I am currently a Professor at the University of Surrey, Guildford (UK). Previously, she had worked at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth and Cardiff and subsequently at Brunel University in west London.

After completing BSc and MSc in Economics from University of Calcutta (India), I have received an MPhil in Economics from St. John’s College, University of Cambridge (UK) and a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics (UK).

I am an applied economist working on Institutions and Political Economy, Public Economics/Finance, Corporate Finance/Governance, analysing the impact of law/social/public policies, on outcomes pertaining to various economic agents (firms/banks, household, community, districts/province) using various quasi-experimental methods and with a focus on emerging markets. My recent and current research focuses on effects of ethnic diversity, social norms and political entrepreneurship on local polities and local development, Brexit, ethnic representation and public spending in English local governments, effects of transport expansion on crime, effects of compulsory schooling laws on youth crime, effects of ceiling legislations on land acquisition and capital investment, effects of compliance with corporate policies (disclosure rules, privatisation) on corporate performance and corporate capital structure, managing dual practice of public doctors for public service provisions, among others, green finance and sustainable development.

My research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Leverhulme Trust, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation as well as University Global Partnership Network (a consortium of the University of Surrey, University of North Carolina Raleigh, University of Sao Paulo and University of Wollongong).

I was a Leverhulme Research Fellow during 2008-09 and has been a research fellow of IZA - Institute of Labour Economics (University of Bonn, Germany) since 2007. I am currently an academic member of the European Corporate Governance Institute. I serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Development Studies (ABS 3*).

My research has been impactful and has been widely cited (over 4000 in google scholar), giving rise to high H-index (33) and I10 index 80. Total number of downloads of my IZA discussion papers is 99248 (download statistics available since April 2002). My personal ranking position: 349 (among a total of 11888 IZA DP authors). My research on gender gap in university performance has been discussed at the House of Commons Education Select Committee. My research on rural labour contracts has been cited in the leading Development Economics text book written by Debraj Ray, Princeton University Press. Methodology of my research relating to effects of excessive corporate leverage on corporate performance has been adopted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London.