Ben Olken

The photo shows Ben Olken in a button-up shirt

Director, J-PAL

Scientific Director, J-PAL Southeast Asia

Co-Chair, Social Protection

Member, Executive Committee

J-PAL Affiliated Professor

Jane Berkowitz Carlton and Dennis William Carlton Professor of Microeconomics

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Benjamin A. Olken is the Jane Berkowitz Carlton and Dennis William Carlton Professor of Microeconomics at MIT. His research focuses on the public sector in developing countries, including work on social safety nets, taxation, and governance. He has worked extensively in Indonesia for over 20 years, as well as in other contexts. He is the Editor of American Economic Journal: Applied Economics and the Co-Director of the NBER Development Economics Program. Ben earned his PhD in 2004 from Harvard University.

Ben currently serves as a Director of J-PAL, Scientific Director of J-PAL Southeast Asia (SEA), and Co-Chair of J-PAL's Social Protection Sector. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, and serves on the review board of J-PAL SEA's Inclusive Financial Innovation Initiative and Social Protection Initiative. Ben previously served as a Co-Chair of J-PAL's Governance Initiative.