Plamen Nikolov is an Affiliated Professor at The University of Chicago's Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group, and a Research Fellow of the Global Labor Organization. Under the direction of Lawrence Katz, Raj Chetty, and David Cutler, he received his doctorate from Harvard University and HSPH. He holds a master's degree in International Economics and Arabic/Middle East Studies from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

His expertise is in the design and execution of randomized control trials (RCTs) and cohort studies in resource-limited settings. Using mainly experimental methods (lab and field), his research is in three major areas:

(1) causes and consequences of human capital accumulation (or depreciation) in LMICs,
(2) the economics of aging in LMICs, and
(3) causes and consequences of productivity improvements, with emphasis on insights from psychology and the behavioral sciences, in LMICs.

In an ongoing collaboration with The World Bank and BRAC, Dr. Nikolov is involved in several experimental and quasi-experimental interventions in South Asia and East Africa. Dr. Nikolov has extensive field experience in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tanzania, Kenya, and Egypt.

Plamen Nikolov joined IZA as a Research Fellow in July 2019.

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