Adam Osman

Adam Osman

Assistant Professor, University of Illinois

Adam Osman is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. He is also the co-Scientific Director of J-PAL MENA's regional office based at the American University in Cairo. He is a development economist whose work utilizes randomized experiments and economic theory to improve our understanding of which policies work best in improving the lives of the poor. His research covers topics including Islamic finance, private sector development, youth employment, international trade and transport frictions. He has run experiments in Egypt, Jordan, the Philippines, Nigeria and Georgia. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University in 2014.

Areas of Interest:

  • Development Economics
  • Labor Economics
  • International Economics
  • Microfinance

Education:

  • Ph.D., Economics, Yale University, 2014
  • M.Phil., Economics, Yale University, 2011
  • M.A., Economics, Yale University, 2009

Experience:

  • Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Research Fellow, 2020-Present
  • Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014-Present
  • co-Scientific Director, JPAL MENA, 2015-Present

Latest Publications:

  • “Increasing Financial Inclusion in the Muslim World: Evidence from an Islamic Finance Marketing Experiment” with Dean Karlan and Nour Shammout, forthcoming at World Bank Economic Review
  • “Measuring Productivity: Lessons from Tailored Surveys and Productivity Benchmarking.” With David Atkin and Amit Khandelwal, 2019, AEA: Papers and Proceedings, 109, 444-449
  • "Exporting and firm performance: Evidence from a randomized experiment." with David Atkin and Amit Khandelwal, 2017, Quarterly Journal of Economics 132.2, 551-615 (Editor’s Choice)
What Do Jobseekers Want? Estimating Reservation Wages and the Value of Job Attributes

Areas of Interest: Development Economics Labor Economics International Economics Microfinance Education: Ph.D., Economics, Yale University, 2014 M.Phil., Economics,... Read More

November, 2020

Working Papers
Comparing Methods to Estimate Valuations of Job Attributes

Areas of Interest: Development Economics Labor Economics International Economics Microfinance Education: Ph.D., Economics, Yale University, 2014 M.Phil., Economics,... Read More

July, 2020

ERF 26th Annual Conference
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