His research focuses on the relationships among organizational structure, management practice, and performance in developing country governments and organizations that provide foreign aid. Honig holds a PhD in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School, where his dissertation focused on the optimal level of autonomy in the delivery of foreign aid, and a BA in political science and philosophy from the University of Michigan. Outside the academy, he has worked in Liberia, East Timor, South Sudan, Thailand, India, and Israel, among other countries. He has worked for developing country national governments (Liberia, South Sudan) as well as aid organizations and NGOs in sectors including aid management and negotiation, youth agriculture, and social entrepreneurship.