Sebastian Eckardt is the Regional Practice Director for Prosperity in the South Asia Region (SAR). He is based in Delhi, India.  

Prior to this he was serving as Practice Manager for Economy Policy in the East Asia and Pacific Region where he led a team of economists working on East Asian economies, including China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, based in Singapore. Prior to this position, he was the World Bank Lead Economist for China, based in Beijing as well as Lead Economist for Vietnam, based in Hanoi. Since joining the World Bank in 2008, he has worked across more than a dozen countries, mostly in Europe and Asia, supporting clients in the areas of macroeconomic, fiscal, and structural reforms for growth and jobs.  

Before joining the Bank, Sebastian worked as an economist for the German Government. A German national, he holds an MSc from the University of Birmingham and PhD from the University of Potsdam, Germany.