EGC Celebrates the Class of 2026, their achievements and future plans

Tianyu Fan’s research has focused on the intersection of macroeconomics, political economy, and international economics. He will join Princeton University as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (2026–2027) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) as an Assistant Professor of Economics in 2027.

“My time at Yale has been intellectually transformative. I am deeply grateful to my advisors, classmates, and the broader EGC community for creating such a rigorous and generous environment, where I learned how to ask questions that matter for understanding economic growth and development. Yale has profoundly shaped my work on technology, geopolitics, and structural transformation, and I will carry its influence with me in the years ahead.” - Tianyu Fan

 

“Tianyu has written an exceptional dissertation, marked by ambition, originality, and a rare instinct for important questions. His work studies some of the central forces shaping the modern global economy: technological change, geopolitical fragmentation, trade, and service-led growth. His job market paper develops a powerful new framework for understanding how automation and AI reshape labor markets when workers can move more easily between some occupations than others. His work on geopolitics constructs new measures of international alignment and shows how political relations shape growth, investment, and trade. What is especially distinctive about Tianyu is his intellectual drive to address pressing, first-order questions rather than safe or narrow ones. Tianyu is an outstanding young economist, and I expect his work to have a major long-lasting impact.” - Fabrizio Zilibotti, Tuntex Professor of International and Development Economics

 

"It has truly been an honor to work with and learn from Tianyu. Even before starting graduate school, Tianyu was already a coauthor with me and my colleague Fabrizio Zilibotti. Throughout his time at Yale, I therefore came to think of Tianyu as much as a colleague as a student. This maturity is fully on display in his marvelous dissertation, which is unique in both its breadth and ambition, spanning topics from long-run growth to the labor market impacts of AI and geopolitics. Being part of his journey has been a wonderful — and at times humbling! — experience. Thanks for six great years together at Yale!” - Michael Peters, Associate Professor of Economics; Associate Chair of the Department of Economics

Christina Qiu's research examines the economic impacts of digital technologies. After graduation, she will join the Department of Economics at Miami Herbert Business School as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2026.

“It has meant the world to me to be part of the Yale economics community. My PhD experience was filled with unexpected epiphanies, growth-inducing seminars, consistent laughter– and most importantly, the ineffable sensation of being intellectually alive. I am incredibly thankful to my advisors, professors, and classmates, and will miss them dearly.” - Christina Qiu

 

“Christina Qiu is a gifted student who took on a very ambitious and challenging problem – can we theoretically characterize informal insurance networks when the network formation is endogenous?  Spatially correlated risk is well-known to be an important feature of rural, agrarian areas of developing countries, but until now the literature had shied away from this complication to take and easier route, seeking out empirical settings where the network could be more-credibly characterized as exogenously determined. Christina makes a significant breakthrough, and her research has the potential to open up new lines of inquiry on how rural economies are organized, and even how firm production networks may be organized.” - Mushfiq Mobarak, Jerome Kasoff '54 Professor of Management and Economics

Yan Yan’s research focuses on the political economy of international trade policy. After graduation, he will join the research division of Uber Technologies Inc.

“My time at Yale has been incredibly meaningful for my development as a researcher. I’m deeply grateful for the mentorship and intellectual community I found here, which gave me the space to pursue questions at the intersection of trade, political economy, and policy. The EGC has had a lasting impact on both my research and my aspirations going forward.” - Yan Yan

 

“Yan Yan was a pleasure to work with, both in research and in teaching. His dissertation makes an original contribution to our understanding of trade policy by studying the role of informational lobbying, showing how firms’ private information can help policymakers better target tariff relief and shape the design of trade policy. He was also an outstanding teaching fellow: having him on my teaching team gave me complete confidence that students would be in excellent hands, and I always knew I could rely on him.” - Guillermo Noguera, Senior Lecturer

 

"It was truly a pleasure to work with Yan Yan over the last few years and to learn about the implementation of trade policy in practice. Yan Yan is the first to use a structural approach to study how firms can use lobbying to convey information relevant for policy to policy makers. He applies his methods to the EXIM Bank’s and tariff exemptions under U.S. Section 301. His models are so elegant and their quantification so parsimonious that they may be applicable to other contexts of lobbying under asymmetry of information." - Ana Cecilia Fieler, Lecturer & Faculty Co-Director, IDE MA Program

This year’s graduates of the International and Development Economics Master’s program will go on to a variety of positions in consulting, government policy, and academia including Compass Lexecon, Charles River Associates, the Singapore Economic Development Board, and predoc positions at Yale's Tobin Center, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the Development Innovation Lab at Chicago, and Harvard Business School. We highlight just a few:

Yizhang Li will join Compass Lexecon as an Analyst in the Washington, D.C. office. 

“My time in the IDE program has given me a deeper insight into development economics, strengthening both my expertise and my passion for the field. More importantly, it has introduced me to an incredible community of like-minded professors, peers, and alumni. I look forward to carrying this enthusiasm into my future career path.” - Yizhang Li

Clair Kevin Nshimirimana will pursue work at an international organization that aligns with his interest in combining rigorous research with real-world policy engagement.

