Anh Tran is a professor at the O'Neill School, specializing in the governance issues of developing countries. His current research focuses on performance management and leadership in public organizations. His articles have appeared in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Public Economics, American Economic Journal: Applied Policy, and other leading academic journals. 

Tran is currently an economic advisor to the prime minister of Vietnam. He also serves as director of the Vietnam Initiatives at IU, a global think tank on development policies for Vietnam, and is the co-founder and director of the Vietnam Young Leaders Award, a scholarship program that brings exceptional government officials from Vietnam to the United States for postgraduate degrees. 

Tran frequently works as consultant for reform initiatives by national governments, the United Nations and the World Bank, and has lived and worked in Russia, France, and Australia. He has participated in UNDP Academic Fellowship, Asia Foundation's Emerging Leaders Program, and the Vietnamese Prime Minister's Research Council. Tran is co-founder of the International Society of Vietnamese Economists.