Leonardo Iacovone is a member of the Adjunct Faculty and was previously Professor of Economics at Hertie School. He is also an Affiliated Researcher with JPAL as well as Research Affiliate with IPA SMEs Initiative. Leonardo is currently a Lead Economist with the World Bank where he has worked across multiple departments including the Research Group, Africa Region, Latin America and Caribbean Region, East Asia and Pacific Region. At the World Bank, Leonardo is also the Global Lead for Firm Growth and Productivity and is involved in a number of projects across the world. Leonardo’s research spans across various topics including firms dynamics and productivity, trade and FDI, access to finance, entrepreneurship, management, innovation and technology adoption, and youth employment. During the last few years an important part of his work has focused on advising governments in assessing the impact of the programs and policies through rigorous impact. Leonardo has worked across more than 30 countries in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, and his researched has been published in top journals such as Science, PNAS, Review of Economic Studies, Economic Journal, Journal of Development Economics, and Journal of International Economics, among others.