Shanthi Nataraj

Biography

Shanthi Nataraj is an associate economist at the RAND Corporation whose research interests include economic development and environmental and natural resource economics, and labor markets. In the area of economic development, she has examined the policies of a local development district in Guangzhou, China to attract and promote the growth of innovative science and technology firms; investigated the impacts of India's trade liberalization on firm productivity; and provided consulting services to the World Bank on the lack of employment growth among small firms. In environmental and natural resource economics, Nataraj has conducted a study of how residential water consumers responded to a change in pricing structure; participated in research developing alternative methods to analyze and reduce energy use; and co-authored a study reviewing the status of research on several energy and environment topics. Her work on labor markets includes a systematic review of the evidence on how labor regulations affect employment in low-income countries, and a study of how expectations about labor market conditions affect retention among Army officers. Nataraj is also a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and a licensed engineer, with experience in environmental engineering. She received her Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Berkeley.