Slesh A. Shrestha
My research intersects across key thematic areas of economics - [1] Labor Migration, [2] Ethnic Inequality, and [3] Governance of Infrastructure and Public Programs - with an overarching emphasis on economic development and poverty reduction.
I am an independent researcher based in Kathmandu, Nepal. I previously worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the National University of Singapore from 2012 to 2020.
Curriculum Vitae [.pdf]
Working Papers
Ethnic Bias, Migration, and the Formation of New Social Identities among Returnees in Nepal, with Roy Chen [.pdf]
Publications
"Money versus Kudos: The Impact of Incentivizing Local Politicians in India," with Ghazala Mansuri, Nethra Palaniswamy, and Vijayendra Rao, Journal of Public Economics, Volume 224, August 2023, p 104922 [.pdf][.appendix]
"Mission and the Bottom Line: Performance Incentives in a Multi-goal Organization ," with Xavier Gine and Ghazala Mansuri, Review of Economics and Statistics, Volume 104, Issue 4, July 2022, p 748-763 [.pdf][.onlineappendix]
"Superstition, Fertility, and Interethnic Spillovers: Evidence from Peninsular Malaysia," with Emily A. Beam, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Volume 69, Issue 1, October 2020, p 453-483 [.pdf]
"Roads, Participation in Markets, and Benefits to Agricultural Households: Evidence from the Topography-based Highway Network in Nepal," Economic Development and Cultural Change, Volume 68, Issue 3, April 2020, p 839-864 [.pdf]
"Facilitating Worker Mobility: A Randomized Information Intervention among Migrant Workers in Singapore," with Dean Yang, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Volume 68, Issue 1, October 2019, p 63-91 [.pdf]
"Sibling Rivalry and Gender Gap: Intrahousehold Substitution of Male and Female Educational Investments from Male Migration Prospects," with Nethra Palaniswamy, Journal of Population Economics, Volume 30, Issue 4, October 2017, p 1355-1380 [.pdf]
"No Man Left Behind: Effects of Emigration Prospects on Educational and Labor Outcomes of Non-migrants," Economic Journal, Volume 127, Issue 600, March 2017, p 495-521 [.pdf]
Work in Progress
Inclusion Mandate, Improved Accountability, and the Delivery of Public Goods and Services in Pakistan, with Xavier Gine (World Bank) and Ghazala Mansuri (World Bank)
Information Interventions to Facilitate Job Mobility among Migrants in Singapore , with Dean Yang (University of Michigan)
Lesser of Two Evils: Land Inequality and Long-run Economic Mobility in Rural Pakistan, with Ghazala Mansuri (World Bank)
Skill Transferability, Migration Spells, and Domestic Labor Market Outcomes of Return Migrants in Nepal, with Maheshwor Shrestha (World Bank)
Federalization and the Formation of Social and Political Group Identities in Nepal , with Roy Chen (National University of Singapore)
Newspaper Op-Eds & Policy Writing
COVID-19 in South Asia: An Unequal Shock, an Uncertain Recovery, The World Bank, 2022 [.pdf]
Returnees: A primer on data and research agenda for Nepal, 2020 (with Sarita Sapkota and Maheshwor Shrestha) [.pdf]
When Monetary Rewards Fail to Motivate Workers, The Strait Times, 10 June 2015 [.pdf]
Empowering Foreign Domestic Workers, The Strait Times, 19 November 2014 [.pdf]
Health or Wealth? Income Earner Death and Mobility in Rural Pakistan, background paper for World Development Report 2013, with Ghazala Mansuri, Hernan Jorge Winkler, and Monica Yanez-Pagans.
A Plot of my Own: Land Titling and Economic Mobility in Uganda, background paper for World Development Report 2013, with Ghazala Mansuri, Hernan Jorge Winkler, and Monica Yanez-Pagans.