Biography

Dr. Smita Ramnarain’s (she/her/hers) is an Associate Director of the Honors Program, and an Associate Professor of Economics, and of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Her research focuses on the gendered political economy of development in the global South, particularly in South Asia. In her work, she examines the gendered impact of economic policies and programs in contexts of economic, social, political, or environmental upheaval (war, complex emergencies, climate change, and/or agrarian crisis) and the consequences of these changes on gender relations and women’s well-being. Her work has been published in diverse and interdisciplinary fora – such as Development and Change, Feminist Economics, Gender Pace & Culture, the Community Development Journal, and the Forum for Social Economics – and in edited volumes, including the UN Encyclopedia on Social and Solidarity Economies, the Handbook of Gender in Asia, and the Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Heterodox Economics. Dr. Ramnarain uses mixed methods in her research and has carried out field work in India and Nepal.

Dr. Ramnarain is passionate about teaching, and offers introductory classes in economics (Principles of Micro/Macro) as well as electives such as Economic Growth and Development, and the Economics of Gender, Race and Class. She has also served as faculty sponsor and mentor for a variety of undergraduate research projects, on topics as diverse as the current role of China in Africa, on parental leave policies in Nordic countries, and examining the relationship between economic growth and inequality, taking gender inequality and social reproduction into account.