Dr. Kono teaches in the Kyoto University Faculty of Economics, Graduate School of Economics, and International Graduate Programme for East Asia Sustainable Economic Development Studies. His work deals with various issues of economic development and poverty based on microeconomic theory, econometrics, and statistical methods including contract design of microcredit and insurance schemes, designing health and education programs for the poor, remittance, intra-household decision making, market frictions in agricultural trade, and misallocation of resources.