Jessica A. Goldberg

Jessica Goldberg is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, where she founded and directs the Promoting Achievement and Diversity in Economics (PADE) program for undergraduates. She holds faculty affiliations with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), while serving as Co-Editor of the Journal of Human Resources and Associate Editor for the Review of Economics and Statistics and Journal of Development Economics.

Dr. Goldberg earned her PhD from the University of Michigan. Her research spans rural labor markets, financial inclusion barriers, and social network dynamics in developing economies, with current field experiments in Uganda, Zambia, Bangladesh, and India examining credit access, mobile money adoption, and disease treatment outreach.

Her publication record reveals consistent focus on behavioral and institutional constraints in financial decision-making across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, predominantly using randomized controlled trials to evaluate interventions in savings, labor supply, and health. Recurring methodological themes include leveraging social networks for program delivery and testing low-cost behavioral nudges.

Scientific recognition includes:

• NBER Faculty Research Fellow

Through PADE and teaching advanced courses like Econ 416 (Economic Development) and Econ 417 (Impact Evaluation), she mentors undergraduate researchers while leading J-PAL initiatives as a committee member and regional scholar mentor. Her field work implies substantial grant funding from development research institutions though specific awards aren't detailed.

Dr. Goldberg collaborates with international research teams across multiple countries, frequently partnering with Innovations for Poverty Action and J-PAL on interdisciplinary projects addressing poverty alleviation through evidence-based policy design.