Rohini Pande
Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics, Yale University; Director, Economic Growth Center
Rohini Pande is the Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics and Director of the Economic Growth Center, Yale University. She is a co-editor of American Economic Review: Insights.
Pande’s research is largely focused on how formal and informal institutions shape power relationships and patterns of economic and political advantage in society, particularly in developing countries. She is interested the role of public policy in providing the poor and disadvantaged political and economic power, and how notions of economic justice and human rights can help justify and enable such change.
Her most recent work focuses on testing innovative ways to make the state more accountable to its citizens, such as strengthening women’s economic and political opportunities, ensuring that environmental regulations reduce harmful emissions, and providing citizens effective means to voice their demand for state services.
In 2018, Pande received the Carolyn Bell Shaw Award from the American Economic Association for promoting the success of women in the economics profession. She is the co-chair of the Political Economy and Government Group at Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a Board member of Bureau of Research on Economic Development (BREAD) and a former co-editor of The Review of Economics and Statistics. Before coming to Yale, Pande was the Rafik Harriri Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School, where she co-founded Evidence for Policy Design.
Pande received a PhD in economics from London School of Economics, a BA/MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and a BA in Economics from Delhi University.
For Pande’s latest publications, visit her website: https://campuspress.yale.edu/rpande/
Recent work by Rohini Pande
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Overburdened bureaucrats, not corruption, are delaying public benefits in India
Delays in public benefit delivery can harm societies' most vulnerable households, but making management-relevant information more accessible to the bureaucrats implementing these programmes can meaningfully improve delivery speeds.
Published 02.06.26
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Carbon offsets are broken. Economists know how to fix them.
Carbon offsets can, in theory, reduce emissions efficiently, but in practice problems like non-additional projects, self-selection, and weak regulation mean they may fail to cut – and can even increase – global emissions unless embedded within properly capped compliance markets.
Published 23.02.26
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A proposal for a unified global carbon market
Fragmented carbon markets, especially voluntary offsets, lack the credibility and scale needed to drive global decarbonisation. A proposal for an opt-in, unified global compliance carbon market could reduce emissions cost-effectively while channelling finance to lower-income countries.
Published 17.12.25
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Financing climate adaptation: What works, what doesn’t, and can carbon credits help to bridge the gap?
The first episode of Development Dialogues, our new series with Yale's Economic Growth Center, explores how climate finance can reach those who need it most.
Published 05.11.24
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Broadening the horizon: Female representation on editorial boards and gender-related publications
How does having more women on the editorial boards of top economics journals influence what gets published? A new analysis reveals that as female representation on editorial boards rises, more women-authored papers are being published and there is an increased focus on gender-related research.
Published 01.11.24
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Regulating pollution in low- and middle-income countries
How can governments use environmental regulation to reduce pollution in low- and middle-income countries?
Published 08.11.23
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How does microenterprise growth impact child outcomes?
Enterprise growth for small businesses in India led to schooling gains for children of literate parents but schooling losses for children of illiterate parents, lowering relative intergenerational mobility
Published 12.10.23
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Reducing air pollution: Evidence from payments to reduce crop burning in India
Programmes that pay farmers not to burn crop residue face challenges with compliance, but contracts that include partial upfront payments can help
Published 28.03.23
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Do voters hold politicians accountable for vote-buying?
When voters receive payments, politicians are given greater leniency, and in turn steal more
Published 20.10.21