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

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

It's incredibly risky for low-wage workers to stage strikes and walkouts-- and even more so during a pandemic. Alexander Hertel-Fernandez and Suresh Naidu discuss why it's becoming such a common place sight to see in recent days.

Apr 05 2020
Washington Post

With states making exceptions for "essential employees" to avoid stay-at-home order, Suresh Naidu this gives companies much to think about: “The workers have a lot of bargaining power in the sense that they’re worth a lot to the company right now.”

Apr 01 2020
Quartz

How is economic performance affected by other notable social factors, from democracy to revolution to slavery? Suresh Naidu discusses on a new Sean Carroll podcast.

Feb 17 2020
Sean Carroll

Economist Gabriel Zucman discussed tax reform and the tradition of progressive taxation in the United States.

Nov 10 2019

Professors of economics are switching towards covering concepts in unemployment, inflation and instability rather than the "classical" self-adjusting model. This New Yorker article references Suresh Naidu's writing on the “considerations making a comeback."

Oct 22 2019
New Yorker