Laura Saavedra-Lux

Laura Saavedra-Lux is a research associate at UNU-WIDER. In her work she examines the micro-foundations of political violence, socio-economic development, and the consolidation of peace. She is specifically interested in understanding how ordinary citizens respond to local security, development and environmental challenges, and when these responses can have a positive effect on political and economic outcomes.

For her research she collects micro-level data using administrative records, geographic information systems (GIS), text-as-data approaches, surveys and interviews. Her work draws upon strategies for causal inference, spatial econometrics, as well as qualitative analysis of interviews and field work observations.

She is a fellow of the Peace Research Institute Oslo's Research School on Peace and Conflict. She holds a PhD in political science from the University of Essex and a master’s degree in peace and conflict studies from the University of Uppsala.