
Antonella Bancalari
Welcome to my website!
I'm a Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and a Research Associate at University College London (UCL), Department of Economics, and at the IZA Institute of Labor Economics.
I'm an applied microeconomist and my research sits at the intersection of Development, Health and Public Economics. I use applied econometrics and field experiments to understand the principles underlying effective public good/service delivery in low- and middle-income countries. I also explore ways to induce people to adopt welfare-improving technologies and behaviours.
Previously, I was an Assistant Professor in Economics at the University of St. Andrews (2021-2022). In Fall 2022, I was a UK-US Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Economic Growth Centre, Department of Economics, Yale University. I hold a PhD (2021) and MPA (2016) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a BSc in Economics (2012) from Universidad del Pacifico.

Antonella Bancalari
Publications and working papers
Work in Progress
Leader selection and performance in public sector organizations:
Experimental evidence from Ghana
The political economy of public works: Evidence from a reform in term limits
Financing health providers:
The case of universal health insurance in Peru
(with B. Augsburg and J. Loh)
(with Claudio Ferraz and Gabriel Granato)
(with Gabriela Smarrelli and Marcos Vera-Hernandez )
Recent awards
American Economic Review: Insights - Excellence in Refereeing Award, 2023
Upcoming talks
CEPR-NOVA Development Economics Annual Symposium 2025-I
BSE Summer Forum - Workshop on Development Economics 2025
Senior Research Economist
Institute for Fiscal Studies
Research Affiliate
IZA - Institute of Labor Economics
Media and Blogs
The Economist
"Latin America’s local governments too often fail their people"
Yale spotlight
The dire consequences of infrastructure projects
VoxEU
Incentivising quality of public infrastructure excludes users and worsens public health
VoxDev
Can ‘white elephants’ kill? Evidence from infrastructure development in Peru
VoxDev
Incentivising quality of public infrastructure excludes users and worsens public health
LSE LAC
Has COVID-19 ‘infected’ infrastructure development in Peru?
IGC and I4I
COVID-19 and the willingness to vaccinate: Evidence from India
Reuters Foundation
The global sanitation challenge: Is there a silver bullet?
World Bank Development Impact Blog
Can White Elephants Kill? Evidence from Infrastructure Development in Peru
El Comercio
El coronavirus “infecta” la ejecución de obras públicas
Semana Ecómica
¿Pueden matar los elefantes blancos?
VoxDev
Sustaining behavioural change: Evidence from rural Pakistan


Teaching
University of St Andrews
Development Economics
Health Economics
Microeconomics
MSc in Economics Dissertation supervision
University of Edinburgh
MSc in Economics Dissertation supervision
London School of Economics and Political Science
Social Economics and Policy - LSE Teaching Excellence Award 2019
Antonella Bancalari
Contact
Institute for Fiscal Studies
7 Ridgmount St, London WC1E 7AE