“When I think about Yale, the word that comes to my mind is opportunity. The opportunity to learn, the opportunity to network, and the opportunity to grow. I think those types of opportunities are what matter most.” - Clair Kevin Nshimirimana

Adaolisa Ezekobe worked on projects at the intersection of energy, environment, trade, and development in emerging markets and the global economy. Her work at Yale included research on renewable energy markets, groundwater and electricity use, satellite-based measures of environmental change, and international trade. She is currently exploring research and policy roles before pursuing a PhD.

“I’ve spent three years at Yale, one as an MA IDE student and two as a Tobin predoctoral fellow. I’ve been pushed to expand my curiosity, question more and really get my hands dirty with economic research. I am especially grateful for the friendships I built through IDE, and also for the chance to work so closely with Nick Ryan and Sam Kortum, whose care, guidance, and investment in my growth have helped shape the researcher I am.” - Adaolisa Ezekobe

 

“Adaolisa has a talent to see when something complicated is simpler than it appears. This talent came to the fore in coding up models and in writing about them. My favorite memory is Adaolisa suggesting how to clarify a wayward paragraph.” - Samuel Kortum, Departmental Chair and James Burrows Moffatt Professor of Economics

Camilla Sarzo supported research in development economics, agricultural economics and structural change. She will move to Rwanda to continue working on projects related to firms, trade, and economic development. 

“My time at Yale has been extremely formative, both personally and academically. I was exposed to frontier research in trade, firms, and development economics, had the opportunity to work with many different types of data, and benefited tremendously from the constant exposure to seminars, conferences, and new research methods. I think Yale is a place where you are continuously exposed to new ideas and unique opportunities, and this environment has shaped the way I think about research and my future work.” - Camilla Sarzo

 

“Camilla has been an outstanding predoc and we will miss her! Among her many contributions, she mastered the byzantine architecture of U.S. tariff policy, all while bringing cheerfulness, curiosity, and diligence to every project. We're excited to see what the future holds for her and will be rooting for her every step of the way!” - Amit Khandelwal, Dong-Soo Hahn Professor of Global Affairs and Economics

Harnoor Kaur supported Economic Growth Center affiliates working within the Yale Inclusion Economics Initiative on projects in international development and gender economics. Following graduation, she will begin a PhD at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

“Harnoor is exactly the kind of person you want in the room when you're trying to figure something out — intellectually curious, sharp, and always finding something in the data you hadn't seen yourself. Across a remarkably wide range of projects, from women's labor in India to carbon markets to digital access for women in Africa, she brought the same rigor and insight to everything she touched. Stanford is lucky to have her.” - Rohini Pande, Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics and Director of the Economic Growth Center

 

“Harnoor combines outstanding research skills with genuine intellectual curiosity. After seeing the rigor and thoughtfulness she brought to her work, I invited her to join me as a coauthor on a project on perceptions of gender gaps, and working with her has been such a joy. She is a wonderful teammate and I can't wait to see all the research projects she will take on. I (and my dog!) will truly miss having her around - but I’m excited for all the California adventures ahead of her. Way to go, Harnoor!” - Maria Kogelnik, Lecturer and Associate Research Scientist

Aiwen Desai graduates with a major in Economics. She provided communications support, worked on research syntheses, and helped with EGC's data curation effort.

"I loved working at EGC! I was able to learn about many different areas of research within economic development, and talk directly with faculty about their work. I gained a broader perspective on what contributes to growth, equality, and innovation in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, the mentorship I received was top notch –- I'm so grateful to everyone I worked with for making the internship a wonderful experience!" - Aiwen Desai

“Aiwen was able to accomplish so much over a short period of time, including a great spotlight article on new affiliate Leah Boustan that was picked up by the FAS Dean’s office and featured by the Econ department in its annual magazine. She excelled at working independently, multi-tasking, communicating well, and setting smart timelines, while also actively seeking and incorporating comments on her working drafts so what she turned in was already in great shape. Wishing her the very best for a fantastic journey ahead, with great policy analysis and fun rock-climbing in equal parts!” - Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan, Deputy Director of the Economic Growth Center

Sonia Jin graduates with a double major in Statistics and Data Science, and Economics and Mathematics. She supported the Google Flood Alerts and Flood Insurance teams in the design of a flood insurance product for India. After graduation, she will pursue her PhD in Statistics at the University of Washington.

“Sonia has been an integral part of our flood adaptation study for the past two years. She has reviewed relevant literature and generated key analysis from large-scale field data. Along the way, she has coordinated closely with researchers at Yale and Tufts, two predoctoral associates, and research staff based in India. We all appreciate Sonia's careful research analysis, insightful questions, and excellent teamwork. We wish Sonia the very best in her next academic venture, and we want to thank her for all of her inputs over the years.” - Jenna Allard, Associate Director of Research and Policy at Yale Inclusion Economics