ABOUT US
The Webinar Series in Finance and Development - WEFIDEV - was created by Giorgia Barboni, Sean Higgins and Nicola Limodio in early 2020. Our goal was to support junior researchers in sharing their early stage work when meeting in-person was impossible due to Covid-19.
Since we started WEFIDEV, we have hosted over 40 webinars and organized two in-person workshops.
Our speakers work at universities and research organizations located all across the world. Now, as we enter our fourth year, we look forward to continuing to build this community and provide a supportive space to share new and early stage research.
MEET THE WEFIDEV TEAM
GIORGIA BARBONI
WEFIDEV FOUNDER
Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Warwick, Warwick Business School
Prior to joining the University of Warwick, Giorgia was a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Princeton University. Her research interests are in Development Economics, Financial Intermediation, Household Finance, and Behavioral Economics. Giorgia is also a Research Associate at CAGE.
SEAN HIGGINS
WEFIDEV FOUNDER
Assistant Professor of Finance at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
Sean's research studies how technology reduces barriers to financial inclusion, and the effect of reducing these barriers on households and small businesses. For example, in one paper he finds that when the Mexican government distributed debit cards to poor households, this led small retailers to adopt technology to accept card payments and generated spillovers to both small retailers and richer households. His other papers and projects study FinTech, household finance, and small businesses in emerging markets.
NICOLA LIMODIO
WEFIDEV FOUNDER
Assistant Professor of Finance at Bocconi University and CEPR Research Affiliate
Nicola's research focuses on the study of financial economics in low and middle-income countries, including aspects related to financial regulation, political economy and organizational economics. His main projects are taking place in Pakistan, Ethiopia, Colombia and Rwanda. He received his PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2017 and held consulting positions at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
KIM FÉ CRAMER
WEFIDEV ORGANIZER
Assistant Professor of Finance at London School of Economics (LSE)
Kim is an empirical researcher in household finance, focusing on developing countries, including Uganda, Kenya, and India. In her job market paper, she shows that bank presence can play a crucial role in improving health of households. Banks offer health insurance to households and credit to hospitals. Generally, she is interested in exploring how financial policies impact households beyond improving their financial situation.
NATALIE THEYS
WEFIDEV ORGANIZER
Independent Consultant
Natalie supports researchers and organizations in increasing their impact through developing, managing, and communicating research. She specializes in topics at the intersection of international development, gender, and economic inclusion. Natalie received her Masters in Agriculture, Food, and Environment, with a specialization in Global Agricultural Development, from the Friedman School for Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.