Evan Blecher, Ph.D.

Dr. Evan Blecher is an Economist in the Global Tax Program (Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice) at the World Bank, where his work focuses on technical assistance for health tax policy, including tobacco, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverage taxes. Evan is an Honorary Professor in the School of Economics, and a research associate of the Economics of Excisable Products Research Unit at the University of Cape Town.

Prior to joining the World Bank, he was an economist in the Fiscal Policies for Health unit at the World Health Organization where he led the development of new streams of work including alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, and in the Tobacco Control Economics unit where he led tobacco tax efforts in the African region; a Senior Economist in the Health Policy Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago; and a Senior Economist in the Health and Economic Policy Research Program at the American Cancer Society.

Evan received his bachelor's degree in economics and business strategy from the University of Cape Town, an MA in economics with distinction from the University of the West of England, Bristol, and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Cape Town.