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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · 23h

Read the related research here:

Mobile money and migration: lnkd.in/dT2Zff44

Brain drain vs brain gain:
lnkd.in/dg6j4uEF

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

lnkd.in

Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · 1d

I really enjoyed joining the "Our Long Walk" podcast to discuss my research on migration in Africa and its role in structural transformation and development — among other migration & development topics.

Plus, an AI-generated music of my research findings! 😊

open.spotify.com/episode/4jOb...

What returns when talent leaves? with economist Catia Batista

open.spotify.com

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Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) @hwwi-economics.bsky.social · 1d

Today and tomorrow, the #HWWI is hosting the workshop “Economics and Politics of Irregular Migration", organized jointly with Helmut Schmidt University, the University of Göttingen, and the University of Cologne. Keynote by @catiabatista.bsky.social.

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NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · 3d

🎉 New NOVAFRICA blog post alert!

“Research is as much about people as it is about data.”

We are excited to hear from NOVAFRICA @NovaSBE PhD Candidate @vcavalcante.bsky.social on his journey across Africa & Europe and his PhD on migration & finance.

🔗 Read more in our blog: bit.ly/4pUQyON

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NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · 10d

In a recent BBC Business Daily interview, @catiabatista.bsky.social @NOVAFRICA discusses brain drain and brain gain, and the case of Cyprus.

This follows her Science article “Brain Drain or Brain Gain? The Impact of High-Skilled Migration on Origin Countries.”

🎧 www.bbc.com/audio/play/w...

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · 12d

Thank you to #EdmirFerreira #PedroFreitas @goncalolima.bsky.social #ZeinadaLeite #AnaBalcaoReis #FredericDocquier @marcelloperez.bsky.social #CarolineTheoharides for sharing their research with us!

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · 12d

Conference on #Migration and #Education - Sept 30

Join us online on Tuesday starting 11m GMT / 6am EST with interesting presentations and discussion throughout the day!

Watch live: www.youtube.com/live/geZISI-...

Program: bit.ly/4nJoXya

@novafrica.bsky.social @liser.lu @liser-cb.bsky.social

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NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · 13d

Conference on Migration and Education – Sep 30 | Cabo Verde

NOVAFRICA promotes a discussion on youth & high-skilled migration and its impact on economic development.

w/ #NovaSBE #EconomicsEducationKC @liser.lu & #UnivCaboVerde

Program: bit.ly/4nJoXya

Watch live: www.youtube.com/live/xrv5T0X...

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · 14d

I talked to the #BBC about what some Southern European countries are doing to attract high-skilled emigrants back home - and also about the #BrainDrain vs. #BrainGain debate.

Thank you to @danielrosney.bsky.social for an interesting conversation!

Listen here: www.bbc.com/audio/play/w...

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · 17d

We're thrilled to welcome Roberto Hsu Rocha to @novafrica.bsky.social @NovaSBE !

NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · 17d

✨ We are delighted to welcome Roberto Hsu Rocha as a new resident member at NOVAFRICA @NovaSBE!

His research focuses on labor economics, with an emphasis on informality, entrepreneurship, finance, and the design of public policies.

👉 Learn more about Rocha's work: sites.google.com/view/roberto...

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NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · 17d

✨ We are delighted to welcome Roberto Hsu Rocha as a new resident member at NOVAFRICA @NovaSBE!

His research focuses on labor economics, with an emphasis on informality, entrepreneurship, finance, and the design of public policies.

👉 Learn more about Rocha's work: sites.google.com/view/roberto...

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · 24d

We're thrilled to welcome @duncanwebb.bsky.social to @novafrica.bsky.social @NovaSBE !

NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · 24d

✨ We are thrilled to welcome @duncanwebb.bsky.social as a new resident member at NOVAFRICA @NovaSBE!

Duncan is a development economist focusing on behavioral insights, discrimination, social change, and human capital.

👉 Learn more about Duncan’s work here: sites.google.com/view/duncan-...

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NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · 24d

✨ We are thrilled to welcome @duncanwebb.bsky.social as a new resident member at NOVAFRICA @NovaSBE!

Duncan is a development economist focusing on behavioral insights, discrimination, social change, and human capital.

👉 Learn more about Duncan’s work here: sites.google.com/view/duncan-...

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Jessica Leight @leightjessica.bsky.social · 25d

Today's cool young researcher #econtwitter #econsky is @dunc_webb @NovaSBE
@duncanwebb.bsky.social who works on topics related to discrimination + human capital

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · Sep 7

Welcome, Duncan! We're thrilled to have you @novafrica.bsky.social @NovaSBE!

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · Sep 4

Looking forward to a brilliant start to this year's @novafrica.bsky.social @NovaSBE seminars!

NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · Sep 4

✨ NOVAFRICA Seminar Series 2025/2026 kicks off!

