Cátia Batista
Cátia Batista
Professor
Economics
NOVAFRICA Knowledge Center

Cátia Batista is a Full Professor of Economics and Vice-Dean and President of the Pedagogical Council at the Nova School of Business and Economics, where she is also Founder and Scientific Director of the NOVAFRICA research center. She is the Academic Director of the MSc in Economics. Cátia holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago. She has research interests related to international migration and remittance flows, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, technology adoption, education and policy evaluation. She has done work including randomized and lab-in-the-field experiments in countries such as Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ireland, Kenya, Portugal, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe. Catia has previously taught at the University of Chicago, University of Oxford, Trinity College Dublin, and Notre Dame University. She is currently a Research Fellow at the research centers CReAM (London, UK), IZA (Bonn, Germany) and JPAL Europe (Paris, France). Previously, Catia worked at the International Monetary Fund and at the Portuguese Catholic University, and consulted for the World Bank and the International Growth Center.

2014 - Agregação in International Economics - Universidade Nova de Lisboa

2005 - Ph.D. in Economics - University of Chicago

1998 - Master in Economics - Universiteit Katholieke Leuven

1997 - Bachelor in Economics - Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Development economics; policy evaluation; migration; financial inclusion; education

  • Bah, Tijan l, Batista, Catia, Gubert, Flore, Mckenzie, David (2024). COVID-19 and changes in intentions to migrate from The Gambia. Journal of African Economies, 33 (1), 1-19.
  • Bah, Tijan L., Batista, Cátia, Gubert, Flore, Mckenzie, David (2023). Can information and alternatives to irregular migration reduce "backway" migration from The Gambia?. Journal of Development Economics, 165.
  • Batista, Cátia, Vicente, Pedro c. (2023). Is mobile money changing rural Africa? Evidence from a field experiment. (Accepted/In press) Review of Economics and Statistics, , 1-29.
  • Batista, Catia, Mckenzie, David (2023). Testing classic theories of migration in the lab. Journal Of International Economics, 145.
  • Batista, Catia, Sequeira, Sandra, Vicente, Pedro C. (2022). Closing the gender profit gap?. Management Science, 68 (12), 8553–8567.
  • Batista, Cátia, Fafchamps, Marcel, Vicente, Pedro C (2022). Keep it simple: A field experiment on information sharing among strangers. World Bank Economic Review, 36 (4), 857–888.
  • Batista, Cátia, Vicente, Pedro C. (2020). Adopting mobile money: evidence from an experiment in rural Africa. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 110, 594-598.
  • Batista, Cátia, Vicente, Pedro C. (2020). Improving access to savings through mobile money: experimental evidence from African smallholder farmers. World Development, 129.
  • Batista, Catia, Seither, Julia, Vicente, Pedro C. (2019). Do migrant social networks shape political attitudes and behavior at home?. World Development, 117, 328-343.
  • Batista, Catia, Narciso, Gaia (2018). Migrant remittances and information flows: Evidence from a field experiment. World Bank Economic Review, 32 (1), 203-219.
  • Batista, Catia, Mcindoe-Calder, Tara, Vicente, Pedro C. (2017). Return migration, self-selection and entrepreneurship. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 79 (5), 797-821.
  • Batista, Catia, Umblijs, Janis (2016). Do migrants send remittances as a way of self-insurance?. Oxford Economic Papers, 68 (1), 108-130.
  • Batista, Catia, Silverman, Dan, Yang, Dean (2015). Directed giving: Evidence from an inter-household transfer experiment. Journal Of Economic Behavior & Organization, 118 (SI), 2-21.
  • Batista, Cátia, Potin, Jacques (2015). International specialization and the return to capital. The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, 15 (2), 467-508.
  • Batista, Catia, Umblijs, Janis (2014). Migration, risk attitudes, and entrepreneurship: evidence from a representative immigrant survey. IZA Journal of Migration, 3 (1).
  • Batista, Catia, Potin, Jacques (2014). Stages of diversification in a neoclassical world. Economics Letters, 122 (2), 276-284.
  • Batista, Catia, Lacuesta, Aitor, Vicente, Pedro C. (2012). Testing the 'brain gain' hypothesis: Micro evidence from Cape Verde. Journal of Development Economics, 97 (1), 32-45.
  • Batista, Catia, Vicente, Pedro C. (2011). Do migrants improve governance at home? Evidence from a voting experiment. World Bank Economic Review, 25 (1), 77-104.
