Professor of Economics | NovaSBE
Founder and Scientific Director | NOVAFRICA @novafrica.bsky.social
International migration, economic development & policy impact evaluation
https://catiabatista.org/
“Brain drain” or “brain gain”?
Effects of high-skilled international emigration on origin countries
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Reposted by Cátia Batista, Todd Pugatch
At our VoxDevLit launch event on January 14, Dean Yang will summarise evidence on international migration.
Register➡️ https://ow.ly/y5n150XRWT9
Wed 14 Jan, 9 am US eastern.
The past year brought impactful research and events for our community. We look ahead to next year as we celebrate NOVAFRICA's 15th anniversary!
In this thread: key publications and gearing up for the #NOVAFRICA2026 conference 👇
and to celebrate the many research achievements of our community!
Looking forward to what's ahead in 2026!
Reposted by Cátia Batista
"Brain Drain or Brain Gain?"
Science
Main finding:
Skilled #emigration can possibly create a variety of “brain gains” for origin countries.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Cátia Batista
"Is Mobile Money Changing Rural Africa?"
Review of Economics and Statistics
Main finding:
Newly introducing #MobileMoney in #Mozambique promoted #StructuralTransformation by inducing #Migration out of rural areas
direct.mit.edu/rest/article...
Reposted by Cátia Batista
The past year brought impactful research and events for our community. We look ahead to next year as we celebrate NOVAFRICA's 15th anniversary!
In this thread: key publications and gearing up for the #NOVAFRICA2026 conference 👇
Reposted by Cátia Batista
At our VoxDevLit launch event on January 14, Dean Yang will summarise evidence on international migration.
Register➡️ https://ow.ly/y5n150XRWT9
Reposted by Cátia Batista
2026 NOVAFRICA Conference on Economic Development
June 18-19 - @NovaSBE Lisbon, Portugal
Submit your paper by Feb 15: bit.ly/4pKGkjs
Keynotes:
Abhijit Banerjee #MIT
Isaac Mbiti @notredame.bsky.social
Sandra Sequeira @sandrasequeira.bsky.social #LSE
#NOVAFRICA2026
Reposted by Cátia Batista
With @jeromevalette.bsky.social & Jesús Fernández-Huertas Moraga, we are happy to announce the CfPapers for the
4th edition of the Junior Workshop on the Economics of Migration
on May 26-27, 2026 @uc3meconomics.bsky.social, Spain.
Submit until February 1, 2026 on economig2026.sciencesconf.org
Interview: issuu.com/media4develo...
Paper: doi.org/10.1162/rest...
Mobile money does much more than speed up transactions - it can transform rural economies, strengthen resilience, and accelerate structural change and urbanization.
Despite less farming, households reported higher well-being, fewer episodes of hunger, and higher spending on essentials like education and medicines.
With more urban migration opportunities, families reduced agricultural activity and investment. This shows how simple financial technologies can shift labour and reshape local economies.
The value of remittances received more than doubled for treated households — especially when they were hit by shocks like floods or health problems. Mobile money became a powerful tool for risk sharing.
Households with access to mobile money were 14.5 percentage points more likely to have a migrant two years later. Cheaper, safer remittances make migration a more viable strategy.
We followed about 100 villages over 3 years to measure how this technology reshaped rural life.
Interview: issuu.com/media4develo...
Paper: doi.org/10.1162/rest...
Reposted by Cátia Batista
Apply here: www.novasbe.unl.pt/en/programs/...
Important insights from the work by #NunoAlves and #VandaCunha, who brought much-needed evidence to a key public policy debate.
Read more: www.bportugal.pt/en/node/427935
Reposted by David McKenzie, Cátia Batista
Issue 4 of our VoxDevLit on Training Entrepreneurs by @dmckenzie.bsky.social, Christopher Woodruff & Co-Editors is out now!➡️ voxdev.org/voxdevlit/tr...
Today's podcast covers the update➡️ voxdev.org/topic/firms/...
Thank you to #JoseMariaPimentel and the #45Graus podcast @jornalexpresso.bsky.social
We discussed evidence from our recent @science.org article on how emigration can be harnessed to support the economic development of origin countries.
Reposted by Cátia Batista
Reposted by Cátia Batista, Wayne Sandholtz
Reposted by Cátia Batista
Research of @catiabatista.bsky.social challenges this - migration possibilities can boost education back home.
Final episode powered by @researchluxembourg.org. Next season: research across Europe!
#migration #economics #podcast
Reposted by Caroline Krafft, Cátia Batista, Danila Serra
Shape the future of #DevelopmentEconomics with hands-on research, full funding and collaboration with NOVAFRICA researchers.
🔗 Apply: www.novasbe.unl.pt/en/programs/...
🔗 More about NOVAFRICA: novafrica.org