Bilal H. Zia

Bilal Zia is a Research Economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank. He joined in July 2006 after completing his Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research is focused on access to finance at the household, firm and bank levels, and his work has appeared in top academic journals such as the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics and the Review of Financial Studies. He uses both experimental and non-experimental methods in his analysis, and some his recent work includes rigorous impact evaluations of financial literacy programmes, testing innovative delivery methods to improve financial access for households and firms, and studying optimal contract structure in Microfinance loans. He holds an M.C.P. and a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT, and a B.Sc. (Hons.) from the London School of Economics.