Bo P. J. Andree is a Data Scientist at the Office of the Chief Statistician at the World Bank’s Development Data Group. His recent contributions involve research on food security and economic monitoring in data-scarce regions, notably his work with Aart Kraay, Deputy Chief Economist of the World Bank, on Predicting Food Crises. Bo spearheads the maintenance of the Real Time Food Prices (RTFP) dataset, a live compilation of price data updated weekly by the World Bank’s Development Data Group. This dataset, generated through a combination of direct price measurement and Machine Learning, serves as a crucial resource for estimating sub-national price inflation series and national-level Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) indicators in regions with limited official information.
In addition, Bo manages the publications of the World Food Security Outlook (WFSO) database, a valuable resource provided by the World Bank’s Development Data Group and the Agriculture Global Practice to help track SDG2 progress worldwide. This database incorporates historical, preliminary, and forecast data on severe food insecurity, offering insights into associated development financing response needs worldwide. The data have central to establishing and replenishing the World Bank's Crisis Response Window.
As a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Spatial Economics, VU University Amsterdam and an advisor to the UN-FAO IPC Working Group on Advanced Technologies and Artificial Intelligence, Bo blends expertise in spatial-time series econometrics, economics, and machine learning methods, with a keen focus on development policies.
Bo's academic journey includes completing the Earth and Economics B.Sc. program at the VU with additional coursework in economics and a minor in GIS. He further pursued the Spatial, Transport, and Environmental Economics M.Sc. program, culminating in a Ph.D. in Econometrics. His doctoral thesis, titled “Theory and Application of Dynamic Spatial Time Series Models,” showcases his commitment to advancing the theoretical foundations and practical applications in his field.
