Rita K. Almeida (born 1974) is a Portuguese economist who joined the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

in 2002 as a research economist. After serving as a senior economist with responsibilities for lending and analysis in support of education in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, as of June 2020 she is human development programme leader for the countries of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. Over the years, Almeida has coordinated a range of World Bank and IZA publications in the areas of education, job training and public social spending. Since 2003, she has been a Research Fellow of the IZA Institute of Labor Economics.

Biography

Born on 16 August 1974 in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Rita Almeida studied economics at the Catholic University of Portugal, graduating in 1997. She continued her economics studies at

Pompeu Fabra University Pompeu Fabra University ( ca, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, UPF, ; es, link=no, Universidad Pompeu Fabra) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. The university was created by the Autonomous Government of Catalo ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, earning an

M.Sc. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

(1999) and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

(2003). From February 1997 to August 1998, Almeida worked in Lisbon for the Banco de Negócios Argentária as an equity research analyst. She then returned to Barcelona, working as a research assistant at

. Since 2002 she has been employed by the World Bank, initially as a researcher, specializing in labour economics and development. She subsequently became a senior economist covering education, social protection and the labour market. In particular, she managed lending and analysis in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa. As of June 2020, she holds the post of lead economist and human development programme leader for the six countries of Central America.

Selected publications

Rita Almeida has published a wide range of books and papers, including: * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Rita 1974 births People from Lisbon 20th-century Portuguese economists Portuguese women economists World Bank people Academic staff of Pompeu Fabra University Pompeu Fabra University alumni Catholic University of Portugal alumni 21st-century Portuguese economists 21st-century Portuguese women writers Living people