Rate My Professor Yaw Nyarko

Yaw Nyarko is a Professor of Economics at New York University, with a joint appointment as Professor in the Division of Social Science at New York University Abu Dhabi since fall 2018. He also holds a professorship in Technology and Management at NYU Tandon School of Engineering since 2011. Nyarko earned his B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Ghana and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University in 1986. His research interests encompass growth and development economics, human capital theory, migration, and brain drain. A notable contribution is his pioneering study on the impact of brain drain on Africa's intellectual and economic development.

Nyarko has held numerous leadership roles, including Founding Director of NYU Africa House since 2002, Founding Director of the Development Research Institute at NYU since 2003, and Founding Director of the Center for Technology and Economic Development at NYU Abu Dhabi since 2010. He previously served as Vice Provost for Globalization and Multi-Cultural Affairs at NYU and was Assistant Professor of Economics at Brown University. Among his accolades are the Falling Walls 2024 Social Sciences and Humanities Prize, the 2023 International Economic Association Fellow Award, election as Fellow of the Econometric Society in 2021 and Council Member in 2022, and the 2010 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Development Cooperation. Nyarko serves on editorial boards including The World Bank Economic Review and Journal of Gulf Economics, Trade and Finance. He held leadership positions in the Econometric Society, such as President of the African Econometric Society in 2012-2013 and Chair of the Regional Standing Committee for Africa. His publications include “The Brain Drain in Africa” in the Companion to Economics in Africa (2012) and “Rethinking the MDGs: Towards an Alternative Development Agenda post-2015” (2011).