After the Degree in International Relations for Development (Bologna University and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), she got a Master of Science in Development Economics at the Sussex University in Brighton (UK) and a PhD in Institutions and Politics (Development Economics field) at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, by carrying out an empirical research on the influence of natural resources on civil conflicts' intensity in least developed countries. She is currently a Post-doc Research Fellow at the International Economics, Institutions and Development Department at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

Since 2001 she has been working on international development field, with special focus on natural resources management, civil conflicts and rural development, through several collaborations with NGOs, governmental cooperation agencies and United Nations. She worked in Bangladesh, Uganda, Bolivia and Ivory Coast.

Contacts
personal page: http://docenti.unicatt.it/ita/sara_balestri/