PhD Thesis
Title: Essays in Public Finance and Development Economics
PhD Supervisor & 2nd Reader: Jean-Louis Arcand and Martina Viarengo
Expected completion date: 2025
Profile
Balu is a 3rd year PhD student in Development Economics. He is a research fellow at the International Institute of Migration and Development and previously worked as a research associate at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. He has a Master in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute, Geneva and a Bachelor in Economics from the University of Delhi, India. He is supervised by Professor Jean-Louis Arcand and Professor Martina Viarengo.
Academic Work experience
Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant: "Managerial Economics", Graduate Level Course at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad and Mohali
Research Experience
Research Associate and Teaching Assistant: Indian School of Business
Research Assistant and Survey Consultant: Centre for Development Studies for the Governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Research Interests
- Applied Microeconomics
- Public Health
- Migration
- Public Finance
Relevant Publications and Works
Journal Articles and Edited Chapters
- "Routine childhood vaccination in India from 2005–2006 to 2015–2016: Temporal trends and geographic variation," with Rashmi Nayar, Nivedita Mantha, Sisir Debnath, and Sarang Deo. Vaccine 40, no. 48 (2022): 6924-6930.
- "Distress Return Migration amidst COVID-19: The Kerala Response," (with S. Irudaya Rajan), accepted in Asia Pacific Migration Journal: Vol.31(2) 176-189, 2022.
- "What Next for the COVID-19 Return Emigrants? Findings from the Kerala Return Emigrant Survey," (with S. Irudaya Rajan), India Migration Report 2021: 181-195, Routledge India, 2022.
- "Keeping up with Kerala’s Joneses," India Migration Report 2020: Kerala Model of Migration Surveys: 23, Routledge, 2020.
- "COVID-19 led Return Migration from the Gulf-India Migration Corridor," (with S. Irudaya Rajan), International Migration, COVID-19, and Environmental Sustainability: 31-46. Emerald Publishing Limited, 2023.
- "The Last Straw? Experiences in the Country of Destination during COVID-19 and Future Plans of Returned Migrants in the India-GCC Corridor," (with S. Irudaya Rajan & H. Tohidimehr), in special issue of Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Accepted.
Working Papers and Other Publications
- "The resilient international migrant deserves better," (with S. Irudaya Rajan), World Bank blogs, 2020.
- "Kerala Return Emigrant Survey 2021: Insights and the Way Forward," (with S. Irudaya Rajan), World Bank blogs, 2021.
- "Kerala Return Emigrant Survey 2021: What Next for Return Migrants of Kerala?," (with S. Irudaya Rajan), CDS Working Paper: 504, 2021.
- "Indian Migration to Indonesia," (with M. Fatima), Palgrave Handbook of Indian Migration to Southeast Asia (forthcoming).
Fellowships, Grants and Awards
- Research Fellow at International Institute of Migration and Development, Thiruvananthapuram
- Runner up: Global Migration Award for best master thesis in migration
AfFiliations
Doctoral Affiliate, Global Migration Center, IHEID