Koen Geven

Senior Economist · The World Bank

I work on education and skills in low- and middle-income countries, mostly on higher education. Occasionally I get to write something. Sometimes I even post about it.

Selected work

• Saif, U., A. Hasan, A. Tahir, K. Geven, et al. (2026). “Where Are Pakistan’s Out-of-School Children? Mapping Accessibility of Schooling Using Satellite Data and Machine Learning Methods with an Application to the 2022 Floods.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 11341.
• Geven, K., A. Tahir, T. Fasih, J. Qureshi, A. Hasan, et al. (2026). “Nudging at Scale: Evidence from a Government Text Messaging Campaign during School Shutdowns in Punjab, Pakistan.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 11286.
• Bassett, R. M., and K. Geven (2025). “The Twin Challenges for Tertiary Education in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.” International Higher Education 123.
• Azevedo, J. P., A. Hasan, D. Goldemberg, K. Geven, and S. A. Iqbal (2021). “Simulating the Potential Impacts of COVID-19 School Closures on Schooling and Learning Outcomes.” World Bank Research Observer 36(1): 1–40. [ungated]
• Herbaut, E., and K. Geven (2020). “What Works to Reduce Inequalities in Higher Education? A Systematic Review of the (Quasi-)Experimental Literature on Outreach and Financial Aid.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 65. [ungated]
• Bernardi, F., D. Boertien, and K. Geven (2019). “Childhood Family Structure and the Accumulation of Wealth across the Life Course.” Journal of Marriage and Family 81(1): 230–247. [ungated]
• Geven, K., J. Skopek, and M. Triventi (2018). “How to Increase PhD Completion Rates? An Impact Evaluation of Two Reforms in a Selective Graduate School.” Research in Higher Education 59(5): 529–552.

Education

• PhD, Social and Political Sciences — European University Institute, Florence, 2018
• MA, Public Policy (Erasmus Mundus) — Central European University & University of York, 2012
• BSc, Political Science — University of Amsterdam, 2010

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