Biography

Between 2008 and 2012, I worked as a Ph.D. researcher and lecturer at the Center for Studies and Research in Economic Development (CERDI, Auvergne University), France.
In my Ph.D. dissertation, titled Essays on decentralization in developing countries, I focused on the existence of strategic interactions between local governments in a context of weak fiscal resources (Benin) and in the absence of local democracy (China).
I also studied the effect of central transfers on local own-revenue in Benin and the determinants of the allocation of transfers in Senegal. Finally, I examined the average and distributional impacts of decentralization on the access to basic services by the Beninese local population.
I received the Best 2009 IIPF (International Institute of Public Finance Young Economist Award) for one of these essays.
During my time at CERDI, I participated in the funded NBER project «African Successes», with Martial Foucault (Montreal University), Grégoire Rota-Graziosi (IMF) and Léonard Wantchekon (New York University).
As part of this project, I was in charge of the construction of a database on local public finance in West-African countries at the Municipal Development Partnership (Cotonou, Benin), and carried out an international visiting research internship at the CIRANO (Montreal, Canada) to finalize our research works.
As a lecturer, I have taught courses in game theory, industrial organization, and accounting, and supervised B.A. dissertations in econometrics and game theory.
My research interests include development economics, public economy and political economy. In my future research, I wish to concentrate on the effect of decentralization on ethnic conflicts and on aid effectiveness in developing countries.