Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University, 2023-24
Ph.D., Economics of Education, National University of Educational Planning and Administration, 2013
M.A., Economics, University of Hyderabad, 2006
B.A., Economics, Fakir Mohan University, 2004
Broad Areas of Interest: Economics of education, applied development economics
Specific Research Interests: Private provisioning of education and market policies, learning inequality, school choice, family investment in education, skills and skill development
Assistant Professor of Economics, Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2015−present
Associate, South Asia Institute, Harvard University, 2024-present
Assistant Professor, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, 2013−2015
Research Fellow, Public Health Foundation of India, 2012−2013
Jamnalal Kaniram Bajaj Visiting Research Fellowship, South Asia Institute, Harvard University, 2023-24
China-India Visiting Scholar Fellow, Ashoka University, 2021-22
Advisory Member, Delhi Knowledge Cluster, IIT Delhi, 2020-present
Member, Internal Quality Assurance Cell, NIEPA, New Delhi, 2020-present
Research Guide for IAS Officer Trainees, LBSNAA, 2022-23
Expert Member, Project Appraisal Committee, DIET, Moti Bagh, Delhi, 2022-present
Invited to write a report on “Educational Status of Minorities in Karnataka.” Directorate of Minorities, Government of Karnataka, 2022-2023
“Effects of Smartphone Bans on Student Outcomes.” Collaboration with University of Pennsylvania, USA; University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
“Women and science, gender inequalities in higher education and scientific careers: The examples of engineering and medicine in India.” Chair for Women and Science, Paris, France.
“To conduct living systematic reviews of the literature to collate evidence on priority policy areas that guide health workforce monitoring, impact assessment, and normative guidance." World Health Organisation.
“Assessing and Improving the Quality of Higher Education: An International Comparative Study.” Stanford University.
“Home-learning environment and cognitive and academic outcomes among children aged 4–8 years: A cross-sectional study from South India.” Dialogues in Health, 2025, 7: 1-9, (Co-authored). Link.
“Why Do More Boys Enrol in Private Schools? Evidence From India.” Social Change, 2025, 55(3), 387-413. (Co-authored). Link.
“School choice in rural Odisha, India: Understanding from a multi-stakeholder perspective.” Prospects, 2024, 54, 723–737. (Co-authored). Link
“Vocational education, skill training and self-employment: evidence from the non-farm sector in India.” Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 2024, 77 (4): 912-938. (Co-authored). Link
“Impacts of industrial actions, protests, strikes and lockouts by health and care workers during COVID-19 and other pandemic contexts: a systematic review.” Hum Resour Health, 2024, 22, 47. (Co-authored). Link
“Socioeconomic inequality in accessing professional higher education in India: New evidence from a household survey.” The Indian Economic Journal, 2024, OnlineFirst. (Co-authored). Link
“Student Loans in Financing Engineering Education: Some New Evidence from India”, Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, 2024, 38 (3): 193-216. (Co-authored).
“What drives demand for private tutoring in secondary education? Evidence from India.” Journal of Social and Economic Development, 2024, 26 (3): 816-839. (Co-authored). Link
“Analysing inequalities in access and household investment in market-based supplemental educational services in India: A case of post-compulsory school education in Haryana.” Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 2024, 29 (1): 87-116. (Co-authored). Link
“Regional and socioeconomic inequalities in access to pre-primary education in India: evidence from a recent household survey.” International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 2023, 17, 13: 1-25. (Co-authored). Link
“Neoliberalism, Compulsory Education and Compulsion to Pay: Magnitude, Patterns and Determinants of Household Expenditure in Indian Punjab.” Review of Development and Change, 2023, 28 (2): 245-67. (Co-authored). Link
“Policies and Practices of Managing Higher Education in India: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic Experience.” Journal of Development Policy and Practice, 2023, OnlineFirst. (Co-authored). Link
“Household Expenditure on Secondary Education in Haryana (India): Levels, Patterns and Determinants.” Millennial Asia, 2022, 14 (4): 605-35. (Co-authored). Link
“Do parental resources reduce the gender gap in math for primary school-going children? Evidence from India.” Education 3-13, 2022, 52 (8): 1071-1088. (Co-authored). Link
