Valentin Bolotnyy

Valentin Bolotnyy is a Kleinheinz Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he is a member of the State and Local Governance Initiative and the Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship.

His core research aims to generate and inform innovative policies that improve economic and health outcomes, especially for society’s most vulnerable populations. The research is often done in partnership with state and local agencies, including departments of transportation, human services, and public safety. His objective is to build a culture of collaboration across academia and America’s laboratories of democracy, so policymakers can deliver the best possible results for their constituents.

Bolotnyy’s ongoing work utilizes administrative data, quasi-experimental methods, and randomized controlled trials to study the effectiveness of involuntary hospitalization practices, deinstitutionalization, and ways to improve the lives of people who cycle through our hospitals, jails, and streets. Other work analyzes the effectiveness of prison education and workforce development programs.

Bolotnyy’s research affiliations include J-PAL North America, the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), and the Deliberative Democracy Lab at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). He is a member of the Faculty Steering Committee of the Haas Center for Public Service and an advisor to the Stanford Democracy Hub. He serves as Vice Chair on the California Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors (GCEA).

Bolotnyy received a BA in economics and international relations, with honors and distinction, from Stanford University and a PhD in economics from Harvard University. His work has been recognized by the Padma Desai Prize, the Upjohn Institute Early Career Research Award, and major grants from Stanford Impact Labs and Arnold Ventures.