Ritva Reinikka works as an independent development economist. She was director of Human Development in the Africa Region of the World Bank from 2010 to 2013. She joined the World Bank in 1993 as a country economist in the Eastern Africa Department, and held various positions in the Africa Region, the Middle East and North Africa Region, and the Development Research Group and while there co-directed the 2004 World Development Report Making Services Work for Poor People. From 2004-08 she was the World Bank country director based in South Africa. Before joining the World Bank, Ritva was a researcher at the Centre for the Study of African Economies in the University of Oxford and the Helsinki School of Economics. She has also held operational positions at UNICEF and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oxford.