Gayatri Koolwal is a consultant with the World Bank in the Development Development Economics Research Group (Agricultural and Rural Development). She holds a PhD in Economics from Cornell University and has worked on several research projects on microfinance, including recent work examining the long-term impacts and effectiveness of microfinance programs in Bangladesh. She has several publications in academic journals, as well as a recent book co-authored with Shahidur Khandker and Hussain Samad, Handbook on Impact Evaluation : Quantitative Methods and Practices. She has also worked on many studies examining rural infrastructure access (roads, water, electricity) in developing countries.