Individuals’ behaviours are vital determinants of health outcomes. Understanding how people make decisions and how to steer their choices is thus crucial for policy making. Marta's research focuses on one component of this challenge: the role that people’s beliefs about health play in their decision-making, and how these beliefs can be shifted. Marta's PhD projects include a survey experiment looking at the take-up of novel vaccines in Ghana and modelling parental health-seeking for children in Zambia. At LSE, Marta is working under the supervision of Dr Mylène Lagarde and Dr Ranjeeta Thomas.

Marta's research experience primarily consists of randomised evaluations and field experiments. Previously, she was the Research, Policy and Projects Officer for the Mind and Behaviour Research Group (MBRG) at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE). Marta supported research projects focusing on different topics within behavioural development economics, including voter responses to polling data in South Africa, the civic and community response to income shocks in Kenya, and the measurement of psychological and mental health outcomes in field surveys. She also led the financial, administrative, and team management of the MBRG, as well as the Group’s policy and outreach activities. Previously, Marta worked as a research intern for the NGO WaterSHED Asia in Cambodia. She have a BA(Hons) in Economics and History from the University of Durham and an MSc in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford.

Dissertation title:

Information, Subjective Expectations, and Beliefs: Essays on the Determinants of Health-Seeking Decisions

Dissertation supervisor(s):

Dr Mylène Lagarde, Dr Ranjeeta Thomas

CV:

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Publications:

Orkin, K., Garlick, R., Rodriguez Hurtado, I., Grabowska, M., Kreft, B., & Cahill, A. (2022). International evidence to inform decision making on implementing urgent response social protection measures. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 27(sup1), 219-238.