Join us for the start of the series with Prof. Melanie Morten @stanford.edu on her paper:

“The effects of legal short-term migration: Evidence from the H-2A program”

🗓 Wed, Sept 10th | 11:30 am (PT) Room D-115
@NovaSBE

🔗 bit.ly/4g5okMI

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NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · Sep 4

✨ NOVAFRICA Seminar Series 2025/2026 kicks off!

Join us for the start of the series with Prof. Melanie Morten @stanford.edu on her paper:

“The effects of legal short-term migration: Evidence from the H-2A program”

🗓 Wed, Sept 10th | 11:30 am (PT) Room D-115
@NovaSBE

🔗 bit.ly/4g5okMI

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · Aug 6

Thank you!

Ungated version available here: catiabatista.org/wp-content/u...

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · Aug 6

Thank you, James!

The ungated version of the paper is available here: catiabatista.org/wp-content/u...

As noted in the REStat official page, the paper was accepted for publication already in October 2021, almost 4 years before it was out in print. But the revision process itself was not too long.

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · Aug 6

Catia Batista, Pedro C. Vicente; Is Mobile Money Changing Rural Africa? Evidence from a Field Experiment. The Review of Economics and Statistics 2025; 107 (3): 835–844. doi: doi.org/10.1162/rest...

Ungated version available here: catiabatista.org/wp-content/u...

Is Mobile Money Changing Rural Africa? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Abstract. Rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa are typically underserved by financial services. Mobile money brings a substantial reduction in the transaction costs of remittances. We follow the introduc...

doi.org

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Oliver Hanney @olihanney.bsky.social · Apr 11

Important null results in development economics

Despite the bias against publishing null results, they are important for policy, helping to kill bad ideas.

I've highlighted some key examples we have featured on @voxdev.bsky.social: voxdev.org/topic/import...

Important null results in development economics

Despite the bias against publishing null results, they are important for policy, helping to kill bad ideas.

voxdev.org

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NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · Jul 22

🚨 New Paper Alert

"Is Mobile Money Changing Rural Africa? Evidence from a Field Experiment"

By NOVAFRICA Scientific Directors & NovaSBE Professors @catiabatista.bsky.social and #PedroCVicente in print in The Review of Economics and Statistics @restatjournal.bsky.social

📄 doi.org/10.1162/rest...

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · Jul 21

We also find that mobile money availability led to a 4.4pp decline in agricultural activity and a 6.5pp drop in agricultural investment after two years.

Mobile money is doing more than just lowering transfer costs: it can act as a driver for urbanization and structural change in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · Jul 21

We ran a randomized field experiment introducing mobile money in rural Mozambique.

Treated households were up to 14.5pp more likely to have a migrant after 2 years.

Why? Cheaper, safer and faster remittances allowed rural households to out-send migrants while staying insured.

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · Jul 21

Our paper "Is Mobile Money Changing Rural Africa? Evidence from a Field Experiment" is now in print in the Review of Economics and Statistics!

Main finding? Mobile money increased out-migration from rural areas and reduced agricultural investment.

🔗 doi.org/10.1162/rest...

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Catia Batista @catiabatista.bsky.social · Jul 15

his discussion was based on our @science.org article together with brilliant co-authors: @danielhan.bsky.social
@johanneshaushofer.com @econgaurav.bsky.social
@dmckenzie.bsky.social @mushfiq-econ.bsky.social
@deanyang.bsky.social

Read here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Brain drain or brain gain? Effects of high-skilled international emigration on origin countries

How does emigration of highly educated citizens of low-income countries to high-income countries affect the economies of the origin countries? The direct effect is “brain drain”—a decrease in the coun...

www.science.org

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David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Jul 11

This week's links include more on brain drain, comparing AI and human chat on career advice for potential teachers, women leaders in India did not have long-run impacts, and more... blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...

Weekly links July 11: brain drain, AI’s giving career advice, disappointing long-term impacts of women leaders in India, and more…

blogs.worldbank.org

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VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · Jul 11

This week we featured research on industrial policy, brain drain, climate conflict, and more...

Read a summary of this work here: voxdev.org/topic/week-d...

This week in development economics at VoxDev: 11/07/2025

This week we featured research on industrial policy, brain drain, climate conflict, and more...

voxdev.org

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NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social · Jul 10

🎙️ In a recent @voxdev.bsky.social talk, NOVAFRICA Scientific Director @catiabatista.bsky.social & Caroline Theoharides discuss key findings from their @science.org paper:

“Brain Drain or Brain Gain? The Impact of High-Skilled Migration on Origin Countries.”

🔗 voxdev.org/topic/migrat...

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VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · Jul 9

🆕 Why ‘Brain Drain’ is an incomplete story of migration 📢

Today on VoxDevTalks, @catiabatista.bsky.social (@novafrica.bsky.social) & Caroline Theoharides (Amherst College) discuss the channels through which emigration can benefit origin countries: voxdev.org/topic/migrat...

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