Team

Karthik Muralidharan is the Tata Chancellor's Professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a Fellow and Board Member of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), and a Board member and co-chair of the Education program at the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL). Born and raised in India, he earned an A.B. in economics (summa cum laude) from Harvard, an M.Phil. in economics from Cambridge (UK), and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard. Prof. Muralidharan's primary research interests include development, public, and labor economics. Specific topics of interest include education, health, and social protection; measuring quality of public service delivery; program evaluation; and improving the effectiveness of public spending (with a focus on developing countries). Courses taught include undergraduate and graduate classes in development economics, program evaluation, the economics of education, and the Indian Economy. He is also actively involved in policy advising and capacity building in India at both the central and state levels.

Paul Niehaus is a Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego, where he works with governments in emerging markets to improve the implementation of social programs. He is also co-founder and former president of GiveDirectly, ranked a top-rated nonprofit (GiveWell) and among the 25 most audacious companies (Inc) and 10 most innovative companies in finance (Fast Company), and co-founder of the financial technology companies Segovia Technology Co. and Taptap Send, Inc. He is an Affiliate at J-PAL, Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research,  Junior Affiliate at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development, and an Affiliate at the Center for Effective Global Action. He holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University. In 2013, Foreign Policy named him one of its 100 leading "Global Thinkers." 

Sandip Sukhtankar is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Virginia, an Affiliate at J-PAL and an Affiliate at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD). Born and raised in India, he received a BA from Swarthmore College (with Highest Honors) in 2000 and received his PhD from Harvard University in 2009. He previously worked at Dartmouth College, the Brookings Institution and the Center for Global Development. Prof Sukhtankar’s research interests are in development economics, political economy, and public economics, with a particular focus on corruption, governance, and the delivery of public benefits and services.