Frank Schilbach is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on the intersection of behavioral and development economics. Frank's primary research examines previously neglected correlates of poverty, including substance abuse, physical pain, sleep deprivation, and depression. He seeks to understand the role of these factors in the lives of the poor by studying their impacts on cognitive function, decision-making, and worker productivity. Frank also studies the generation and diffusion of information about optimal agricultural inputs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Frank received his PhD in economics from Harvard University. He received a diploma in economics from Mannheim University and an MA in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.