Wendy Janssens’ research focuses on experimental and micro-econometric evaluations of the impact of development programmes in the areas of global mental health, sexual and reproductive health and HIV/Aids, health financing and health behaviour, and women’s empowerment and intra-household decision-making – aiming to understand the behavioural foundations underlying those impacts.

She is Professor in Development Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), Academic Board member of the AIGHD, in the management team of HERA (Health Economics Research Amsterdam) and a research fellow at the Tinbergen Institute. She is also research advisor for PharmAccess International.

She has received numerous research grants, including a BRAC grant to examine digital finance, women’s empowerment and mental well-being in Kenya; a DFID-ESRC grant to study social norms and child marriage in Pakistan; an NWO-Wotro grant to study family planning, HIV/AIDS and empowerment in Mozambique; and an NWO-VENI grant to study the interaction between health insurance and microfinance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, she is coordinating the Global Mental Health theme group at AIGHD, and leading an interdisciplinary research programme on mobile technology and universal health coverage for mothers and children in Kenya, including the evaluation of maternal mental health interventions.

She has extensive experience in designing and coordinating multi-disciplinary research programmes to provide rigorous and locally grounded policy advice to national and international organisations as well as governments (such as Oxfam Novib, PharmAccess Foundation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the World Bank). Previously, she held visiting positions at the Institute of Fiscal Studies in London, and the World Bank Development Economics Research Group in Washington, DC.

View Wendy’s publications (via Orcid)

View Wendy’s publications (via Scopus)