Dean Yang is a Professor in the Department of Economics and the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. His current research is primarily on microfinance, international migration, and areas at the intersection of these topics. Other past and current topics of interest include health, disasters, international trade, and political economy. Methodologically, much of his work involves randomized controlled trials in field settings, while other work involves analysis of novel data sources.

He is currently running survey work and field experiments on microlending in Malawi and on HIV/AIDS interventions in central Mozambique. His past and current field research locations include El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malawi, Mozambique, and the Philippines, as well as migrant populations of Filipinos in Italy, Indians in Qatar, and Salvadorans and Kenyans in the U.S. He teaches courses in development economics and microeconomics at the undergraduate, master, and Ph.D. levels. A native of the Philippines, he received his undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Harvard University.