ROBERTO N. FATTAL JAEF is a Senior Economist in the Macroeconomics and Growth team of the World Bank’s Research Department. His research interest cover various areas of macroeconomics, with a special emphasis on economic growth. Current and recent research topics include: 1) understanding the role of market distortions for firm level behavior, entrepreneurship, and long run macroeconomic outcomes; 2) investigating the micro and macro patterns of transition growth paths, 3) studying the role of credit for business cycle. Prior to joining the Bank, he worked at the International Monetary Fund’s Research department (2011-2013). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from UCLA.
Research Interests Macroeconomics, International Macroeconomics, Economic Development.
Disclaimer: the views expressed in this site are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the World Bank or World Bank policy.
Under Review
The Economic Ripple Effects of Covid-19, with Francisco Buera, Hugo Hopenhayn, Andy Neumeyer, and Yongseok Shin, revise and resubmit Review of Economic Studies pdf
The Dynamics of Development: Innovation and Reallocation, with Francisco Buera, conditionally accepted AEJ: Macroeconomics pdf
Publications
Entry Barriers, Idiosyncratic Distortions, and the Firm-Size Distribution, AEJ:Macroeconomics, Vol. 14, NO 2, April 2022 pdf published-article
Size-Dependent Tax Enforcement and Compliance: Global Evidence and Aggregate Implications, with Pierre Bachas and Anders Jensen, Journal of Development Economics , vol. 140, September 2019 pdf
Taxing the Good? Distortions, Productivity, and Misallocation in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Xavier Cirera and Hibret Maemir, World Bank Economic Review, August 2019 pdf
Entry and Exit, Multi-Product Firms, and Allocative Distortions AEJ: Macroeconomics Vol 10 No. 2, April 2018 pdf
The Anatomy of a Credit Crunch: from Capital to Labor Markets, with Francisco Buera and Yongseok Shin, Review of Economic Dynamics, January 2015 pdf
Entry, Trade Costs and International Business Cycles with Jose Ignacio Lopez, Journal of International Economics 94 (2014), 224-238 pdf
Working Papers
The Role of Finance (Mis)Allocation on Real (Mis)Allocation, 2024, with Ana Paula Cusolito, Davide Salvatore Mare, and Akshat Singh pdf
On the Welfare Costs of Premature Deindustrialization, October 2022 pdf
Deconstructing the Missing Middle: Informality and Growth of Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Kaleb Abreha, Xavier Cirera, Elwyn Davies, and Hibret Maemir pdf
The Missing Middle in a Broad Cross-Section of Indian Establishments, with Francisco Buera, Reiko Laski, and Nicholas Tracther, in progress
Constrained-Efficiency and the Welfare Effects of Misallocation with Hugo Hopenhayn, November 2019 pdf