Policy Research
The Team
Our researchers combine decades of experience conducting research and evaluation studies of social policy programs and providing policy consulting to U.S. government agencies, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and community-based organizations across the United States.
We bring subject matter expertise in a wide range of policy areas, including labor market, entrepreneurship, education and training, welfare, and criminal justice and youth policy.
Our published works include articles in leading academic journals and policy reports for U.S. government agencies, the U.S. Congress, and the European Commission. Our work has been partially credited for shifts in U.S. policies at both the Federal and state level.
Our Experts
Marios Michaelides
Founder, Director of Research
Dr. Marios Michaelides (Ph.D. Economics, University of Maryland at College Park) is a labor economist who specializes in program evaluation and public policy research, and a subject matter expert in labor market, unemployment, and entrepreneurship policy. Over his 16-year career, he has led research and evaluation studies of U.S. job-search assistance, worker training, entrepreneurship, worker protection, education, health, and international development programs. His work has been funded by U.S. Federal government agencies (including the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Small Business Administration, and U.S. Agency for International Development), state government agencies, and non-profit, educational and private organizations throughout the United States, and the European Commission. Highlights of his work include randomized controlled trial (RCT) impact studies of job-search assistance and entrepreneurship programs in 12 states. He has conducted quasi-experimental impact and outcomes assessment studies of dozens of vocational training, education, and workforce development programs throughout the United States. He was a lead investigator in a national study of the U.S. Unemployment Insurance program and led national studies of worker protection programs to help the U.S. Department of Labor improve employer compliance with minimum wage, overtime pay and benefits, workplace safety and health, and equal employment opportunity laws. He has also provided subject matter expertise and technical assistance to government agencies in the U.S. and internationally to develop internal data collection, research, and evaluation capabilities to support their programs. His published works include papers in leading academic journals, policy papers and briefs, and policy reports for U.S. government agencies, the U.S. Congress, and the European Commission. During his PhD studies, he worked as a researcher for the World Bank and the U.S. Census Bureau. Upon obtaining his PhD in 2007, he joined IMPAQ International, a public policy research organization in Washington, DC, as a Senior Research Associate. In 2012, He returned to his native Cyprus and joined the full-time faculty of the Department of Economics at the University of Cyprus. In 2022, he resigned from his position to found Econometrica Policy Research.
Eileen Poe-Yamagata
Principal Researcher
Ms. Eileen Poe-Yagamata (M.S. Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University) is a public policy researcher with substantial experience in leading large-scale studies of social policy programs, and a subject matter expert in workforce, criminal justice, and youth policy. Over her 25-year career, she has led research and evaluation studies of programs designed to reduce barriers to education access and workforce participation among vulnerable populations, including youth, low-skilled workers, juvenile and adult offenders, and people with disabilities. She has led numerous national studies of programs and policies for the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Education, as well as outcomes and implementation studies of programs implemented by state government agencies, non-profit organizations, and training and education institutions across the United States. Highlights of her work include a national study to assess the efficacy of American Job Centers to serve underserved populations, including people with disabilities; a national study to assess the efficacy of the U.S. Unemployment Insurance system; and randomized controlled trial (RCT) impact studies of job-search assistance and entrepreneurship training programs. Her work includes implementation and outcomes assessment studies of training, education, workforce development, and youth programs in more than 20 states. Her work also includes studies of training programs targeting previously incarcerated youth. She has authored multiple evaluation reports and policy papers and briefs for U.S. Federal government agencies, the U.S. Congress, and state government agencies. During her career, she has worked as a research associate for the National Center for Juvenile Justice and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. From 2003 through 2018, she was a Principal Researcher for IMPAQ International, a public policy research organization in Washington, DC. In 2018, she resigned from her position to found Actus Policy Research, a research organization in the Washington, DC area, focusing on public policy research and program evaluation.
