Assistant Professor of Economics, Barnard College, Columbia University
My research interests are focused on the links between economic development and environmental economics.
One strand of my research explores how natural resource booms, in particular mining investments, affect local welfare, with specific focus on labor markets, criminality, health and gender. Check out my recently published review paper Extractive Industries and Gender Equality in Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, and a natural experiment paper on “Industrial Gold Mining and Female Empowerment” (accepted at Economic Development and Cultural Change).
Another strand focuses on links between the environment, health and gender in low and middle-income countries, exploring the different aspects of the WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) sector and its links with education. A recent project investigated how a sanitary pad provision program affected school absenteeism and psychosocial wellbeing among adolescents in Kenya.
I use several empirical methods including quasi-experiments, randomized control trials, lab experiments in the field and qualitative co-designing of policy interventions.
At Barnard College, I teach Introduction to Development Economics, Empirical Development Economics, Econometrics and a senior seminar on Women in Development Economics.
I am the co-founder and organizer of the Columbia Women in Economics Network that aims to strengthen intra-university network ties, provide space for research sharing across sub-disciplines and skills training for junior female faculty in Economics.
Please look here for my CV.
Contact details:
Anja Benshaul-Tolonen
Department of Economics
Barnard College at Columbia University
3009 Broadway
New York, 10027
USA
+1-(510)-229 8944
+1-(212)-854 9150
atolonen [at] barnard [dot] edu
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Updated: 08/26/2021
Anja Benshaul-Tolonen 