Shogher Ohannessian is a Researcher at the California Policy Lab at UCLA, working on a diverse array of labor, safety-net, and homelessness projects.

Much of Shogher’s work has focused on public assistance programs that are intended to support low-income households and improve economic opportunity. She has shown how substantial financial incentives from programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can improve educational and employment outcomes for young adults. She has also focused on the credit constraints faced by youth enrolled in postsecondary education.

Shogher has also worked on research quantifying the impact of policy changes in safety-net programs like CalFresh and analyzed the impact of pandemic-era stimulus payments on real-time spending inequality.

Prior to her doctoral studies, she was a research assistant at the United Nations, where her work involved analyzing the effects of conflict on human development. Shogher holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois Chicago, along with an M.A. and B.A. in Economics from the American University of Beirut. Outside of work, Shogher enjoys running and cooking