Eveline Smeets

Economist at World Bank Group. I tinker mainly with economics and technology.
Latest curiosities are science & technology and the human condition, human-machine collaboration, greek myths, piano.

Currently based in Washington DC.
Previously: Netherlands · UK · Austria · Oman · Peru · Singapore

contact
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I work on applied research on the economics of technology, now mainly artificial intelligence, and have spent a decade translating research into decisions, advising the World Bank Group venture capital investment committee (IFC) and government policies (UN).

experience
Economist, World Bank Group (IFC)
Economic research and investment in disruptive technology globally — advising the IFC investment committee, WBG member states, and engaging directly with product and engineering teams in portfolio companies
2020–present
Junior Industrial Development Expert, United Nations (UNIDO)
Seconded from UN to Oman's Ministry of Commerce and Industry — designing industrial policies, writing policy memos and advising ministers and senior government officials, organizing the national policy consultation
2019–2020
Analyst, Morrow Sodali (Nestor Advisors)
Designed regulatory frameworks for listed companies and capital markets regulators in two EBRD client countries, in partnership with local capital market regulators and stock exchanges
2018–2019
Researcher, United Nations (UNIDO)
Econometric modelling and dataset development on economic transformation and jobs, contributing to UNIDO flagship publications and policy memos
2013–2017
Co-founder, Salto Peru
Founded and ran a social innovation project enabling 450+ smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs in Peru to adopt technology and access markets
2015–2017
education
MSc Economic History, London School of Economics
Renswoude Foundation scholarship · Top 20%
2014–2015
BSc Economics and Business Economics, Maastricht University
Research Honors Program · Semester at NTU Singapore
2010–2013
research
AI adoption among frontier firms worldwide: an original dataset
WBG · with L. Olarte & L. Graf
2026
Manufacturing, jobs and economic growth: an original dataset and publication
World Development Journal, Elsevier · Featured in The Economist · with N. Haraguchi & C. Cheng
2017
The impact of digitalization on the creative industries
WBG · World Economic Forum · Presented at WTO Public Forum 2023
2022
policy
Manufacturing strategy and policy instruments: Sultanate of Oman
United Nations (UNIDO) · Industrial policy framework for economic diversification
2020

Primers synthesize the research literature on topics in technology and economics. These are updated as the research evolves.

primers
AI & Jobs
How AI affects tasks, occupations, and labor markets — a synthesis of theory and empirics
2025
AI & Productivity
Coming soon
2025
pensées
March of the machine makes idle minds?
A synthesis of what economics and history suggest about AI and jobs
2026