I am a Governance Specialist at the World Bank. 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.

Why do governments fail to deliver for their citizens, and what can be done about it? 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 better understand the administrative roots of weak state capacity and how these can be addressed. By integrating micro-level evidence on how citizens and frontline officials behave with detailed measures of how effectively government functions, 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