PhD Candidate · Economics

Dario De Quarti

Third-year PhD candidate at the Geneva Graduate Institute, with a focus on development economics and trade.

Supervised by Pr. Cajal Grossi and Pr. Raisaro. Previously worked at the WTO and International Trade Centre.

Dario De Quarti
New
From April to June 2026, I'll be joining the UNU-WIDER PhD Fellowship in Helsinki. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to connect there!
01 /

Research

Development Economics Trade Informality Humanitarian Aid
Ongoing Doctoral Research 2 +
Organizing Humanitarian Aid in South Sudan
with IMPACT Initiatives. Supported by ReCIPE CEPR and SurveyCTO
How should we invest in and allocate humanitarian aid in conflict-affected economies? I combine six years of geospatial data on trade, aid, and conflict across South Sudanese marketplaces to study the spatial allocation of humanitarian aid.
South Sudan trade network map
Trade network across South Sudanese marketplaces, built from six years of geospatial data
In Progress +
Informality on the Intensive Margin in Zambia
Supported by IGC, UNU-WIDER, STEG-CEPR
Do formal firms operate informally, and why? I study the rollout of electronic invoicing in Zambia during a period of daily power shortages to understand how firms navigate formality when public infrastructure fails.
In Progress +
Policy Contributions 2 +
E-invoicing adoption under loadshedding in Zambia
with S. Jackson — IGC Policy Brief, 2025
Since 2024, all Zambian firms must use electronic invoices for VAT reporting. Based on interviews with 61 firms, we study how daily loadshedding disrupts adoption: firms unable to issue smart invoices lose formal customers and revert to informal trade, even as high awareness and compliance efforts by the Zambia Revenue Authority promise long-term gains in tax revenue.
Policy Brief +
Trade Finance in West Africa
IFC–WTO — Policy Report, 2022
A joint IFC–WTO study surveying banks across Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal to assess trade finance gaps and estimate the potential boost to trade from closing them.
Projected trade cost reductions in ECOWAS
Expanding trade finance coverage could raise ECOWAS merchandise trade by 8–16%, with the strongest boost to intra-regional flows
Policy Report +
Pre-Doctoral Working Paper 1 +
A Novel Framework to Evaluate Changes in Access and Costs of Trade Finance
with M. Auboin and E. Bekkers — WTO Working Paper, 2023
We develop a CGE framework to evaluate how changes in trade finance conditions affect trade flows.
Working Paper +
02 /

Recent Work

2025
Victoria Falls, Zambia
PhD Fellowship — IGC Zambia Evidence Lab
Funded research stay in Lusaka, Zambia. Partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the Zambia Revenue Authority.
IGC profile ↗
Jul–Sep
PhD Fellowship – IGC Zambia Evidence Lab
Teaching research methods in Zambia
IGC Research Methods Workshop
Teaching research methods at an IGC event in Zambia.
Aug
IGC Research Methods Workshop
IGC Roundtable
IGC Roundtable Discussion
Participated in policy roundtable on distributed solar solutions and SMEs in Zambia.
Learn more ↗
14 Oct
IGC Roundtable
Policy Brief Published
"E-invoicing adoption under loadshedding in Zambia" — with S. Jackson.
Read the brief ↗
18 Nov
IGC Policy Brief
PhD Grant — ReCIPE CEPR
Funding for survey work in South Sudan on humanitarian aid allocation.
Nov
PhD Grant – ReCIPE CEPR
2026
Honorable Mention
SurveyCTO — Research Grant
Primary Data Collection Research Grant for field survey infrastructure.
Announcement ↗
Feb
SurveyCTO – Research Grant
PhD Day
Presented research progress at the PhD Day joint with the University of Geneva.
Feb
PhD Day joint with UNIGE
PhD Grant — STEG CEPR
Funding for fieldwork and data analysis in Zambia.
Apr
PhD Grant – STEG CEPR
PhD Fellowship — UNU-WIDER
Funded research stay in Helsinki, Finland.
Apr–Jun
PhD Fellowship – UNU-WIDER
Grant
Fellowship
Publication
Event
2026
Apr–Jun
PhD Fellowship — UNU-WIDER
Funded research stay in Helsinki, Finland
Fellowship
PhD Fellowship — UNU-WIDER
Funded research stay in Helsinki, Finland.
Apr
PhD Grant — STEG CEPR
Funding for fieldwork and data analysis in Zambia
Grant
PhD Grant — STEG CEPR
Funding for fieldwork and data analysis in Zambia.
Feb
PhD Day
Presented research at PhD Day joint with University of Geneva
Event
PhD Day
Presented research progress at the PhD Day joint with the University of Geneva.
Feb
SurveyCTO — Research Grant
Primary Data Collection Research Grant — Honorable Mention
Grant
SurveyCTO — Research Grant
Primary Data Collection Research Grant for field survey infrastructure.
Announcement ↗
2025
Nov
PhD Grant — ReCIPE CEPR
Funding for survey work in South Sudan on humanitarian aid
Grant
PhD Grant — ReCIPE CEPR
Funding for survey work in South Sudan on humanitarian aid allocation.
18 Nov
IGC Policy Brief Published
"E-invoicing adoption under loadshedding in Zambia" — with S. Jackson
Publication
Policy Brief Published
"E-invoicing adoption under loadshedding in Zambia" — with S. Jackson.
Read the brief ↗
14 Oct
IGC Roundtable Discussion
Policy roundtable on distributed solar solutions and SMEs in Zambia
Event
IGC Roundtable
IGC Roundtable Discussion
Participated in policy roundtable on distributed solar solutions and SMEs in Zambia.
Learn more ↗
Aug
IGC Research Methods Workshop
Teaching research methods at an IGC event in Zambia
Event
Teaching research methods
IGC Research Methods Workshop
Teaching research methods at an IGC event in Zambia.
Jul–Sep
PhD Fellowship — IGC Zambia Evidence Lab
Funded research stay in Lusaka, Zambia
Fellowship
Victoria Falls, Zambia
PhD Fellowship — IGC Zambia Evidence Lab
Funded research stay in Lusaka, Zambia. Partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the Zambia Revenue Authority.
IGC profile ↗
03 /

About

I'm a third-year PhD candidate in Economics at the Geneva Graduate Institute, supervised by Pr. Cajal Grossi and Pr. Raisaro. My research interests are in development economics and trade.

Before the PhD, I worked as a Trade Information Specialist at the International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO) and as a Research Assistant at the World Trade Organization. I hold an MSc in Economics from the Geneva Graduate Institute and a BSc in Economics from HEC Lausanne.

I speak French, Italian, English, and Portuguese.

2023 –
PhD in Economics
Geneva Graduate Institute
2022 – 23
Trade Information Specialist
International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO)
2021 – 22
Research Assistant
World Trade Organization
2020 – 22
MSc Economics
Geneva Graduate Institute
2017 – 20
BSc Economics
HEC Lausanne
04 /

Teaching

2025 –
Teaching Assistant — Statistics, Economics (various Master-level courses)
Geneva Graduate Institute
Aug 2025
IGC Research Methods Workshop
International Growth Centre, Zambia
2018 – 20
Teaching Assistant — Macroeconomics, Microeconomics
University of Lausanne (HEC)
Current students Office Hours ↗
05 /

Get in Touch

I'm happy to discuss research, potential collaborations, or anything else. The best way to reach me is by email.

06 /

Gallery

07 /

Beyond Research

National football referee in France until 2025 — from Gambardella Cup to Ligue 2 matches — and still refereeing in Switzerland.

FFF Referee Profile ↗