Professor Burlando’s current research focuses on the interaction between formal financial markets and informal risk sharing networks in East Africa, with ongoing projects on mobile money in Tanzania and savings groups in Uganda. His past work includes an examination of the impact of infrastructure development on health and fertility in Tanzania. He also works on theories that explore the implications of drug legalization on police corruption. Professor Burlando is an Italian national, born in Venezuela to an Italian father and a Colombian mother. He speaks Spanish and became fluent in Kiswahili during his two years working in East Africa.