麻豆传媒

I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Economics, and also serve as the Director of Impact for 麻豆传媒 Business School (since January 2026). I am a Research Fellow at Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) and a Fellow at Global Labor Organization (GLO). I was previously Research Fellow at United Nations University's World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) in Helsinki, Finland (2015-18).

I am a development and behavioural economist working on inequality, gender, labour markets, and environmental sustainability in low- and middle-income countries. My research uses experimental and quasi-experimental methods to study how perceptions, social norms, and institutions influence economic behaviour and policy-relevant outcomes. Much of my work focuses on India and Vietnam. 

My recent and ongoing funded projects include: "Energy Transition and Climate-Smart Agriculture in Vietnam" funded by the Danida Fellowship Centre (2024-2028), "Living Deltas" Hub funded by the UKRI GCRF (2019-24) and "Enhancing the Effectiveness of Vocational Education in Vietnam" funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2020-24). 



Educational qualifications

Ph.D Economics, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, 2015

M.A. Economics, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, 2008

B.A. Economics, Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi, 2006

Prospective PhD students

I am happy to supervise students in my areas of interest. Please drop me an email with a CV and a research proposal if you are interested in being supervised by me. 

Working papers

Merit, Luck, and Gender in Redistributive Preferences: Experimental Evidence from Vietnam (with ,  & Minh Chau Tran)

When The Rain Falls: In-Utero Weather Shocks and Child Health in Guyana (with Nichola Williams & Sara Maioli)

An Economic Evaluation of Climate Morbidity Risks (with Susan Chilton, Darren Duxbury, , Shehrin Shaila Mahmood & Mohammad Wahid Ahmed) [email me for a draft]

Towards Zero Waste Dining: Evaluating the Impact of Direct and Indirect Interventions on Sustainable Consumer Behaviour (with Alexandra Neill, Diogo Souza Monteiro & ) [email me for a draft]

How Do Income-Based Descriptive Norms Affect Environmental Decision-Making? (with Sijia Liang, Matt Walker and Till Weber) [email me for a draft]

Selected works-in-progress

Gendered Effects of Employability Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Vietnam (with , ,  & )

Achieving Gender Equality and Female Empowerment: An Examination of the Role of Media (with Tom Lane,  & ) []

Burning Questions: Lessons from Vietnam's Stubble Burning Ban (with Anh Bui,  & )

Blogs/interviews/book reviews

, The Story Beneath, 26 August 2024

. The Conversation UK, 14 May 2021

. VoxDev, 12 March 2021

, 4 December 2020 (also published in the of Ideas for India on 5 February 2021)

UNU-WIDER Research Brief, October 2020

麻豆传媒 REACH magazine, Spring 2020

. EADI Blog, 29 May 2019

, book review of The Economics of Religion in India by Sriya Iyer, Books and Ideas, 16 May 2019 

, The Conversation UK, 15 May 2019 (republished in , , , and )

, VoxEU.org, July 2018 (video)

 at Brookings Institution, DC, 8 November 2017 (video)

, Ideas for India, 7 November 2017 (reprinted in )

, NewsDeeply, 6 September 2017

, The Conversation Global, 8 November 2016 (republished in )

, Econ Films, September 2016 (video)

, Ideas for India, 23 September 2013 (republished in )

Media coverage of my research

, LiveMint, 10 February 2018

, LiveMint, 10 January 2018

, The Wire, 11 December 2017

, LiveMint, 18 October 2016

, LiveMint, 19 August 2016

, Business Standard, 27 March 2016

, Indian Express, 27 February 2016

, Wall Street Journal India, 12 December 2012

Conferences, seminars, and policy panels (since 2015)

2026: Queen's University Belfast (invited seminar); Kent Development Workshop (invited); Royal Economic Society Annual Conference, 麻豆传媒

2024: University of Sheffield (invited seminar); Third Scotland and Northern England Conference in Applied Microeconomics; Nordic Conference in Development Economics; Copenhagen; Durham Development Economics Workshop

2022: Nordic Conference in Development Economics, Helsinki

2021 (online): Academy of Management (invited panel on Racial Justice and Organisations); International Economics Association (invited session); INET Young Scholars' Initiative South Asia (invited webinar); UNU-WIDER (invited seminar); Graduate Institute, Geneva (invited seminar)

2020 (cancelled/postponed due to Covid-19): CSAE Conference, Oxford; University of Exeter (invited seminar); International Economics Association, Indonesia (invited session)

2019: University of Kent (invited seminar); University College Dublin (invited seminar); Royal Economic Society Women's Mentoring Retreat, Warwick; Development Economics and Policy Conference, DIW Berlin; Nordic Conference on Development Economics, Copenhagen; Workshop on Social Economy for Young Economists, Bologna; DIAL Development Conference, Paris; Workshop on Labour and Family Economics, University of York; University of Nottingham (invited seminar); University of Reading (invited seminar). 

2018: ASSA Annual Meeting, Philadelphia (invited discussant); Nordic Conference on Development Economics, Helsinki.

