Insightful Inquiries: Applying Knowledge in Data Analysis, Economic Strategies, and Policy Development to Practical Scenarios
Gevorg Minasyan, director of the Research and Training Center at the Central Bank of Armenia, has seen a significant transformation in his approach to policymaking, thanks to the Master's in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) program at MIT.
Minasyan discovered the MITx MicroMasters Program in DEDP while working at the Central Bank of Armenia. The ideas, tools, and values absorbed at MIT are now taking institutional form back home in Armenia.
The DEDP program has had a profound impact on Minasyan, enhancing his analytical capabilities and changing his policymaking mindset. He learned that effective policy requires openness to questioning assumptions, transparency about uncertainty, and humility to let data challenge intuition. This mindset goes beyond tool application to embedding continuous learning through dynamic feedback loops in policy design.
Courses like 14.760 (Firms, Markets, Trade, and Growth) provided practical analytical tools that Minasyan directly connected to systemic issues facing Armenian firms. This bridged theory and practice, enabling him to address national economic problems using rigorous economic analysis.
Motivated by his MIT learning, Minasyan developed a similar course that he teaches at the American University of Armenia. This effort helps cultivate local talent and produces data-driven research aimed at improving business strategy in Armenia.
As a policymaker at the Central Bank of Armenia, Minasyan’s enhanced technical and analytical skill set from MIT allows for more robust economic policy formulation supported by empirical data and modern economic methods, which is critical for macroeconomic stability and growth.
More broadly, MIT’s DEDP program helps public policy practitioners like Minasyan transform policymaking by equipping them with cutting-edge quantitative and economic tools, instilling a culture of rigorous and transparent evaluation of social programs through randomized evaluations and data analysis, and promoting the integration of economics, data science, and policy design to tackle complex real-world challenges.
Minasyan has sought to institutionalize a culture of evidence-based policymaking at the Central Bank of Armenia and more broadly in Armenia. The ultimate goal is to institutionalize the use of policy evaluation as a standard practice in Armenia, prioritizing learning before scaling and embedding a stronger feedback culture in policymaking.
The Central Bank of Armenia collaborated with J-PAL Europe to co-design and host a policy design and evaluation workshop, bringing together policymakers, central bankers, and analysts from various sectors. The inter-agency policy team, led by Minasyan, relies heavily on the analytical tools from DEDP to evaluate policies and propose regulatory adjustments for the transition to a cashless economy.
The Central Bank of Armenia's efforts aim to ensure the transition to a cashless economy is not only effective, but also inclusive and sustainable. Key initiatives include a cashback program designed to encourage pensioners to use digital payments and the mandatory installation of non-cash payment terminals across businesses nationwide.
Minasyan was able to apply what he learned in the MicroMasters program to his work at the Central Bank of Armenia. He found the residential Master's in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy program at MIT to be transformative, sharpening his technical and analytical skills and fundamentally changing the way he thinks about policymaking.
Minasyan was inspired to pursue MIT's Master's in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy program after completing the MicroMasters. The DEDP MicroMasters program created a vibrant, diverse community with students and professionals from dozens of countries. The program combines rigorous training in economics, data analysis, and impact evaluation with a strong emphasis on practical application.
The policy design and evaluation workshop focused on integrating evidence throughout the policy cycle, from defining the problem to designing interventions and conducting rigorous evaluations. As the director of the Research and Training Center at the Central Bank of Armenia, Minasyan is leading the effort to scale evidence-based decision-making across a broader ecosystem of public institutions in Armenia.
Minasyan remains committed to advancing the transformation of evidence-based policymaking in Armenia for the long term, by building the systems, skills, and partnerships that can sustain it. The skills developed through the DEDP program have been critical to Minasyan's role in shaping real-world policy in Armenia, particularly in the national push toward a cashless economy.
The global nature of the DEDP program enriched the coursework and helped Minasyan realize that the challenges of effective policy design and the power of evidence to improve lives were remarkably universal.
- Gevorg Minasyan learned about the Master's in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) program at MIT while working at the Central Bank of Armenia.
- The learning from MIT is now shaping institutional reforms in Armenia, as Minasyan works to embed continuous learning in policy design.
- Courses like 14.760 (Firms, Markets, Trade, and Growth) provided practical analytical tools that directly connect to Armenian economic issues.
- Minasyan developed a course at the American University of Armenia, using MIT's teachings to cultivate local talent and tackle national economic problems.
- With his enhanced technical and analytical skills, Minasyan can now formulate robust economic policies supported by empirical data and modern methods, essential for macroeconomic stability and growth.
- MIT's DEDP program transforms public policy practitioners, equipping them with cutting-edge tools, promoting transparency, rigorous evaluation, and integration of economics, data science, and policy design.
- The Central Bank of Armenia collaborated with J-PAL Europe to design a policy workshop, using DEDP tools to evaluate policies and propose regulatory adjustments for the transition to a cashless economy.
- Minasyan envisions institutionalizing evidence-based policymaking in Armenia, leading the effort to scale evidence-based decision-making across public institutions, supported by a global network fostered through online education platforms like DEDP.
