We are pleased to announce that Professor Rohini Pande will be the Sanjaya Lall Visiting Professor for 2025. This prestigious professorship honours the legacy of Professor Sanjaya Lall (1940–2005), a pioneering development economist and former Oxford scholar, by inviting leading economists to engage with our academic community.
Commenting on Professor Pande’s appointment, the Sanjaya Lall Memorial trust shared, “they are delighted to welcome Professor Pande as this year’s Sanjaya Lall Visiting Professor. Professor Pande will be a fantastic asset for the economics community at Oxford, and we greatly look forward to her engagements with students and faculty in different parts of the University.”
Professor Pande is the Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics and Director of the Economic Growth Center at Yale University. Her research explores how institutions shape economic, political, and environmental inequality in low- and middle-income countries, with a particular focus on public policies that empower disadvantaged groups.
An alumna of our department, Professor Pande completed her BA/MA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford University before earning a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics. She also has a BA in Economics from Delhi University.
Reflecting on the appointment, Professor Pande shared, “Sanjaya Lall was a leading light in Development when I was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and I am honoured and excited to return to Oxford as the Sanjaya Lall Visiting Professor. I look forward to engaging once again with the department and its tradition of innovative and impactful development research.”
Throughout her career, Professor Pande has received numerous accolades, including the 2018 Carolyn Shaw Bell Award from the American Economic Association for promoting the success of women in the economics profession, and the 2022 Infosys Prize in Social Sciences. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the Econometric Society. Her recent work includes collaborations on environmental economics, such as the study "Money (Not) to Burn: Payments for Ecosystem Services to Reduce Crop Residue Burning," published in the American Economic Review: Insights (March 2025).
As Sanjaya Lall Visiting Professor, Professor Pande will engage with students, researchers and faculty during her time in Oxford through seminars and events. The Visiting Professorship fosters meaningful exchange between Professor Pande’s work and the wider Oxford academic community.
Scheduled events include:
Find out more and register for the lectures: Sanjaya Lall Visiting Professorship 2025 | Department of Economics
We look forward to welcoming Professor Pande back to Oxford and to the insights she will share with our community.
For any enquiries please contact:
Department of Economics
University of Oxford
Manor Road Building
Oxford
OX1 3UQ
Email: communications@economics.ox.ac.uk
