Reno Vakis

Renos Vakis is a Lead Economist with the Poverty and Equity Global Practice where he leads the Mind, Behavior, and Development Unit (eMBeD). The unit integrates behavioral science in the design of anti-poverty policies in a wide range of issues such as financial inclusion, social cohesion, human development and employment. As a member of the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) team in the Development Data Group of the World Bank, he also conducts experiments to improve household survey measures of behavioral dimensions of well-being. He has written extensively on issues related to poverty dynamics and mobility, aspirations, mental well-being and social protection and has led numerous randomized trials on a range of anti-poverty interventions in various settings. Renos has also taught economics at Johns Hopkins University (SAIS). He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.