Rema Hanna is the Jeffrey Cheah Professor of South-East Asia Studies and Chair of the International Development Area at the Harvard Kennedy School. She serves as the co-Scientific Director of J-PAL South-East Asia in Indonesia and the co-Scientific Director of the Social Protection Initiative, a joint initiative of J-PAL and CID in Morocco. In addition, Professor Hanna is a Research Associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and an affiliate of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD).
Her research revolves around improving the provision of public services in developing and emerging nations, particularly for the very poor. She combines economic theory, qualitative field work, extensive data collection, and cutting-edge empirical analysis to offer insights into how governments function and how they can do better. Part of her work focuses on how to improve overall service delivery, as well as understanding the impacts of corruption, bureaucratic absenteeism, and discrimination against disadvantaged minority groups on delivery outcomes. She is particularly interested in how governments can improve and strengthen social protection, tax collection, and environmental safety.
Her work has been published in leading economics journals, such as the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Political Economy, among others.
In addition to her own research, Professor Hanna is currently on the editorial board at the American Economic Review and previously was on the board of Review of Economics and Statistics and VoxDev and served as a co-Editor at the Journal of Human Resources.
Prior to joining the Harvard Kennedy School, Hanna was an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics at New York University. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a B.S. from Cornell University with Honors and Distinction.
Executive Education Programs
Leading Smart Policy Design: A Multisectoral Approach to Economic Decisions
Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles
HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series
Research Papers/Reports
Sponsored projects include research, training, convening, and other initiatives externally funded through grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Funding sources can include the US federal government, state and local agencies, private foundations, corporations, and foreign entities (public and private).
The below list includes all sponsored projects in progress or completed within the current and past 2 calendar years, administered at the Harvard Kennedy School under the direction of the named faculty member as Principal Investigator. Please note that this list includes only those activities supported by external sponsored funding; other sources of support are not included (e.g., philanthropy, HKS or Harvard internal resources).
Project Title
Sponsor Name
Award Date
Transparent Engagement
Harvard Kennedy School is proud of its energetic involvement in the world. To better understand how to solve public problems by improving policy and leadership, we engage directly with policymakers, public leaders, governments, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses whose activities affect those problems. However, we recognize that such engagement can raise questions about perceived and potential conflicts of interest, so we disclose publicly the key professional activities of our faculty outside the Kennedy School. The activities disclosed below are for the most recent reporting period, as defined by University policy. Some may be paid, some may be unpaid, and others may be in exchange for expense reimbursement only.
Outside Professional Activities For Rema Hanna
| Organization | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Asian Development Bank | Speaking engagement, invited lecture, or presentation |
| BREAD | Membership on a scientific or other advisory board |
| JPAL-MIT | Membership on a scientific or other advisory board |
| Millennium Challenge Corporation | Membership on a scientific or other advisory board |
| Association for Mentoring and Inclusion in Economics (AMIE) | Fiduciary board membership |
| Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) | Research or teaching appointment |
| Center for Global Development | Research or teaching appointment |
| IMAGO | Fiduciary board membership |
| IZA Institute of Labor Economics | Research or teaching appointment |
| JPAL SEA at University of Indonesia | Research or teaching appointment |
| JPAL South Asia | Research or teaching appointment |
| JPAL-MIT | Research or teaching appointment |
| MEL lab at UM6P in Morocco | Research or teaching appointment |
| Minister of Finance, India | Reimbursed travel |
| National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) | Research or teaching appointment |
| Open Philanthropy Project | Paid external reviewer |
| Wellesley | Speaking engagement, invited lecture, or presentation |
| World Bank | Consulting |
| World Bank | Speaking engagement, invited lecture, or presentation |