Peter Mueser
Principal Researcher
Dr. Peter Mueser (Ph.D. Sociology, University of Chicago) is a public policy researcher with an extensive publication record, and a subject matter expert in training & education, welfare, and labor market policy. Over his 35-year career, he has led research and evaluation studies of labor market, social policy, and education programs in the United States, including studies of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance (SNAP), Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), Unemployment Insurance (UI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Reemployment Assessment and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA), and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs. He brings extensive experience providing policy consulting and evaluation services to government agencies and private organizations and his work has been funded by several U.S. Federal agencies, state government agencies, research foundations, and private organizations. Highlights of his work include randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies of job-search assistance programs in 6 states and quasi-experimental impact studies of WIOA training and TAA programs operating in 12 states. His work also includes national studies of the impacts of the SNAP and UI programs to aid individuals and families to improve their labor market outcomes and wellbeing, as well as studies of the effects of for-profit schools and high school equivalence educational programs in helping adult and youth workers improve their educational and labor market outcomes. He has a substantial publication record, including papers in leading academic journals, policy papers, and policy reports for U.S. Federal government agencies and state government agencies. After completing his PhD studies in 1983, he held a joint position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Economy and the Department of Sociology at the Johns Hopkins University. In 1983, he joined the Department of Economics, University of Missouri, where he served as an Assistant Professor and then as an Associate Professor until 2005. In 2005, he was appointed as a Professor in the Department of Economics and the Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri, a position he still holds today. He has also served as the co-director of the Population, Education and Health Center and the MU Research Data Center at the University of Missouri (2014 – 2019), and as a Principal Researcher for IMPAQ International (2007 – 2018) and Actus Policy Research (2021 – present), two public policy research organizations in Washington, DC.
Paris Nearchou
Senior Research Associate
Dr Paris Nearchou (Ph.D. Economics, University of Cyprus) is an economist who specializes in labor market and tax policy research, and an expert in large data analysis and microsimulation modelling. Over his 20-year career, he has worked on research and evaluation studies focusing on a wide range of policy-related issues. He led a large research study to measure downward wage rigidities and identify the factors that explain the slow adjustment of wages in EU countries during periods of economic downturn. As a senior researcher in the European Research Council-funded “Employment in Europe” project, he worked with Nobel laureate Dr. Christopher Pissarides on a series of research papers on the EU labor market. As an external collaborator for the International Labor Organization (ILO), he has carried out a microsimulation study for the Cyprus Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance to assess the costs and benefits of instituting a national minimum wage in Cyprus. His work also includes policy-oriented research studies related to the Cyprus economy, such as microsimulation modelling to assess the effects of changes in tax policy on the Cyprus economy, empirical work to assess the returns to education, and research on the impact of foreign workers on the Cyprus labor market. Since 2020, he has been a member of the Cyprus national team that carries out the annual update of the Cyprus module of the EU tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD. He has authored and published papers in academic journals, as well as policy and technical reports for the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, the Cyprus Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance, and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation. He worked as a Special Scientist for the Economics Research Centre at the University of Cyprus from 2000 to 2003 and from 2013 to 2019. Also, from 2011 through 2013, he worked as a Visiting Lecturer at the Department of Economics, University of Cyprus. From 2019 through 2021, he held various consulting positions with the International Labour Organization and the Cyprus Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance. In 2022, he joined Econometrica Policy Research as a Senior Research Associate.
Christiana Charalambidou
Research Associate
Dr. Christiana Charalambidou (PhD in Economics, University of Sheffield) is a researcher who specializes in labor market and education research. She is an expert in analyzing large-scale longitudinal and cross-sectional data to examine labor market, education, and other policy-related outcomes. Over her five-year career, she has worked on a number of research studies that examine over-education and job polarization in the labor market, on-the-job search behavior, and the relationship between education and labor market outcomes. She is currently working on projects that examine how participation in government-sponsored education and training programs may affect individual employment and earnings prospects. She holds a BA in Economics with French (with honors) from the University of Nottingham and an MSC in International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. Since she obtained her PhD in Economics from the University of Sheffield in 2018, she has worked as a lecturer in a number of universities and higher education institutions in Britain and Cyprus.
Iuliana Ciobanu
Research Associate
Ms. Iuliana Ciobanu (MSc in Financial and Monetary Economics, University of Cyprus) is an economist specializing in quantitative research. She has experience in applying statistical methods using large-scale longitudinal and cross-sectional data in various contexts. She holds a BSc in Economics and an MSc in Financial and Monetary Economics (both with honors) from the University of Cyprus. Before joining Econometrica in 2023, she worked as a junior researcher in various research projects, including to support the development of the Competitiveness Report of Cyprus and a cross-country comparative study of the Citizenship and Residence by Investment Programs.