I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh.
I am also an affiliate of Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), IZA- Institute of Labor , Center for Governance and Markets, and Mahbub ul Haq Research Center.
My Ph.D. is from the University of California Berkeley's Haas School of Business. I use field experiments and policy experiments to study topics at the intersection of development economics, political economy, and behavioral economics.
Email: yasir.khan@pitt.edu
Published and Accepted Articles:
(1) Mission Motivation and Public Sector Performance: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan, American Economic Review (2025)
(2) “Good Politicians”: Experimental Evidence on Motivations for Political Candidacy and Government Performance, with Saad Gulzar , The Review of Economic Studies (2025)
(3) Personalities and Public Sector Performance: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan, with Michael Callen, Saad Gulzar, Ali Hasanain, and Arman Rezaee, Economic Development and Cultural Change (2025)
(4) The Political Economy of Public Employee Absence: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan, with Michael Callen, Saad Gulzar, Ali Hasanain, and Arman Rezaee, Journal of Public Economics (2023)
(5) No bulls: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Veterinarian Ratings in Pakistan, with Ali Hasanain and Arman Rezaee, Journal of Development Economics (2023)
(6) Using Preference Estimates to Customize Incentives: An Application to Polio Vaccination Drives in Pakistan, with James Andreoni, Michael Callen, Karrar Hussain, and Charlie Sprenger, Journal of the European Economic Association (2023)
(7) Data and Policy Decisions: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan , with Michael Callen, Saad Gulzar, Ali Hasanain, and Arman Rezaee, Journal of Development Economics (2020)
(8) Improving Public Health Delivery in Punjab, Pakistan: Issues and Opportunities, with Michael Callen, Saad Gulzar, Ali Hasanain, Abdul Rehman Khan, Zia Mehmood, The Lahore Journal of Economics, (2013)
Working Papers:
(1) When Credit Lines Open Fault Lines: Economic and Political Effects of Bank Lending, with S. K. Ritadhi
(2) Extreme Heat and Public Services: Evidence from Vaccinations in Pakistan, with Karrar Hussain, Jiawei Lyu, and Gabe Tourek
(3) Digital Access to Justice: Evidence from Women's Virtual Police Stations in Pakistan, with Bakhtawar Ali, Amna Baig, Saad Gulzar, and Muhammad Ahsan Younas [Project Website: Click Here]
Work in Progress:
(1) Time Preferences and Dishonesty in the Public Sector, with Priyoma Mustafi
(2) Social Norms, Men’s Beliefs, and Women Voting, with Saad Gulzar
(3) Mental Health and Worker Performance: Evidence from the Public Sector', with Prashant Bhandari, Zain Chaudhry, Dietmar Fehr, and Karrar Hussain
(4) Extending State Capacity with Technology: Interactive Mobile Support to Improve Consistency and Accuracy for Community Health Workers, with Erica Field, Nicola Singletary, Laura Stilwell, & Kate Vyborny [pilot]
Monographs and Permanent Working Papers
(1) Norms, Beliefs, and Networks: Descriptive Findings on Women's Political Participation in Pakistan, with Saad Gulzar and Luke Sonnet