Ardyn Nordstrom

• Bachelor of Commerce with Concentration in Finance and Minor in Economics (Carleton University)
• MA in Economics and Data Science (Carleton University)
• Remote Development Summer School (Barcelona Graduate School of Economics)
• PhD in Economics (Queen’s University)

Professor Nordstrom is an applied microeconomist specializing in economic development, education, food security, and gender equality. Her research focuses on how machine learning tools and text mining methods can improve the design and evaluation of development projects and policies. Prof. Nordstrom has designed and implemented numerous randomized control trials, mixed-methods evaluations, and cost-benefit analyses of projects with international agencies, governments, and NGOs. This includes projects with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom’s Agency for International Development (UKAID), World Vision International, World Vision Canada, the Copenhagen Consensus Center, and the Government of Malawi’s National Planning Commission. Her work includes projects in Canada, Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Honduras, Cambodia, Brazil, Malawi, Kenya, and Uganda. Prof. Nordstrom is also a member of the One Society Network, an interdisciplinary research institute linking economists and epidemiologists to better understand and manage pandemic threats in Canada.

• Endline Evaluation of IGATE-T (2021) – for World Vision UK, with Heather Britt, Christopher S. Cotton, Jay MacKinnon, Zachary Robb, Shannon Veenstra, and Lindsay Wallace
• Cost-Benefit Analysis: Improving the Quality of Primary School Education in Malawi (2021) – for Copenhagen Consensus Center and the African Institute for Development Policy, with colleagues.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis: Reducing Secondary School Dropout Rates in Malawi (2021) – for Copenhagen Consensus Center and the African Institute for Development Policy, with colleagues.
• An Empirical Analysis of the Relationships Between Trade and Food Security (2020) – for USAID Kenya/East Africa, with Huw-Lloyd Ellis, Edward Carr, and Deanna Gordon
• Understanding the Relationships Between Trade and Food Security: A Landscape Map (2020) – for USAID Kenya/East Africa, with Huw-Lloyd Ellis, Edward Carr, Anthony Cambas, and Deanna Gordon
• IGATE-T Midline Evaluation Report (2020) – for World Vision UK, with Christopher S. Cotton and Shannon Davis
• Cost Benefit Analysis of Youth Ready Programs in Central America (2019) – for World Vision Canada, with Bahman Kashi
• IGATE-T Baseline Evaluation Report (2018) – for World Vision UK, with Christopher S. Cotton, Bahman Kashi, and Jay MacKinnon
• Contributor: Survey development and data analysis for Laura Vanderkam’s popular non-fiction book “Off the Clock” (2017)

• C. Cotton, F. McIntyre, A. Nordstrom and J. Price, “Correcting for bias in hot hand analysis: An application to youth golf”, Journal of Economic Psychology, December 2019
• Cotton, Christopher S., Ardyn Nordstrom, Jordan Nanowski, and Eric Richert. “Can Discussions about Girls’ Education Improve Academic Outcomes? Evidence from a Randomized Development Project.” The World Bank Economic Review (2024): lhae021.

• Supporting Formal Education in the Global South (2023)