Dean Karlan

Dean Karlan is an American development economist and social entrepreneur currently serving as chief economist of the United States Agency for International Development. Alongside his role at USAID, he is the Frederic Esser Nemmers Distinguished Professor of Economics and Finance at Northwestern University where, alongside Christopher Udry, he co-directs the Globe Poverty Research Lab at the Kellogg School of Management.

Karlan's research focuses on the microeconomics of poverty alleviation in the developing world. Alongside Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, Sendhil Mullainathan, and Edward Miguel, he has been a leading proponent of the use of randomized controlled trials to inform policy decisions in developing countries. In 2002, Karlan founded Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), a New Haven headquartered nonprofit organization that promotes the use of scientific evidence in global poverty alleviation. He is also the founder of StickK, an internet company and website that applies lessons from behavioral science to help individuals achieve their goals through commitment contracts. Provided by Wikipedia