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Dr. Adam Osman
For Associate Professor Adam Osman, the study of economics is fundamentally about people and potential. He has a deep-seated interest in understanding how opportunity is created and how it can be expanded for everyone, even when resources are scarce. This core motivation is the driving force behind his work in development economics, where he uses rigorous, real-world experiments to find out which policies are most effective at improving the lives of the poor.
A significant part of Osman's research agenda is dedicated to one of the most pressing questions in economics: how to best target programs and policies to those who can benefit most from them. He explores this theme in his paper, "Is It Who You Are or What You Get? Comparing the Impacts of Loans and Grants for Microenterprise Development." In a large-scale experiment with over 3,000 entrepreneurs in Egypt, Osman and his co-authors randomly provided either a traditional microloan, an unconditional cash grant, or an in-kind grant of business materials.
The study produced a key insight: while all three forms of capital support significantly increased income on average, the type of support was less important than the characteristics of the person receiving it. The positive effects in all groups were driven by a small number of high-performers at the top of the distribution. Strikingly, the entrepreneurs who succeeded with loans were very similar to those who succeeded with grants. This suggests the existence of a specific "type" of individual who is poised for success, regardless of the specific financial instrument they receive. It also means that there are some people who need different kinds of interventions to help them realize their full potential - maybe job training or counseling for example.The findings powerfully argue that for microenterprise development, discovering how to identify these high-potential individuals is even more critical than debating the relative merits of loans versus grants.
Beyond his own research, Osman is deeply committed to building the institutional capacity for evidence-based policy. He is a co-Scientific Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab's (J-PAL) office for the Middle East and North Africa, a role in which he was instrumental in the office's founding. This work is a great source of pride, as it helps establish the infrastructure for rigorous policy evaluation throughout the region, ensuring that critical decisions are informed by scientific evidence and data. This includes the recent launching of the "Egypt Impact Lab", which is a research institution embedded within the government to help evaluate which policies work best to improve lives all across the country.
Here at the University of Illinois, Osman translates his passion for impactful research into his teaching and mentorship. He finds immense satisfaction in advising the department's Ph.D. students, guiding a new generation of scholars who are not only passionate about economic theory but are also eager to apply their skills to make a tangible, positive difference in the world. Through his innovative research, his leadership in policy advising, and his dedication to his students, Adam Osman is working on multiple fronts to ensure economics fulfills its promise of creating a world with more opportunities for all.