Valerie Mercer-Blackman is a Lead Economist at the World Bank’s Development Economics Prospects Group. Previously she was at the South Asia Office of the Chief Economist focusing on policy-based research and regional trends in South Asia. Her recent published research was on diversification, trade, FDI, productivity in services and global value chains. Her past analytical work includes growth drivers, investment and fiscal issues in developing countries, particularly commodity exporters. Previously she worked as a macroeconomist at the Asian Development Bank; at the Caribbean Department of the Inter-American Development Bank and on Latin America at the International Monetary Fund. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.