Lokendra Phadera is an Economist in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice in Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA). His work focuses on building the evidence base to understand drivers of poverty and household wellbeing in fragile and conflict environment. Previously, Lokendra worked in Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, where he primary focused on the measurement of healthcare insurance coverage, access and utilization including those of Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibles. His current research broadly focuses on the topics of poverty dynamics, household resilience, rural labor market, and the long-term consequences of conflict. Lokendra holds a PhD in applied economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a BA from Middlebury college, and an IB Diploma from the United World College (UWC) of India.