based wherever possible. I also work on a number of more tradition development economics topics, ranging from land rights to child marriage. 

My academic background is also in economics: I completed a DPhil (PhD) in Economics at the University of Oxford, where I also studied for an MSc in Economics for Development. I also hold a BA in Economics and Mathematics (double-degree) from Clemson University in South Carolina. 

You can find my writing on illicit flows at Through Data Darkly. I used to write a blog - with my friend Ranil Dissanayake - to cover broad issues in development, economics and international aid policy, called Aid Thoughts. More recently, Ranil and I have ran a five-part podcast called Paper Round, where we discussed important new papers in the space of development and economics. 

In my spare time I enjoy filmmaking and DJing. In 2020 I completed a Graduate Diploma in Documentary Filmmaking at George Washington University, where I also worked on the political documentary The Good Candidate as both a director of photography and as an editor. I occasionally DJ in the odd dive bar in DC - you can find my mixes on SoundCloud. 

You can contact me at mattcollin - at - gmail.com or at matthew.collin - at - psemail.eu