Suresh Naidu Headshot

Suresh Naidu

Professor of International and Public Affairs and the Jack Wang and Echo Ren Professor of Economics

Suresh Naidu Headshot

International Affairs Building, Room 1405


Personal Details

On Leave for the Fall 2024 Semester

Focus areas: Economic effects of political transitions, economic history of slavery and labor institutions, international migration, economic applications of natural language processing 

Suresh Naidu teaches economics, political economy and development.

Naidu previously served as a Harvard Academy Junior Scholar at Harvard University, and as an instructor in economics and political economy at the University of California, Berkeley.

Naidu holds a BMath from University of Waterloo, an MA in economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Publications:

  • “Recruitment Restrictions and Labor Markets: Evidence from the Post-Bellum U.S. South,” Journal of Labor Economics.
  • “Intergenerational Wealth Transmission and the Dynamics of Inequality in Small-Scale Societies” with Monique Borgerhoff Mulder, Samuel Bowles, Tom Hertz, Adrian Bell, Jan Beise, Greg Clark, Ila Fazzio, Michael Gurven, Kim , Paul L. Hooper, William Irons, Hillard Kaplan, Donna Leonetti, Bobbi Low, Frank Marlowe, Richard McElreath, Suresh Naidu, David Nolin, Patrizio Piraino, Rob Quinlan, Eric Schniter, Rebecca Sear, Mary Shenk, Eric Alden Smith, Christopher von Rueden, and Polly Wiessner. Science Vol. 326. No. 5953 (October 30, 2009.) pp 682-688.
  • “Occupational Choices: The Economic Determinants of Land Invasions” with Danny Hidalgo, Simeon Nichter, and Neal Richardson, Review of Economics and Statistics.
  • “The Economic Impacts of a Citywide Minimum Wage” with Arin Dube and Michael Reich. Industrial and Labor Relations Review Vol. 60, No. 4 (July 2007), pp. 522-543.

Education

  • PhD in Economics, University of California, Berkeley
  • MA in Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  • BMath, University of Waterloo

Research And Publications

In The Media

SIPA’s Suresh Naidu discussed research on workplace collective action, unions, and more.

Nov 04 2020
Inclusive Prosperity

SIPA faculty scholars and practitioners are working across disciplines to tackle the most complicated social issues of our day.

Oct 25 2020

Suresh Naidu speaks with the Pitchfork Economics podcast about the coercive labor market and how labor economists account for the influence of power while studying employee/employer relationships.

Sep 21 2020
Pitchfork Economics

A new report from Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Suresh Naidu, et al. considers how the experiences of essential workers might inform the responses of policymakers and labor organizations.

Jun 03 2020
Roosevelt Institute

Economist Suresh Naidu is featured in the recent film adaptation of the international best-seller.

Apr 30 2020
Kino Marquee