Laura Abramovsky is a Research Associate within ODI’s Development and Public Finance programme. She is an independent microeconomist with over 20 years of experience in research and advisory policy work in the areas of tax and social protection, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector, productivity and innovation.

Recent work has focused on the impact of tax and transfers on income inequality and poverty across countries, VAT administration, sanitation policies to improve practices in rural contexts, incentives governing community-based rural water supply, and the distributional impact of piped water consumption subsidies.

Before she became an independent consultant and researcher, Laura was a senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, where she worked for 15 years and is now a Research Associate. She developed the concept of the TAXDEV centre alongside IFS colleagues, led its establishment, and continues to work with the TAXDEV team both at IFS and ODI.

She holds a PhD in Economics from University College London, a MSc. in Economics from the London School of Economics, and a BSc. in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires.