Olivia is a senior urban economist with extensive experience in issues related to the economics of urbanization, regional development, and conflict and fragility. She has led and contributed to several analytical products focusing on the drivers of and impediments to cities’ productivity and livability, including the flagship reports, Africa’s Cities: Opening Doors to the World and Convergence: Five Critical Steps toward Integrating Lagging and Leading Areas in the Middle East and North Africa. As a core member of the World Bank Global Solutions Group on Territorial Development, her work expanded to inform spatial development strategies globally, identify priorities for action in lagging regions, and explore avenues for operations to leverage spatial synergies and address missing complements. Olivia holds a doctorate in economics from the European Center for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management in Brussels, and a master’s degree in demography from the Center for Demographic Research at UCLouvain.