Alexis Diamond, Ph.D.
Professor
Accomplishments
- Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard; M.A. in International Development from Carleton University
- Two-time winner of the American Political Science Association's Gosnell Prize
- Worked in more than 30 countries, supervising more than 50 program evaluations, at IFC, the World Bank Group institution focused on private sector development
- Former Visiting Professor at Harvard University’s JFK School of Government and Visiting Professor at Central European University’s School of Public Policy in Budapest, Hungary
- Co-author (with Jens Hainmueller at Stanford and Alberto Abadie at Harvard) of statistical software that implements the synthetic control method for comparative case studies
Professor Alexis Diamond is one of the world's leading experts on impact evaluation in international development and public policy. Prior to Minerva, he led program evaluation for nearly a decade at IFC, the private-sector development arm of the World Bank. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard, and a M.A. in International Development from Carleton University.
Diamond has taught evaluation and causal inference at top-tier institutions around the world. He believes students learn best in classes that focus on problem solving and building practical skills, and encourages them to push the frontiers of their own capabilities — establishing a culture conducive to intellectual risk-taking. Professor Diamond teaches the Knowledge: Information-Based Decisions Core Course.