معرفی
Brian Kovak is an Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. He holds the Dean's Career Development Professorship at Heinz College and maintains significant affiliations as a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a Research Fellow of the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). His scholarly contributions reach across multiple institutions and academic journals, reflecting his prominence in the field of labor economics and international trade.
- Ph.D., Economics, University of Michigan
- Master of Public Affairs, Indiana University
- B.S., Computer Engineering, Penn State University
Brian Kovak's research examines the economic effects of international migration and trade with a focus on local labor markets. His work investigates how worker mobility responds to local labor market conditions, particularly the role of immigrants' geographic mobility in equalizing wage differences for native-born workers across U.S. local labor markets. He also studies the local labor market effects of trade liberalization, developing theoretically motivated empirical approaches based on specific-factors models of local economies. His research spans multiple countries, including extensive work using household survey and matched employer-employee data from Brazil to study the effects of liberalization on wages, employment, informality, and the skill premium.
Analysis of Kovak's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on how migration and trade policies affect local labor market dynamics. His work demonstrates sophisticated methodological approaches that bridge theoretical economic models with empirical evidence from diverse contexts. The research shows particular attention to how economic shocks transmit across regions through migration networks and how trade liberalization affects different segments of the workforce. His publications in top economics journals demonstrate the significance of his contributions to understanding the intersection of international economics and labor market outcomes.
- IZA Young Labor Economist Award (2014) for best peer-reviewed journal publication in labor economics by authors under age 40
Beyond his research, Kovak serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Development Economics, contributing to scholarly discourse in his field. His work has attracted significant funding, including NSF grants (award #1851679) for research on wage insurance for displaced workers and another NSF grant (award #1854051) on emerging technologies, labor outcomes, and policy responses. His research has garnered substantial attention from both academic and policy communities, with coverage in major media outlets including the New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Kovak's scholarly impact extends through his collaborations with numerous researchers across institutions, creating a substantial body of work that informs both academic understanding and policy development in international economics and labor markets.
