Vijayendra Rao

Vijayendra Rao

Lead Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank

Vijayendra Rao is a development economist and interdisciplinary social scientist whose research examines how norms, culture, and political economy shape human agency, inequality, and democratic participation. He is currently Lead Economist at the Development Research Group at the World Bank.  From March-June 2026 he will be the Roberta Buffet Distinguished Scholar-Practitioner in Residence at Northwestern University. 

Recent work by Vijayendra Rao