Microcredit programs are of great interest to economists and policymakers because of their potential for reducing poverty, particularly among women. The first chapter mainly investigates the effectiveness aspect of microcredit programs. Using program evaluation methods, we find significant...

This dissertation consists of three chapters on development economics. The first two chapters are in the area of international macroeconomics. The third chapter is in an area that is the intersection of macroeconomics and population economics. The first chapter studies currency substitution in...

This dissertation is a collection of three empirical essays on Albania andIran. In December of 1990, the communist system in Albania came to an abruptend. The collapse of communism led to a number of macroeconomic reforms that,among other things, brought dramatic changes in the Albanian labor...