Regular biography
Karthik Muralidharan is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of California, San Diego. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University, awarded in 2007. His research focuses on development economics, health economics, public economics, labor economics, and political economics. His work explores education, health, social protection programs, state capacity, and field experiments. Muralidharan is affiliated with several research groups at UCSD and maintains a personal website for further information.
Scholar-generated biography
Karthik Muralidharan is a Chancellor's Professor of Economics at UC San Diego, specializing in economics with a focus on development economics, education, and public policy. His research explores the impact of education interventions, teacher performance, and governance mechanisms in developing countries. Key areas include teacher absence, school enrollment, and the effectiveness of public employment programs. His work often employs randomized controlled trials to evaluate policy interventions, such as teacher performance pay, school choice, and the use of technology in education. Muralidharan's research also examines the role of female teachers in reducing education gender gaps and the fiscal implications of weak governance. His studies provide empirical evidence to inform education and healthcare policies in low-income settings.