Dany Bahar is a nonresident senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution and an associate professor of practice of international and public affairs at Brown University’s Watson Institute. He was previously a Senior Fellow and David M. Rubenstein Fellow at Brookings. An Israeli and Venezuelan economist, he is also an associate at the Harvard Center for International Development (Growth Lab), and a research affiliate at both CESifo Group Munich and IZA Institute of Labor Economics.
His research sits at the intersection of international economics and economic development. In particular, his academic research focuses on the diffusion of technology and knowledge within and across borders, as measured by productivity, structural transformation, exports, entrepreneurship and innovation, among other factors. Lately, his research has focused on migrants and refugees as drivers of this process and, more broadly, on the benefits that migrants and refugees bring to both their countries of origin and destination. His academic work has been published in top economic journals, and he often contributes to leading media outlets in the United States and around the globe.
His expertise on policy issues includes structural transformation policies, trade policies, integration of immigrants and refugees in local economies, productivity dynamics, and issues related to globalization more generally. He also analyzes and follows closely political and economic trends in Latin America and the Middle East (particularly, Israel and its neighbors). He has worked and consulted for multilateral development organizations, such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. In 2019, he participated in a task force of independent experts convened by the secretary general of the Organization of American States to recommend regional actions on the Venezuelan migration and refugee crisis. He is also the host of “Economists On Zoom Getting Coffee.”
Bahar holds a B.A. in systems engineering from Universidad Metropolitana (Caracas, Venezuela), an M.A. in economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an M.P.A. in international development from Harvard Kennedy School, and a Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University.
See more research from Dany Bahar on his website.
- Contact
- 202-797-6034 — Global Economy and Development program
- Topics
- Developing Economies
- Entrepreneurship
- Global Development
- Global Economy
- Global Trade
- Immigration
- Israel
- Migrants, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons
- Technology & Innovation
- Venezuela
- Programs
- Global Economy and Development
- Projects
- The Technology-Productivity-Inequality Nexus
- Additional Expertise Areas
- Productivity Dynamics
- Current Positions
- Associate Professor of Practice of International and Public Affairs, Brown University's Watson Institute (2021-Present)
- Associate, Harvard’s Center for International Development (2010-Present)
- Research Affiliate, CESifo Group Munich (2018-Present)
- Research Affiliate, IZA Institute of Labor Economics (2018-Present)
- Past Positions
- Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
- David M. Rubenstein Fellow, The Brookings Institution
- Senior Associate Economist, Research Department, Inter-American Development Bank
- Consultant for the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and other international think tanks and private firms
- Experience in both the public and private sectors
- Education
- Ph.D. in Public Policy (Economics Track) from Harvard University (2014)
- M.P.A. in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School (2010)
- M.A. in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2008)
- B.Eng. in Systems Engineering from Universidad Metropolitana, Caracas, Venezuela (2003)
