Karlen Khachatryan, Dean of the YSU Faculty of Economics and Management and Associate Professor; Karapet Tomikyan, Assistant Professor at the Chair of Management and Business and PhD in Economics; and around a dozen students from the faculty participated in the workshop "From Evidence to Policy: Building a Culture of Experimentation," held at the Central Bank of Armenia's Dilijan Training and Research Center.
The workshop, jointly organized by the Central Bank of Armenia and J-PAL Europe, brought together policymakers, researchers, economists and representatives of the academic community. Discussions focused on contemporary approaches to research-based policymaking, methods for testing different policy solutions and assessing their impact, as well as international experience in the field.
The workshop opened with remarks by Martin Galstyan, Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia, and Cillian Nolan, Executive Director of J-PAL Europe. Abhijit Banerjee, 2019 Nobel laureate in economics and co-founder of J-PAL, delivered a presentation titled "From Evidence to Better Policy: What Does It Take?" His presentation was followed by a discussion between Banerjee and Galstyan on "The Importance of Evidence-Based Policies," moderated by Armen Nurbekyan, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia.
The workshop also featured panel discussions and thematic presentations on evidence-based policy, conducting high-quality research, and methods for evaluating the impact of policies and programs. The event concluded with closing remarks by Gevorg Minasyan, Director of the Central Bank's Dilijan Training and Research Center, and Adrien Pawlik, Director of the IDEE program at J-PAL Europe.
The event was followed by the launch of an autumn school bringing together young researchers from Armenia, Europe and Central Asia to develop their knowledge and practical skills in rigorous methods for evaluating social policies and programs.
The faculty values the participation of academic staff and students in such initiatives, viewing them as valuable platforms for knowledge and professional experience exchanges.
Cooperation between the YSU Faculty of Economics and Management and the Central Bank of Armenia covers various areas of education, research and professional activity. Close professional ties between the two institutions contribute to the further development of this cooperation. In particular, Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan is a graduate of the YSU Faculty of Economics and Management, while a significant number of Central Bank employees in senior positions also received their initial professional education at the faculty.
The faculty's academic staff also includes specialists who currently work or have previously worked at the Central Bank of Armenia and have many years of professional experience in the banking sector.
