Biography and Interests

Rand Ghayad is an expert on a broad range of economic issues, including unemployment and job creation, debt management, investment reform, as well as economic challenges facing low income and fragile states. He brings more than 12 years of experience as an economist, holding positions in federal government, consulting, international organizations, and academia. He is currently an economist with the IMF. Prior to his current role, Ghayad was a faculty member at Harvard University and an economic advisor with The Brattle Group where he advised the U.S. government and multinational corporations on economic and financial matters, including anti-money laundering statutes and financial crimes. Between 2012 and 2013, Ghayad was part of an ongoing effort at the White House to develop best practices for hiring and recruiting the long-term unemployed. In 2014, Ghayad advised the Prime Minister and Employment Policy Council of France on strategies to reduce the incidence of long-term unemployment. He also advised various governments on job-driven training programs, including most recently the UK, U.S., and Kuwait. Ghayad began his career at the Brookings Institution working on unemployment and labor market reforms. He also served in various positions at the Federal Reserve Bank, International Labor Organization, MIT, and UNDP.

Ghayad is the author of "The Jobless Trap", a manuscript that has been widely cited in leading academic journals and media outlets, including the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. His work was also used and cited in congressional testimonies and conferences by Nobel Laureates, including Peter Diamond, Paul Krugman, Joe Stiglitz, and George Akerlof. Ghayad's work uncovered new facts which offered a new explanation for why the unemployment rate did not go back to its normal level since the end of the Great Recession. Based on this research, President Obama issued several executive actions to give the long-term unemployed a fair shot. The findings from his work were also the backbone to several anti-discrimination laws enacted at the State level to protect job seekers against unemployment discrimination.

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Ghayad holds a PhD in Labor Economics, three Master's degrees in Finance, Public Policy, and Economics, and an undergraduate degree from Beirut. He held research and teaching positions at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, and Northeastern University. Born and raised in Beirut, Rand moved to the U.S. in 2006 and currently resides in Washington D.C.

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