Cian Ruane is an economist specialising in the role of firms in economic development, with a particular focus on misallocation, production networks, and inter-sectoral linkages. He holds a PhD in Economics from Stanford University, after which he spent five years as an economist in the IMF's Research Department and China Division. His research and policy work spans growth, informality, and structural reforms in emerging market and developing economies. His research has been published in leading journals including the Review of Economic Studies and Journal of Monetary Economics, and has been covered in The Economist. He currently works in the Irish Economic Analysis Division at the Central Bank of Ireland where his work has included research on geoeconomic fragmentation. He is also a Research Affiliate at UCL's Stone Centre for Inequality.