Research Interests
Health behavior, health economics, program evaluation
Key Publications
Please see CV for a complete list
1. Nepal P, Acharya Y. Reducing Over-the-Counter Sale of Antibiotics in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Forthcoming in Economic Development & Cultural Change.
2. Yang D, Acharya Y. Effects of Housing Demolition on Health and Medical Utilization: Evidence from China. Health Economics Review 2026, 16(1): 37-51.
3. Acharya Y, Kim J. Targeting Using Differential Incentives: Evidence from a Field Experiment. Economic Development and Cultural Change 2022, 17(2):763-790.
4. Yang D, Acharya Y, Liu X. Social Health Insurance Consolidation and Urban-Rural Inequality in Utilization and Financial Risk Protection in China. Social Science & Medicine 2022, 308:1-11.
5. Acharya Y, Yang D. The Effect of Disability on Educational, Labor Market, and Marital Outcomes in a Low-Income Context. Social Science and Medicine-Population Health 2022. 19:101155.
6. Naz S, Acharya Y. The Effect of Reframing the Goals of Family Planning Programs from Limiting Fertility to Birth Spacing: Evidence from Pakistan. Studies in Family Planning 2021, 52(2):125-142.
7. Acharya Y, Luke N, Naz S, Sharma D. Exposure to Conflict-related Violence and Nutritional Status of Children in Iraq. Social Science and Medicine-Population Health 2020, 11:100585.
8. Acharya Y. The Impact of Vitamin A Supplementation in Childhood on Adult Outcomes: An Exploration of Mechanisms, Timing of Exposure, and Heterogeneous Effects. Social Science & Medicine 2018 March; 201: 95-102.
9. Acharya Y. Effects of a Community-Based Neonatal Care Package Program. Health Policy and Planning 2018 May, 33(4): 592-601.
10. Hirth RA, Acharya Y, Levy HG, Langa KM. Does Home Equity Affect Decisions on Long-term Care Insurance Purchases? Evidence from the United States. Research on Aging 2019, 41(6): 602-628.
Completed and In-Progress Trials
2025-2026 Community Interventions to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance in Ghana (CITAR-Ghana)
Funding: Merck (PI: Acharya)
Status: Data collection in progress
Description: The study tests the effect of behavioral interventions targeted to community pharmacies and of demand pressure on the dispensing of non-prescribed antibiotics in Greater Accra, Ghana.
2023-2026 Testing Approaches to Promote Breast Cancer Screening in Rural Ghana
Funding: NIH/NCI (PI: Acharya)
Status: Completed
Description: The study tests two interventions to tackle sociocultural and economic barriers to the utilization of routine breast cancer screening by women in Ghana.
2024-2026 Optimizing Antibiotics Prescription: A Stepped-Wedge Randomized Trial
Funding: Merck (PI: Acharya)
Status: Data collection completed
Description: The study tests the effect of a behavioral intervention targeted to junior physicians in Nepal on antibiotics prescription rate, and draw lessons for scaling up
2022-2024 Community Education and Surveillance on Antibiotics Use Among Young Children in Nepal: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Funding: Merck (PI: Acharya)
Status: Manuscript under review
Description: This clustered RCT tests the effect of an intensive educational intervention targeted to parents of young children on non-prescribed antibiotics consumption.
2021-2022 A Pharmacy Antimicrobial Stewardship and Economic Program (PhASE) for Community Pharmacists in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Funding: Pfizer (PIs: Kaljee)
Status: Completed, and manuscript has been published
Description: This project tested the effects of three interventions—public commitment, performance feedback, and demand pressure—on the sale of non-prescribed antibiotics by community pharmacies using trained researchers posing as patients.