Zain Chaudhry

PhD Candidate, University of Heidelberg

Bio

I am a PhD candidate in economics at University of Heidelberg, Germany. 

I am a behavioral development economist studying questions about state capacity in education and health. My research relies on field experiments (in which I collect survey data and conduct lab-in-the-field experiments) or administrative datasets (in which I exploit quasi-random variation). A common strand of my research is a focus on gender. Before my PhD, I worked as a Research Associate for Acemoglu, Cheema, Khwaja and Robinson on Trust in State and Non-State Actors (JPE).

 

To conduct this work, I cooperate with public and private sector entities such as public universities, and departments of health. My research has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), International Growth Centre (IGC), and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA).

I am on the job market in 2022-2023 and am available for interviews at the EJM and the ASSA. 

 

Recent News: I will be presenting “Fickle Groups: A Field Experiment on Time Preferences” at the Naples Workshop on Networks and Development (29-31 May), the Conference on Field Experiments in Strategy (CFXS) at the Harvard Business School (2-3 Aug) and Advances in Field Experiments (AFE) at the University of Chicago (21-22 Sep).


Curriculum Vitae (Updated May 2023)

Contact

Emailchaudhryzain@gmail.com

Twitter: @ZainChaudhry

Tel: +49 6221 54 38 53
Address:
Department of Economics
University of Heidelberg
Bergheimer Strasse 58

69115 Heidelberg, 

Germany

Publications

With Karrar Hussain, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg and Attique-ur-Rehman, UC Delaware.
Oxford Economic Papers, May 2022

Abstract (click to expand)

Job Market Paper

With Karrar Hussain (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg).
Job Market Paper

Abstract (click to expand)

Work in Progress

Selection and Performance of Health Workers

With Dietmar Fehr (Heidelberg), Karrar Hussain (FAU-Erlangen Nuremberg) and Muhammad Yasir Khan (Pittsburgh)

Funded by the DFG. Data collection begins Fall 2023.

Cash Transfers and Trust in the State

With Markus Frölich (Mannheim) and Paula von Haaren (Heidelberg)

Funded by the DFG. Data collection begins May 2023. 

Cognitive Skills and Decision-Making

With Axel Dreher (Heidelberg) and Tobias Korn (Hanover)

Funded by the DFG. Baseline data collection completed.

Inter-Sectarian Contact and Economic Outcomes

With Karrar Hussain (FAU-Erlangen Nuremberg)

Funded by the IPA and IGC. Endline completed. 

Job Opportunities

I am currently hiring a Project Manager based at the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan. You should have the ability to work independently and lead a team. The project is on the national cash transfer program in Pakistan, which delivers cash to women with the goal of female empowerment. The project is with Markus Frölich (Mannheim/C4ED), Paula von Haaren (Heidelberg) and Nasir Iqbal (PIDE). 

Prof. Frölich is a leading econometrician who runs his own research organization in Germany (C4ED) and Pakistan and has a strong placement record for his interns/research assistants (e.g. Harvard, Stanford and LSE). Prof. Iqbal is a leading expert of the national cash transfer programme of Pakistan, having previously served as the BISP Secretariat’s Director R&D. 

Website: This design, made by Xinyue Lin for Gautam Rao, is available at Gautam Rao’s GitHub repository.