Minji Kwak

I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of Southern California (USC).  I will be on the 2025-26 Job Market.

I am a development economist specializing in political economy and the economics of education.  I study governance and education in low-income countries with a behavioral and gender perspective. 

I primarily focus on traditional local governance systems in developing countries where modern elected leadership does not exist. As part of previous and on-going research in Malawi, I explore ways to improve social welfare at the village level through field and lab-in-the-field experiments (Political Economy).

I am also interested in the role of gender in human capital development by measuring and evaluating the impact of policies aimed at increasing access to education (Economics of Education).

You can reach me at minjikwa [at] usc [dot] edu.

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)                 Google Scholar Profile

Research Fields: Development Economics, Applied Microeconomics, Political Economy, Economics of Educationji Kwak Econ