Dean Karlan is the Frederic Esser Nemmers Distinguished Professor of Economics and Finance at Northwestern University, co-director of the Global Poverty Research Lab, and former Chief Economist of USAID. His research focuses on development and behavioral economics, typically using experimental methods to examine questions about poverty and behavior change. Karlan founded Innovations for Poverty Action, a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty; co-founded stickK.com, a website to help individuals write commitment contracts to engage in positive behavior change; and co-founded ImpactMatters, a nonprofit dedicated to providing impact ratings of nonprofits to retail donors. Karlan was also on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the M.I.T. Jameel Poverty Action Lab from inception until 2022. From 2005-2017 he was a professor of economics at Yale University, and from 2002-2005 he was a professor of economics at Princeton University. He has co-authored four books: More Than Good Intentions; Failing in the Field; The Goldilocks Challenge, and Economics, a principles textbook. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from M.I.T., an M.B.A. and an M.P.P. from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Virginia.
