Ornella Darova is an applied microeconomist specializing in development economics, the economics of education, and social program evaluation. Her research agenda focuses on how language policy, diversity, and social dynamics shape educational outcomes and social integration in multilingual and multiethnic contexts. In her work, she uses structural, experimental, and quasi-experimental methods.
Ornella holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MSc in Economic and Social Sciences from Bocconi University. She has also worked as a consultant for the World Bank on projects related to firm growth and capacity building in emerging markets. In Fall 2026, she will join the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as an assistant professor.