Balan-Cohen holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and a B.A. in Economics, summa cum laude from Harvard in 2001. Her main area of research is health economics. In particular, she has analyzed the impact of the Old Age Assistance Program - the first significant U.S. welfare program for the elderly - on the mortality of older Americans between 1931 and 1955, and the channels through which this impact occurred. She has also estimated the impact of parental alcohol consumption on child health by taking advantage of a unique shock to alcohol supply: the 1985 to 1988 alcohol prohibition campaign in Russia. Other research areas of interest include public and development economics, as well as political economy.”