Citing Prabhat Barnwal PhD ’15

The work of Prabhat Barnwal PhD ’15, a recent graduate of the doctoral program in sustainable development and a fellow at the Center for Development Economics and Policy, was cited July 22 in an essay for the New York Times’ Opinion section, “Transforming the Fight Against Poverty in India.”

Barnwal’s dissertation, “Curbing Leakage in Public Programs with Biometric Identification Systems: Evidence from India’s Fuel Subsidies,” examined how India’s government can better target beneficiaries of a program to subsidize the purchase of cooking gas for home use.

Professor Cristian (Kiki) Pop-Eleches served as Barnwal’s dissertation sponsor, and SIPA faculty members Wojciech Kopczuk, John Mutter, and Eric Verhoogen sat on his dissertation committee (along with Alexander Van Geen of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory).

Barnwal will join Michigan State University this fall as an assistant professor in the Department of Economics. Congratulations!