Joana is an Associate Professor and the Academic Director of the LSE School of Public Policy. She is a Research Affiliate in BREAD, the CEPR Public Economics and Development Economics programmes, STICERD Public Economics, Institute for Fiscal Studies, International Growth Centre, and a JPAL-LAC Invited Researcher. She has a PhD in Political Economy and Government (Economics ) from Harvard University, and her main research interests are Public Economics, Development Economics and Political Economy. She has published in the American Economic Review, Journal of Development Economics and Journal of Economic History. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Economist, Folha de São Paulo, Valor Econômico and O Globo.