Curriculum vitaeSanjana Kadyan
Last updated July 2026
Education
2023–28 (exp.)
PhD in Public Policy, Economics Concentration
Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy
2021–2023
MSc in Economics, Research Track
Tufts University
2013–2015
MA in Economics
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
2008–2011
BA (Hons.) in Economics
Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi
Research fields
Political Economy · Environmental Economics · Development Economics
Research experience
2026
Graduate Research Assistant, to Prof. Celina Scott-Buechler
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
Identifying project-wise institutional characteristics of carbon dioxide removal projects in the Global South (India, Brazil, Kenya) and situating them in a framework of state–market–civil society complementarities.
2025
Graduate Research Assistant, to Prof. Subhrendu Pattanayak
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
Assisted in curriculum design and teaching of PUBPOL 890, a new graduate course on the Political Economy of Climate & Environment, focused on the role of politicians, bureaucrats and NGOs in environmental policy implementation in low- and middle-income economies.
2022
Graduate Research Analyst
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Contributed to the Western Union / Human Planet Migration Project; developed indicators of labour shortage for 27 OECD countries.
Professional experience
2021
Deputy Director, Macro Unit & Office of the Chief Economic Adviser
Ministry of Finance, Government of India · Indian Economic Service
- Independently developed a dynamic factor model for nowcasting India's GDP growth from high-frequency indicators during COVID-19; institutionalised its use for real-time tracking of economic activity at the central and state level and for budget formulation.
- Constructed a historical micro-dataset of administrative reforms across advanced and emerging economies and used causal-inference methods to assess their impact on governance.
2018–2020
Assistant Director, Macro Unit & Office of the Chief Economic Adviser
Ministry of Finance, Government of India · Indian Economic Service
- Core member of the Chief Economic Adviser's quantitative macro-research team drafting the Economic Survey of India 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.
- Institutionalised applications of behavioural economics in national programmes on sanitation (Swachh Bharat Mission), labour markets (National Career Service) and tax policy (Direct Tax Code).
2018
Assistant Director, Infrastructure Policy and Finance Division
Ministry of Finance, Government of India · Indian Economic Service
- Led the Interim Budget 2019-20 exercise on an infrastructure development programme for a $10 trillion economy by 2030, projecting investment requirements across eight sub-sectors and sources of financing.
2016–2017
Officer Trainee, Indian Economic Service
Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India
- Estimated India's fiscal multiplier using structural VAR techniques with Prof. Arup Mitra and Prof. Vikram Dayal (Institute of Economic Growth); ranked best research dissertation among 15 probationers.
2014–2015
Assistant Professor (ad hoc)
Lady Shri Ram College for Women and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College, University of Delhi
- Drafted Lady Shri Ram College's NAAC self-study report, contributing to its second-place ranking among 35 Delhi University colleges in the 2016 accreditation cycle.
Teaching experience
Teaching assistant
2026
PUBPOL 574: Economics of Sustainable Development
Duke University
2025, 2026
PUBPOL 811: Microeconomics (Policy Applications)
Duke University
2024
PUBPOL 607: Cost-Benefit Analysis for Health and Environmental Policy
Duke University
2023
EC 0161: International Trade
Tufts University
2023
EC 0005: Principles of Economics
Tufts University
Lecturer
2015
Public Economics, Development Economics and Environmental Economics
BA (Hons.) Economics, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi
2014
Macroeconomics and Industrial Economics
BA (Hons.) Economics, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College, University of Delhi
Papers and publications
Working papers
- 2023“Environmental Policy Uncertainty and Sustainable Investing.” MSc thesis, Department of Economics, Tufts University, May 2023.
Policy reports
- 2021State of the Economy 2020-21: A Macro View · Economic Survey 2020-21, Vol. II, Ch. 1
- 2020Monthly Economic Report · Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India
- 2020State of the Economy in 2019-20: A Macro View · Economic Survey 2019-20, Vol. II, Ch. 1
- 2019Shifting Gears: Private Investment as the Key Driver of Growth, Jobs, Exports and Demand · Economic Survey 2018-19, Vol. I, Ch. 1
- 2019Policy for Homo Sapiens, Not Homo Economicus: Leveraging the Behavioral Economics of ‘Nudge’ · Economic Survey 2018-19, Vol. I, Ch. 2
- 2019Data ‘Of the People, By the People, For the People’ · Economic Survey 2018-19, Vol. I, Ch. 4
Popular press
- 2021Vaccination and adaptive public works strategy: an antidote for India's second-wave migration dilemma with T. Rajkumari · Financial Express
- 2021Towards Swasth Bharat with T. Rajkumari · The Hindu BusinessLine
- 2021Indian economy and the possible trinity of resilience with T. Rajkumari · Financial Express
- 2020Re-imaging agriculture through the lens of food processing industry with T. Rajkumari · Syndicated feature (The Sangai Express and others)
- 2020Behavioural interventions for an Atmanirbhar toy industry with T. Rajkumari · Livemint
- 2020Behavioural economics can help battle Covid-19 with T. Rajkumari · Hindustan Times
Fellowships, prizes and awards
2022
Varkey Summer Research Fellowship Award, Department of Economics, Tufts University
2021
95% tuition scholarship, MS Economics (Research Track), Tufts University
2018
Selected from 256 Indian Economic Service officers for the core research team of the Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India
2018
Rank 1 of 15 officer trainees in probationary dissertation and examinations, Indian Economic Service (2016 batch)
2016
All-India Rank 6 of roughly 10,000 candidates, Indian Economic Service Examination, Union Public Service Commission
2015
Junior Research Fellowship in Social Sciences (top 30 of roughly 50,000 candidates), University Grants Commission, Government of India
Skills
Stata · R · Python · LaTeX