Sandra Sequeira
Sandra Sequeira is Lead Academic for the IGC’s Mozambique programme. She is also an Associate Professor of Development Economics in the Department of International Development at the London School of Economics and a research affiliate at STICERD. Her research applies a combination of experimental and quasi-experimental methods to three broad themes in development economics: infrastructure and growth, private sector development in developing countries and the economic costs of bureaucratic corruption. She has conducted fieldwork in Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Peru, India and Ghana, and has consulted for the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and the Government of Mozambique. Her research interests include fair trade and development, corporate social responsility, infrastructure and growth, private sector development, corruption, experimental methods and programme evaluation. She holds a PhD from Harvard University, an MA from the Fletcher School and a BA from Universidade Nova in Lisbon, Portugal.
Content by Sandra Sequeira
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Project
Financial management capital and school performance: Evidence from Mozambique
This project examines whether better financial management capabilities of local authorities and school directors improves the delivery of education services in the developing world. Compared to the private sector, little is known about the role of financial management capital in the public sector. Particularly in the context of underperforming education systems in the...
9 Dec 2019 | Sandra Sequeira, Daniela Scur, Guo Xu
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Data Item
Data: Evaluating policy reforms to reduce corruption
This paper exploits quasi-experimental variation in tariffs in southern Africa to estimate trade elasticities. Traded quantities respond only weakly to a 30 percent reduction in the average nominal tariff rate. Trade flow data combined with primary data on firm behavior and bribe payments suggest that corruption is a potential explanation for the observed low elasticities....
2 May 2019
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Data Item
Data: Railroad to growth: Evaluating the impact of investments in railroads on firm behaviour
This paper investigates the impact of investments in transport infrastructure on firm performance. Using an original survey of approximately 900 firms in Southern Africa, I estimate the impact of access to a railway on firm sales. Exposure to railway infrastructure is instrumented by geographic proximity to the historical layout of a railway line destroyed by a civil war in...
28 Feb 2019
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Project
The impact of conflict and refugee re-settlement on state capacity and economic growth: Evidence from Mozambique
By the end of 2014, the number of people forcibly displaced had risen to a staggering 59.5 million compared to 37.5 million in 2004. Globally, one in every 122 humans is now either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. While the policy focus of the international community has been on providing immediate humanitarian assistance, a crucial next step will be to...
25 Oct 2017 | Sandra Sequeira, Stelios Michalopoulos, Elias Papaioannou, Giorgio Chiovelli
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Project
Improving the management of the health system in Mozambique
Despite global efforts, we still see 289,000 maternal deaths and 2,762,592 preventable newborn deaths each year (UNICEF 2013). Antenatal care is a critical building block for maternal and newborn health care. Access to affordable, high quality antenatal care (ANC) offers the opportunity to inform women about potential danger signs to look for during their pregnancy,...
10 Feb 2016 | Sandra Sequeira, Margaret McConnel, Julia Goldberg Raifman
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Blog post
Doing business with corruption
When we think about trade barriers hindering developing countries, we often think of tariffs and regulations. However, IGC research suggests another hidden cost, corruption at border posts, plays a significant but underappreciated role in hindering trade and development.
25 Nov 2014 | Sandra Sequeira
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Publication - Project Memo
Evaluating Policy Reforms to Reduce Corruption (Project Memo)
24 Nov 2014 | Sandra Sequeira
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Project
Evaluating policy reforms to reduce corruption
In brief: Corruption hinders trade and development Estimates suggest corruption costs the global economy US$ 1 trillion per annum Reforms should focus on improving management transparency to remove opportunities for eliciting and receiving bribes The World Bank has estimated that corruption costs the global economy US$ 1 trillion per annum (3% of total GDP)....
11 Nov 2014 | Sandra Sequeira
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Project
Railroad to growth: Evaluating the impact of investments in railroads on firm behaviour
In recent decades, some of the most costly and challenging transport projects undertaken in the African sub-continent have attempted to rebuild the region’s vast railway network. As the most cost-effective means of transport over long distances, rail was expected to bring a significant reduction in transport costs, increase the safety and reliability of transport...
10 Oct 2014 | Sandra Sequeira, Neil Rankin
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Project
Evaluation of the impact of mobile banking and financial literacy on microenterprise development in Mozambique
Mobile banking provides a means for saving and managing money, contributing to broader economic growth and financial inclusion. Projects developed from ongoing collaboration between IGC Mozambique and the Central Bank facilitated discussion amongst the main financial institutions operating in the country. Researchers found that the mobile money agent network is of...
4 Sep 2014 | Sandra Sequeira, Pedro Vicente, Cátia Batista
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Publication - Policy Brief
Transport Infrastructure and Firm Performance: Evidence from Southern Africa (Policy Brief)
1 Jun 2013 | Sandra Sequeira
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Publication - Working Paper
Transport Infrastructure and Firm Performance: Evidence from Southern Africa (Working Paper)
1 Jun 2013 | Sandra Sequeira
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Publication - Working Paper
Corruption, trade costs, and gains from tariff liberalisation: Evidence from Southern Africa
1 Feb 2012 | Sandra Sequeira
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Project
The role of mobile banking and business training in mobilising savings for microenterprise development in Mozambique (Phase Two)
This project investigates the role of technology in increasing the savings capacity of microentrepreneurs, and the importance of financial literacy in ensuring the optimal management of these savings towards enterprise development. We will apply a randomized control trial methodology to measure causal changes in savings rates, investment levels and firm productivity, among...
1 Feb 2012 | Sandra Sequeira, Pedro Vicente, Cátia Batista
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Project
Impact of fair trade certification on rural livelihoods
Cocoa farming plays a critical economic and social role in Ghana. Cocoa is the country’s second most important export and provides income to a large segment of the Ghanaian population. But the cocoa sector has been afflicted with continuing problems, including declining productivity, crop damage from pests and disease, persistent poverty among farming communities, health...
1 Sep 2010 | Michael J. Hiscox, Sandra Sequeira, Maja Tampe, Jens Hainmueller