The Center for Global Business (CGB) at the Robert H. Smith School of Business is pleased to announce Kanat Isakov, a PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Maryland, as the recipient of the 2025 CIBE PhD International Research Award. Isakov is recognized for his innovative research exploring how external shocks in the economy affect wage setting and labor dynamics in developing economies in his project titled “External Shocks and Wage Adjustment: A Network Approach.”
Isakov began his PhD in economics program in 2019. His primary research interest lies at the intersection of international macroeconomics and labor economics. His work focuses on understanding how wages adjust in response to external economic shocks and how these adjustments shape broader inequality dynamics. Guided by economic theory, his research leverages linked employee-employer data to analyze wage setting and labor market behavior, particularly in developing economies.
Isakov’s project has major significance in understanding labor market inequality and economic resilience in emerging markets. By focusing on low- and middle-income countries that rely heavily on commodities and foreign capital, the research offers a clearer picture of how policy responses can better support labor market stability in the face of global shocks, as labor income acts as a primary source of income and a significant indicator of well-being within these countries. With his proposal to investigate the use of wage adjustments in relation to external shocks, he will examine labor markets in Colombia that have previously faced a significant exchange rate depreciation and rely heavily on the prices of exporting natural resources.
“I am extremely grateful to the Center for Global Business at the Robert H. Smith School of Business for providing funding to support my research,” Isakov said. “My current project ... explores how firms strategically set wages in response to changes in wages offered by competing firms, and how these interactions shape aggregate wage adjustments following external shocks. I have obtained access to unique administrative data from Colombia, which includes detailed information on wages for individual workers as well as who they work for. This data is not publicly available; therefore, it requires travel to Colombia to access it through the Central Bank of Colombia. The PhD award allows me to travel directly to the data and significantly enhance my research,” he added.
The Center for Global Business at the Smith School provides funding for PhD research that aligns with the mission of the CIBE grant, to contribute to the internationalization of business disciplines and/or the global competitiveness of U.S. businesses.
The PhD Award is funded in part by CIBE, a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
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