  • Batista, Cátia, Lacuesta, Aitor, Vicente, Pedro C. (2008). Consideraciones empíricas de la Fuga de Cerebros. Moneda y crédito, 226, 33-98.
  • Batista, Cátia, Seither, Julia, Vicente, Pedro C. (2020). International migration and social network spillovers of political norms. Economic Globalization and Governance. : Essays in Honor of Jorge Braga de Macedo. Brites Pereira, Luís, Mata, Maria Eugénia, Rocha de Sousa, Miguel (Eds.), Springer International Publishing, 227-240.
  • Batista, Cátia, Seither, Julia, Vicente, Pedro C. (2018). Migration internationale et transfert de normes politiques: Exemples du CapVert et du Mozambique. 1re édition ed. Les migrants, acteurs des changements politiques en Afrique?. Chauvet, Lisa, Gubert, Flore, Jaulin, Thibault, Mesplé-Somps, Sandrine (Eds.), De Boeck Supérieur.
  • Batista, Cátia, Narciso, Gaia, Newman, Carol (2013). Remittance flows to developing countries: trends, importance and impact. Enacting Globalization. : Multidisciplinary Perspectives on International Integration. Brennan, Louis (Eds.), Palgrave Macmillan, 230-239.
  • Batista, Cátia, Gomes, Ana Beatriz (Dec 2022), (NOVAFRICA, n. 2208), Healthcare assimilation of immigrants.
  • Batista, Cátia, Gazeaud, Jules, Seither, Julia (Dec 2022), (NOVAFRICA, n. 2205), Integrating immigrants as a tool for broad development.
  • Bah, Tijan L., Batista, Catia (Jan 2020), 40 p., (Working Paper of the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies), Why do people migrate irregularly? Evidence from a lab-in-the-field experiment in West Africa.
  • Batista, Cátia, Seither, Julia (Aug 2019), 28 p., (NovaAfrica working paper series, n. 1906), Aspirations, expectations, identities: Behavioral constraints of micro-entrepreneurs.
  • Bah, Tijan L., Batista, Cátia (Nov 2018), (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1803), Understanding willingness to migrate illegally: Evidence from a lab in the field experiment.
  • Batista, Cátia, Vicente, Pedro C. (Dec 2018), (NovaAfrica working paper series, n. 1803), Is mobile money changing rural Africa? Evidence from a field experiment.
  • Batista, Cátia, Fafchamps, Marcel, Vicente, Pedro C. (Jun 2018), 55 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1801), Keep it simple: A field experiment on information sharing in social networks.
  • Batista, Cátia, Vicente, Pedro C. (Aug 2017), 46 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1705), Improving access to savings through mobile money: Experimental evidence from smallholder farmers in Mozambique.
  • Batista, Cátia, Seither, Julia, Vicente, Pedro C. (Mar 2017), 36 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1701), Migration, political institutions, and social networks.
  • Batista, Cátia, Costa, Ana Isabel (Apr 2016), 29 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1601), Assessing the role of social networks on migrant labor market outcomes: Evidence from a representative immigrant survey.
  • Batista, Cátia, Cestari, Francesco (Dec 2016), 32 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1602), Migrant intentions to return: The role of migrant social networks.
  • Batista, Cátia, Mcindoe-Calder, Tara, Vicente, Pedro C. (Dec 2016), 42 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1401), Return migration, self-selection and entrepreneurship in Mozambique.
  • Batista, Cátia, Fafchamps, Marcel, Vicente, Pedro C. (Jun 2016), 23 p., (International Growth Centre, n. I-36110-MOZ-1), The diffusion of mobile money: evidence from a lab experiment in the field.
  • Batista, Cátia, Umblijs, Janis (Nov 2014), 37 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1402), Do migrants send remittances as a way of self-insurance?.
  • Batista, Cátia, Silverman, Dan (Sep 2013), 57 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1302), Directed giving: Evidence from an inter-household transfer experiment.
  • Batista, Cátia, Vicente, Pedro C. (Sep 2013), 44 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1301), Introducing mobile money in rural Mozambique: Evidence from a field experiment.
  • Batista, Cátia, Narciso, Gaia (Dec 2013), 47 p., (Nova Africa Working Paper Series, n. 1306), Migrant remittances and information flows: Evidence from a field experiment.
  • Batista, Cátia, Vicente, Pedro C. (Mar 2012), 31 p., (International Growth Centre, n. S-36012-MOZ-1), A randomized impact evaluation of the introduction of mobile banking in Mozambique.
  • Batista, Cátia, Zalduendo, Juan (Oct 2004), 31 p., (IMF, n. 04/203), Can the IMF's medium-term growth projections be improved?.