Celeste Scarpini recently completed her post-graduate studies at the University of Sussex, where she pursued a MSc in Development Economics. She previously gained a Bachelor’s in Economic Development and International Cooperation, studying between the University of Florence and the University of Reading. During her studies, she devoted herself to the understanding of broad development challenges like poverty and inequality, and of policies to abate them. Her research interest are labour market policies, taxation, and instruments of social insurance, social assistance, and financial inclusion in developing countries. Before joining IDS, she worked as Research Assistant at the Department of Economics of the University of Sussex and as Economic Research Intern at UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA).