Welcome!

I am an economist in the Macroeconomics and Growth team of the World Bank’s Research Department. My research lies at the intersection of Macroeconomics, Spatial Economics, and Economic Development.

I hold a PhD in Economics from Yale (2019) and a Bachelor in Political Science from Sciences Po Paris. I am fluent in German (native), English, Spanish and French. I am married and have three children (born 2019, 2021, 2025).

Working Papers

"A Division of Laborers: Identity and Efficiency in India," with Guilhem Cassan and Daniel Keniston, 2025.

Conditionally Accepted, Econometrica, (contingent on data editor review).

"The Geography of Opportunity: Education, Work, and Intergenerational Mobility Across US Counties," with Fabian Eckert, 2024. 

Revise & Resubmit, Journal of Political Economy.

[previously circulated under the title: "Saving the American Dream? Education Policies in Spatial General Equilibrium"]

"When Barriers Fall: Gender, Structural Change, and Economic Development around the Globe," with Gaurav Chiplunkar, 2025. (Submitted.) [updated]

"Benchmarking Global Optimizers," with Antoine Arnoud and Fatih Guvenen, 2023.

Selected Work in Progress

"Unequal Global Convergence," with Shoumitro Chatterjee, Elisa Giannone, Kan Kuno, and Luca Looser, 2025 [updated]

"The Distribution of Economic Activity across Cities: A Global Perspective," with Mathilde Lebrand, 2024

"Are Workers Moving to High Wage Regions?" with Ying Feng, Tommaso Porzio, and Radine Rafols  [first version coming soon]

Peer-Reviewed Publications

“Growth Still Is Good for the Poor,” with David Dollar and Aart Kraay, European Economic Review, 2016.

[Research covered in: VoxEU.org, the Economist, LeMonde, and others]

“Growth, Inequality, and Social Welfare: Cross-Country Evidence,” with David Dollar and Aart Kraay, Economic Policy, 2015.

[Research covered in: VoxEU.org]

Other Publications

"2024 World Development Report: Growth in Middle-Income Countries", with WDR director Somik Lall and academic lead Ufuk Akcigit, 2024.

"The Welfare and Productivity Effects of Transit Improvements in Amman," with Sally Murray, Yulu Tang, and Jon Kher Kaw, 2024.

Contact Information

Email: tkleineberg [at] worldbank [dot] org