“An analysis of school shifting patterns in India: what do recent data tell us?” Journal of Social and Economic Development, 2022, 24 (2): 295-318. (Co-authored). Link
“How Much do Households Spend on Professional Higher Education in India? Results from a National Survey.” Indian Journal of Human Development, 2022, 16 (1): 77-96.(Co-authored). Link
“An Empirical Analysis of Household Expenditure on Engineering Education in Odisha.” Millennial Asia, 2022, 13 (3): 442-469. (Co-authored). Link
“Who all access private coaching in higher education and how much do they spend? Evidence from India.” Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 2021, 28 (4): 1433-55. (Co-authored). Link
“Do private schools really produce more learning than public schools in India? Accounting for student’s school absenteeism and the time spent on homework.” International Journal of Educational Development, 2021, 83, 102395. (Co-authored). Link
“Determinants of Private School Choice in India: All about the Family Backgrounds?” Journal of School Choice, 2020, 15(4): 576-602. (Co-authored). Link
“Computer science skills across China, India, Russia, and the United States.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019, 116 (14): 6732-36. (Co-authored). Link
“Student assessment of quality of engineering education in India: evidence from a field survey.” Quality Assurance in Education, 27 (1): 103-26. Link
“Role of Private Sector in Medical Education and Human Resource Development for Health in India.” Economic and Political Weekly, 2016, 51 (3): 71-79. Link
“Growth of Engineering Education in India: Status, Issues and Challenges.” Higher Education for the Future, 2016, 3 (1): 93-107. Link
“Explaining the Role of Parental Education in the Regional Variation in Infant Mortality in India.” Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 2015, 2 (3): 544-572. Link
“Explaining Gender Discrimination in Employment and Earnings of Engineering Graduates in India”, Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, 2015, 29 (3): 225-246. Link
“COVID-19 and Education in India: Impact on Access, Inclusion and Learning.” 2025, Routledge, UK. Link. (Co-edited volume).
“Contextualising Educational Studies in India: Research, Policy and Practices.” 2021, Routledge, UK. Link. (Co-edited volume).
“Gender gaps in employment preferences among university graduates in India.” In: Mishra, R.K., Kujur, S.K., Trivikram, K. (eds.), Higher Education, Employment and Economic Development in India: Problems, Prospects, and Policies, 2023, Routledge, UK. Link. (Co-authored).
“In the Middle of Hope and Crisis: What Union Budget 2022-23 Offers for Education?” Economic and Political Weekly, 2022, 57 (25): 18-23. Link (Co-authored).
“Changing Face of Higher Education and Development in Asia-Pacific.” In: Lee, W.O., Brown, P., Goodwin, A.L., Green, A. (eds), International Handbook on Education Development in Asia-Pacific, 2022, Springer, Singapore. Link. (Co-authored).
“Policies and Practices of Financing Higher Education in Asia-Pacific Countries.” In: Lee, W.O., Brown, P., Goodwin, A.L., Green, A. (eds), International Handbook on Education Development in Asia-Pacific, 2022, Springer, Singapore. Link. (Co-authored).
“Engineering Education in India.” In: Chattopadhyay, S., Varghese, N. V. & Marginson, S. (eds), Changing Higher Education in India, 2021, Bloomsbury, UK. pp. 187-210. Link. (Co-authored).
“Changing Landscape of Professional Higher Education in India: What Do We Know and What Do Recent Data Tell Us?” In: Mani S. & Iyer, C.G. (eds), India’s Economy and Society: Lateral Explorations, 2021, Springer Nature, Singapore, pp. 287-324. Link. (Co-authored).
“Expanding Education Market and Parental Choice for Secondary Schools in India: Evidence from IHDS Data.” In: Tilak, J.B.G. (ed), Universal Secondary Education in India: Issues, Challenges and Prospects, 2020, Springer, Singapore, pp. 113-35. Link
“Parental Choice for Schools in the Changing Context of the State and Market in India.” In: Babu, S. (ed), Education and Public Sphere: Exploring the Structures of Mediation in Post-Colonial India, 2020, Routledge, UK. pp. 109-128. Link
“Inequality in Access to Higher Education in India between the Poor and the Rich.” In: Haque, T. & Reddy, D.N. (eds), Social Development Report 2018, 2019, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, pp. 187-202. Link. (Co-authored).
“Pattern and Determinants of Household Expenditure on Higher Education: Evidence from Rural Odisha.” In: Bhushan, S. (ed), The Future of Higher Education in India, 2019, Springer, Singapore, pp. 165-180. Link
“NEET for Medical Education: Finding a Balance.” Economic and Political Weekly, 2016, 51:35, 16-19. Link