Pierre Bachas is a Senior Economist in the World Bank’s Development Research Group. He also coordinates the Tax Evasion Program at the International Tax Observatory. His research focuses on public finance, particularly tax and transfer design, international taxation, and the role of digital technology. Previously, he was an assistant professor of finance at ESSEC Business School in Paris. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley and a BSc and MSc in economics from the London School of Economics.

Oyebola Okunogbe is a Senior Economist in the World Bank’s Development Research Group, focused on public economics and political economy. Her research has studied how governments in lower-income countries can improve revenue collection, with particular attention to the role of technology, tax administration, and politics, and her work was recognized with the Best Paper award by the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy in 2023. She is on the board of management of the International Institute of Public Finance and is an affiliated researcher with the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Institute for Fiscal Studies, and International Centre for Tax and Development. A native of Nigeria, she holds a PhD in public policy from Harvard University, an MPA in international development from Harvard Kennedy School, and a BA in economics from Dartmouth College.

Mahvish Shaukat is an Economist in the World Bank’s Development Research Group, with a focus on public economics and governance. Her research has studied the determinants of tax compliance, particularly tax morale, and implications for tax policy. Her work has also examined approaches to improving efficiency and fairness, as well as strengthening tax-benefit linkages, in collaboration with the tax authority in Pakistan. She holds a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA/MS from Stanford, and a BA from the University of California, Davis.

Dario Tortarolo is an Economist in the World Bank’s Development Research Group, with a focus on public economics. His research has studied how public policies affect workers, businesses, consumers, and governments, with particular attention to distributional impacts. His work has also examined how governments can address tax avoidance and evasion, especially at the top of the income distribution. Prior to joining the World Bank, he was an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham and a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley and a BSc and an MSc in economics from Universidad Nacional de La Plata. He received the National Tax Association’s Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation prize in 2020.

Seynabou Sakho is the Regional Practice Director for the Prosperity Department in the World Bank’s Western and Central Africa Region, covering 22 countries. She leads multidisciplinary teams working on fiscal policy, economic growth, debt management, finance, competitiveness and innovation, governance, poverty, procurement, and public financial management. Her mandate is focused on helping countries create jobs, accelerate economic transformation, strengthen public institutions, and deliver better outcomes for citizens, particularly women, youth, and vulnerable populations.

Her leadership is anchored around three priorities: advancing job-rich and inclusive growth, strengthening fiscal and debt sustainability, and building high-performing teams and partnerships capable of delivering impact at scale. Under her leadership, the Prosperity Department focuses on promoting resilient structural transformation, improving public sector effectiveness, and creating jobs at scale through firms, markets, and finance.

Aaditya Mattoo is Director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank. He specializes in development, trade, and international cooperation, and provides policy advice to governments. Previously, he served as Chief Economist of the East Asia and Pacific Region. He was also Co-Director of the World Development Report 2020 on Global Value Chains and Research Manager, Trade and Integration. Before he joined the Bank, Mr. Mattoo was Economic Counsellor at the World Trade Organization and taught economics at the University of Sussex and Churchill College, Cambridge University. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and an M.Phil in Economics from the University of Oxford. He has published on development, trade, trade in services, and international trade agreements in academic and other journals and his work has been cited in the Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, and Time Magazine.