Shushanik Hakobyan
Last Updated: January 25, 2026
Shushanik Hakobyan is a Senior Economist in the Multilateral Surveillance Division of the IMF Research Department. Prior to this role, she worked in the African and Strategy, Policy and Review Departments. Before joining the IMF, she was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Fordham University, Georgetown University, and Middlebury College. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Virginia. Her research interests include international trade policy, trade and labor markets, and preferential market access. Her research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals including the Review of Economics and Statistics and the Canadian Journal of Economics.
Email: SHAKOBYAN@imf.org
Personal WebPage: https://shakobyan.weebly.com/
Fluent In: Armenian, Russian.
Education:
Ph.D. in Economics, University of Virginia, 2011
M.A. in Economics, University of Virginia, 2007
M.A. in International Relations, Johns Hopkins University SAIS, 2005
B.A. in Economics, Yerevan State University of Economics, Armenia, 2001
Previous Experience:
2024-present, Senior Economist, Multilateral Surveillance division, Research Department, IMF
2022-2024, Senior Economist, Southern II division, African Department, IMF
2020-2022, Senior Economist, Regional Studies division, African Department, IMF
2017-2020, Economist, Strategy Unit, Strategy, Policy and Review Department, IMF
2013-2017, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Fordham University
2015-2016, Visiting Assistant Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
2011-2013, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Middlebury College
2005-2016, Short-Term Consultant, The World Bank Group, Washington, D.C.
Referee Activities:
Journal of International Economics, Journal of Labor Economics, Economic Journal, Canadian Journal of Economics, Journal of Development Economics, World Bank Economic Review, Economic Inquiry, International Economic Review, Review of International Economics, The World Economy, Review of World Economics, Economics & Politics, China Economic Review, World Trade Review, International Economics and Economic Policy, IZA Journal of Migration, Economica, World Development
Country work or Mission Assignment:
Rwanda (2024); Lesotho (2022-2024); Kosovo (2018-2020)