Oscar Mitnik is a Principal Economist in the Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness (SPD) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Among his prior positions, he was a senior financial economist at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. Hs main areas of interest are on the determinants and effects of public policies, both in developing and developed countries, and on the econometric methods for impact evaluation. His published research has focused mostly on programs oriented to low-income individuals, analyzing their effects on labor and health outcomes, as well as their intergenerational effects. In addition, he has conducted research on the political economy factors that determine public policies, on personnel economics, and on econometric issues related to the stress testing of financial institutions. At the IDB he has worked on the impact evaluation of credit programs oriented to small and medium enterprises, transport interventions and active labor market policies. He holds a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

He joined IZA as a Research Affiliate in January 2004 and became a Research Fellow in March 2009.