Saumitra Jha
Bio
Jha is an associate professor of political economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and, by courtesy, of economics and of political science at Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences, and convenes the Stanford Conflict and Polarization Lab. He is also a senior fellow at the Center for Democracy, Development and Rule of Law within the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Affairs, a faculty fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
Jha’s research has been published in leading journals in economics and political science, including the American Economic Review, the American Political Science Review, Econometrica, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Development Economics, and he serves on a number of editorial boards. His research on ethnic tolerance has been recognized with the Michael Wallerstein Award for best published article in political economy from the American Political Science Association in 2014 and his co-authored research on heroes with the Oliver Williamson Award for best paper by the Society for Institutional and Organizational Economics in 2020. Jha was honored to receive the Stanford MSx Teacher of the Year Award, voted by the students in 2020.
Jha holds a BA from Williams College, a master’s degrees in economics and mathematics from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in economics from Stanford University. Prior to joining Stanford GSB, he was an Academy Scholar at Harvard University. He has been a center fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford and at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance and the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University. Jha has consulted on economic and political risk issues for the United Nations/WTO, the World Bank, government agencies, and for private firms. In 2023-24, he was a visiting researcher at the Sciences-Po economics department in Paris, and a MacMillan Fellow at Yale University.
Stanford GSB Affiliations
- Affiliated Faculty Stanford Center for Social Innovation
Stanford University Affiliations
- Faculty Fellow Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences 2022-present
- Convenor and Co-Founder Stanford Conflict and Polarization Initiative 2017-present
- Advisory Board Stanford Center for South Asia 2012–present
- Faculty Affiliate Stanford Center for Latin American Studies 2016–present
- Faculty Affiliate Stanford Europe Center 2021-
- Steering Committee Stanford King Center on Global Development 2016–2020
Academic Degrees
- PhD, Economics, Stanford University, 2006
- Master of Advanced Study: Mathematics (Part III), University of Cambridge, 2001
- Master of Philosophy: Economics, Cambridge University, 2000
- BA summa cum laude, with highest honors: Economics and Mathematics, Williams College, 1999
Academic Appointments
- Associate Professor of Political Economy, and by courtesy of Economics and Political Science, Stanford University 2013–present
- Faculty Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 2022–present
- Senior Fellow, Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Affairs, Stanford University, 2017–present
- Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, 2017–present
- Assistant Professor of Political Economy, and by courtesy of Economics and Political Science, Stanford University 2008–13
- Center Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 2020–21
- Fellow, Center for Study of Democratic Politics and Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance, Princeton University, 2012–13
- Academy Scholar, Harvard University, 2006–08
Awards and Honors
- Lee J. Alston Award for best paper published in the Journal of Historical Political Economy, 2023
- Dan C. Chung Faculty Scholar at the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Affairs, 2022
- Inaugural Stanford Teagle Fellow in Liberal Education, 2022
- Teacher of the Year, awarded by the Stanford GSB Sloan Fellows/MSx Class of 2020
- Oliver Williamson Award for Best Paper, Society for Institutional and Organizational Economics, 2020
- Center Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences 2020–21
- Finalist for the 2020 Exeter Prize for best published paper in Experimental Economics, Decision Theory and Behavioral Economics
- Peiros Family Faculty Fellow, 2018–19, 2019–20
- Winnick Family Faculty Fellow, 2017–18
- Stanford Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies Award, 2015
- Michael Wallerstein Award for best published article in Political Economy in previous year, American Political Science Association, 2014
- John A. Gunn & Cynthia Fry Gunn Faculty Scholar, 2013–14
- Fellow, Center for Study of Democratic Politics, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, 2012
- Fellow, Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance, Princeton University, 2012
- John A. Gunn and Cynthia Fry Gunn Faculty Scholar, 2011–12
- Academy Scholar, Harvard University, 2006–08
- Koret Foundation Dissertation Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, 2005
- Herchel Smith Scholar, Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, 1999–2001
- Carl Van Duyne Prize in Economics, Williams College, 1999
- Phi Beta Kappa (junior year), Williams College, 1998
Service to the Profession
- Theme Lead for Ethnic Diversity & Nation-Building, Reducing Conflict & Improving Performance in the Economy (ReCIPE), CEPR / UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office research program, 2024-
- Editorial Board, American Political Science Review, 2024- present
- Executive Board, Association for Comparative Economic Studies
- Associate Editor, Journal of Development Economics, 2016–present
- Associate Editor, Journal of Comparative Economics, 2017–present
- Editorial Board, Business and Politics, 2020- present
- Editorial Board, Global Perspectives, 2018–present
- Faculty Fellow, Jameel Poverty Action Lab
- Faculty Fellow, Center for Effective Global Action
- Faculty Fellow, Association for Analytic Learning about Islam and Muslim Societies
Professional Experience
- Advisory Board, Accord, 2022-
- Consultant, Google, 2017
- Consultant, World Bank, 2001, 2008, 2011
- Editor, International Trade Center, UNCTAD/WTO, 1998