Joana is an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics, International Development Department, 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.