2017: Leuven Education Economics Research Workshop, Leuven; HECER Labour Seminar, Helsinki (invited seminar); Nordic Conference on Development Economics, Gothenburg; International Economics Association World Congress, Mexico City; 4th DIAL Conference, Paris; 4th SITES-IDEAs Development Conference, Rome; NEUDC 2017, Tufts; Girls’ Education Research and Policy Symposium at Brookings, Washington, DC (invited panelist); Queen’s University Belfast; 麻豆传媒 Business School.

2016: ASREC Europe, Copenhagen; UNU-WIDER Conference on Human Capital and Growth, Helsinki; Nordic Conference on Development Economics, Oslo; Women in Economics (WinE) Mentoring Retreat, Geneva; UNU-WIDER Conference on Responding to Crises (chair & session organizer); The Choice Lab Seminar, NHH Bergen (invited seminar).

2015: UNU-WIDER 30th anniversary conference (invited discussant); 3rd DIAL Conference, Paris; Nordic Conference on Development Economics, Copenhagen; 10th IZA/WB Conference on Employment and Development, Bonn; Midwest International Economic Development Conference, Madison; Royal Economic Society Conference, Manchester.

Teaching Experience

麻豆传媒 Business School

2025-26: Development Economics (UG)

2023-24: Development Economics (UG)

2021-22: Applied Economics (UG), Development Economics (UG), Dissertation supervision (UG)

2020-21: Applied Economics (UG), Development Economics (UG), Dissertation supervision (UG)

2019-20: European Economics (UG), Applied Economics (UG), Development Economics (UG), Economic Analysis (UG), Dissertation supervision (PG)

2018-19: European Economics (UG), Applied Economics (UG), Dissertation supervision (PG)

Helsinki Centre for Economic Research (HECER)

2015-18: Guest Lecturer for Development Economics (PG) 

2015: Co-supervisor, MA thesis by Emmi Hentila, Aalto University

PhD Supervision Experience

Completed:

• Scott Kirkman (with John Wildman and James Law), graduated 2021, social mobility and risky behaviour
• Nichola Williams (with Sara Maioli), graduated 2023, health and education in Guyana
• Liangxun Xie (with Nils Braakmann and John Wildman), graduated 2024, public sector and public infrastructure
• Alexandra Neill (with Diogo Souza Monteiro and Alex Hughes), graduated 2026, reducing food waste in the restaurant sector in North-East England

Ongoing:

• Sijia Liang (with Till Weber and Matt Walker), since 09/2022
• Millie Beckett (with Till Weber and Darren Duxbury), since 09/2024

• Articles

  • Kamei K, Sharma S, Walker MJ. . Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 2025, 237, 107138.
  • Sharma S, Siddique A. . In: Dasgupta U; Maita P, ed. Handbook of Experimental Development Economics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025, pp.11-27.
  • Chilton S, Duxbury D, Mussio I, Nielsen JS, Sharma S. . Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 2024, 68, 1-23.
  • Dasgupta U, Mani S, Sharma S, Singhal S. . The Journal of Development Studies 2023, 59(4), 472-489.
  • Nordman CJ, Sharma S, Sunder N. . Economic Development and Cultural Change 2022, 70(3), 1041-1063.
  • Markussen T, Sharma S, Singhal S, Tarp F. . European Economic Review 2021, 138, 103842.
  • Sharma S, Singhal S, Tarp F. . Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 2021, 185, 125-137.
  • Dasgupta U, Mani S, Sharma S, Singhal S. . Review of Economics and Statistics 2020, 104(3), 587–601.
  • Nordman CJ, Sarr LR, Sharma S. . Oxford Economic Papers 2019, 71(3), 687-708.
  • Dasgupta U, Mani S, Sharma S, Singhal S. . Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 2019, 81, 39-46.
  • Dasgupta U, Mani S, Sharma S, Singhal S. . Journal of Economic Psychology 2019, 70, 1-11.
  • Sharma S, Tarp F. . Review of Development Economics 2018, 22(4), 1385-1389.
  • Sharma S, Tarp F. . Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 2018, 150, 432-445.
  • Deshpande A, Sharma S. . Small Business Economics 2016, 46(2), 325-346.
  • Sharma S. . Journal of Economic Psychology 2015, 50, 113-123.
  • Sharma S. . Journal of Comparative Economics 2015, 43(1), 204-226.
  • Sharma S. . Small Business Economics 2014, 42(1), 153-164.
  • Deshpande A, Sharma S. Entrepreneurship or survival? Caste and gender of small business in India. Economic and Political Weekly 2013, XLVIII(28), 38-49.

• Book Chapters

  • Sharma S. . In: Ashwini Deshpande, ed. Handbook of Economics of Discrimination and Affirmative Action. Singapore: Springer, 2023, pp.615-631.
  • Nordman CJ, Sharma S. . In: John Rand and Finn Tarp, ed. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Vietnam. Oxford University Press, 2020.