MAHA REHMAN
Welcome to my website. Here you will find a brief introduction to my ongoing research.
My research investigates how the interplay of economic and social institutions shapes industrial strategies and public service delivery during shocks and disruptions. Focusing on micro-level interventions, I examine the relationship between systemic constraints, institutional inefficiencies, and their economic consequences. Methodologically, I combine experimental and quasi-experimental approaches with tools from empirical industrial organisation to identify institutional constraints and incentive misalignments. By integrating these empirical insights with economic theory, I develop and rigorously test solutions that address these institutional challenges and inform evidence-based policy design. I am currently a PhD student at Cornell University. I am also affiliated with Cornell Center for Social Sciences as a social scientist, with Mahbub-ul-Haq Research Centre at LUMS as a Research Fellow and with Acumen as a Pakistan Fellow.
In 2024, I setup Policy Lab with the objective of providing scientific and actionable insights for policy making in Developing Countries. Using a tiered experimental approach comprising randomised control trials, A/B testing and actionable policy insights, the Lab will induce scientific discipline in the art of policymaking in developing countries. The Lab will formally launch next year, working with policymakers in different tiers of the government to provide scientific and actionable research that can be readily deployed.
From 2020 to 2022, I led a comprehensive analytical and policy response in Pakistan. This included tracking disease incidence, macroeconomic and microeconomic indicators, predicting outbreaks and most importantly evaluating the effectiveness of various policies through quantitative experimental and quasi-experimental methods. I taught Economics at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) from 2019-2022 and served as the Director of Policy at the Mahbub-ul-Haq Research Centre at LUMS during the same period.
Prior to this, in 2017, I established an Evaluations Wing at a Lahore-based research center focused on embedding data in the decision-making processes and operations of private and public sector organizations to enhance efficiency, impact, and profit.
I frequently contribute to DAWN and other daily publications and blogs. My articles have been featured in Herald, DAWN.com, Indian Express, Nepali Times, The Daily Star, World Bank's "End Poverty in South Asia," IGC, and IDEAS Policy Blogs.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maharehman11/
Bluesky Handle: @maharehman.bsky.social
Medium: https://medium.com/@maharehman/about