I am an economist in the Office of the World Bank Chief Economist and a PhD candidate in economics at Harvard (on leave for the 2020-21 academic year). Since 2019, I have been a Stone PhD Scholar in Inequality and Wealth Concentration at Harvard. My current work focuses on financial fragility during the COVID-19 crisis and banking crises throughout history. I am interested also in monetary policy, central bank independence and governance, and policymaking under low interest rates. My past work includes estimating the natural rate of interest for advanced economies with Thomas Laubach and John C. Williams. 

Previously, I was a research assistant in the Monetary Studies Section of the Federal Reserve Board and a Guaranteed Income Fellow at the Jain Family Institute. I am a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where I studied economics and math. 

My IDEAS profile can be found here and my Google Scholar is here. Contact me at kathrynholston@g.harvard.edu.