My research to date is about: (i) the economics of well-being and (ii) economics of transition. The first research agenda is about the health and well-being consequences of migration, labor market arrangements, and entrepreneurship. The second line of research focuses on the historical and contemporary determinants of socio-economic developments in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
My current agenda mainly focuses on the implications of technological change for workers’ tasks and well-being. See, for example, this GLO Discussion Paper.
RePEc ranks me among the top 5 % of female economists worldwide, and top 5% among all female and male economists (based on publications in the past 10 years).
Below is a list of recent publications. You can also view my working papers on my IZA profile page. My Google Scholar citations are also available.
Peer-reviewed
Otrachshenko, V., Nikolova, M. & Popova, O. Double-edged sword: persistent effects of Communist regime affiliations on well-being and preferences. Journal of Population Economics 36, 1139–1185 (2023).
Nikolova, M., Nikolaev, B. & Boudreaux, C. Being your own boss and bossing others: the moderating effect of managing others on work meaning and autonomy for the self-employed and employees. Small Business Economics 60, 463–483 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00597-z
Otrachshenko, V., Popova, O., Nikolova, M., & Tyurina, E. (2022). COVID-19 and entrepreneurship entry and exit: Opportunity amidst adversity. Technology in Society, 102093. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.102093
Nikolova, M., Popova, O., & Otrachshenko, V. (2022). Stalin and the origins of mistrust. Journal of Public Economics, 208, 104629. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104629 Presentation at ASSA 2021 (starts at 27:54).
Nikolova, M., & Nikolaev, B. N. (2021). Family matters: The effects of parental unemployment in early childhood and adolescence on subjective well-being later in life. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 181, 312-331. GLO Working Paper Version.
Nikolova, M., & Popova, O. (2021). Sometimes Your Best Just Ain’t Good Enough: The Worldwide Evidence on Subjective Well-being Efficiency. The B.E. journal of economic analysis & policy, 21(1), 83-114.
Nikolova, M., Cnossen, F. What makes work meaningful and why economists should care about it. Labour Economics, 101847. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101847
Ivlevs, A., Nikolova, M., & Popova. O. (2020) Communist Party Membership and Entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00364-6.
Nikolova, M., Nikolaev, B., & Popova, O. (2020) The Perceived Well-being and Health Costs of Exiting Self-Employment. Small Business Economics, forthcoming.
Nikolova, M. (2019). Switching to self-employment can be good for your health. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(4), 664-691. GLO Discussion Paper Version.
Ivlevs, A. Nikolova, M., and Graham, C. (2019). Emigration, remittances, and psychological well-being of those staying behind Journal of Population Economics, 32(1), 113-151. IZA Discussion Paper Version.
Nikolova, M. and Ayhan, S. (2019). Your spouse is fired! How much do you care? Journal of Population Economics, 32(3), 799-844. IZA Discussion Paper Version. Podcast Episode
Nikolova, M., Roman, M., and Zimmermann, K.F. (2017). Left Behind but Doing Good? Civic Engagement and the Left Behind in Two Post-Socialist Countries. Journal of Comparative Economics, 45(3), 658-684. IZA Discussion Paper Version.
Nikolova, E. and Nikolova, M. (2017). Suffrage, labour markets and coalitions in colonial Virginia. European Journal of Political Economy, 49, 108-122. IZA Discussion Paper Version. Appendix
Nikolova, M. (2016). Minding the Happiness Gap: Political Institutions and Perceived Quality of Life in Transition. European Journal of Political Economy, 45, Supplement, 129-148. IZA Discussion Paper Version.
Nikolova, M. and Nikolaev, B. (2016, in press). Does Joining the EU Make You Happy? Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe. Journal of Happiness Studies. IZA Discussion Paper Version.
Nikolova, M. Migrant well-being after leaving transition economies. IZA World of Labor 2015: 195 doi: 10.15185/izawol.195
Nikolova, M., & Graham, C. (2015). In transit: The Well-being of Migrants from Transition and Post-transition Countries. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 112, 164-186. IZA Discussion Paper Version.
Graham, C. and Nikolova, M. (2015). Bentham or Aristotle in the Development Process? An Empirical Investigation of Capabilities and Subjective Well-being. World Development, 68(0), 163-179. IZA Discussion Paper Version.
Nikolova, M. (2015). Government Funding of Private Voluntary Organizations Is There a Crowding-Out Effect?. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 44(3), 487-509.
Nikolova, M. and Graham, C. (2014). Employment, Late-Life Work, Retirement, and Well-being in Europe and the United States. IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, 3(5), 1-30.
Nikolova, M. (2014). Principals and Agents: An Investigation of Executive Compensation in Human Service Nonprofits. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(3), 679-706.
Graham, C., and Nikolova, M. (2013). Does Access to Information Technology Make People Happier? Insights from Well-Being Surveys from around the World. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 44, 126-139. Brookings Working Paper Version.
Book Chapters
Nikolova M., Graham C. (2020) The Economics of Happiness. In: Zimmermann K.F. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_177-1
Nikolova, M. (2018). Happiness: Using subjective well-being metrics to gauge development. In J. Drydyk & L. Keleher (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Development Ethics (pp. 84-92). New York, NY: Routledge. IZA Discussion Paper version.
DeVita, C. J, Nikolova, M., and Roeger, K. L. (2014) Nonprofit Advocacy in the Nation’s Capital. In Pekkanen, R., Smith, S. R., & Tsujinaka, Y. (Eds.), Nonprofits and Advocacy (pp. 85-106). Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Boris, E. T., Marronick, M. and Nikolova, M. (2014) Shaping the Government-Nonprofit Partnership: Direct and Indirect Advocacy. In Pekkanen, R., Smith, S. R. & Tsujinaka, Y. (Eds.), Nonprofits and Advocacy (pp. 66-84). Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Book Chapters, Research Reports and Briefs
The Economics of Happiness. In K.F. Zimmermann (Ed.), Springer Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Cham: Springer International Publishing, (with C. Graham), DOI : https : //doi.org/10.1007/978−3−319−57365−6_177−1
Graham, C. and Nikolova, M. Happiness and International Migration in Latin America. World Happiness Report 2018, Chapter 5
Chapter 1.2 in the Randstad Report People to Jobs or Jobs to People?
Boris, E. T., Leon, E., Roeger, K. L., and Nikolova, M. (2010). Human Service Nonprofits and Government Collaboration: Findings from the 2010 National Survey of Nonprofit Government Contracting and Grants. (Research Report). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
Boris, E. T., Leon, E., Roeger, K. L., and Nikolova, M. (2010). National Study of Nonprofit-Government Contracting: State Profiles. (Research Report). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
Boris, E. T., Leon, E., Roeger, K. L., and Nikolova, M. (2010). Contracts and Grants between Human Service Nonprofits and Governments. (Research Brief). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.