I am a Governance Specialist in the World Bank’s Public Institutions and Data Analytics Unit. Previously, I was an Assistant Professor in the Division of Politics and Economics at Claremont Graduate University, a faculty affiliate at the Center for Effective Global Action, and a non-resident fellow in the Program on Governance and Local Development at the University of Gothenburg.

My research examines the determinants of state capacity at both local and macro levels. My earlier work analyzed how bureaucratic constraints and citizen engagement interact to shape local-level public service delivery, particularly in India. My current research at the World Bank expands this agenda to measure state capacity more broadly across countries and sectors. By integrating micro-level evidence on how citizens and frontline officials behave with cross-national indicators of institutional capability, I aim to identify the mechanisms through which effective states emerge and deliver for their citizens.

I completed my PhD in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley in May 2020. I have been named a Susan Clarke Young Scholar by APSA’s Urban and Local Politics Section.

I co-organize an annual conference on urban politics in the global south. Check it out here!

Photo by Bhumi Purohit