Nidhiya Menon

Professor of Economics; Director, PhD in International Economics and Finance

Departments/Programs

Economics
International Business School
South Asian Studies
Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Degrees

Brown University, Ph.D.
Brown University, M.A.
Mt. Holyoke College, B.A.

Expertise

Development economics, Health, Applied Microeconomics, Labor, Gender

Profile

Please visit my new faculty profile page.

Nidhiya Menon's primary research interest is development economics. In particular, she is interested in the behavior of individuals, households and firms in developing countries and has contributed to topics that include labor and occupational choice, gender-differentiated impacts of labor market policies, child health consequences of environmental (water) pollution, land rights and their impacts on economic welfare and children’s human capital, conflict and its repercussions on occupational choice, the impact of historical institutions on child health and technology use, adult health in developing countries, and program evaluation. Her research in these areas includes both theoretical and empirical work and spans countries that include India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Chile, China, Philippines, Kenya, Indonesia and Vietnam. She has been a consultant at the Food and Agricultural Organization, the World Bank, United Nations Foundation, and the Asian Development Bank. At Brandeis, she teaches courses in development economics and statistics in the Economics Department and is affiliated faculty at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and associated faculty at the Women and Gender Studies Department and the South Asian Studies Department. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Brown University. Webpage

Courses Taught

ECON	83a	Statistics for Economic Analysis
ECON	175a	Introduction to the Economics of Development
ECON	176a	Health, Hunger, and the Household in Developing Countries
ECON	370a	Development Economics
ECON	399a	Dissertation Workshop

Awards and Honors

Theodore and Jane Norman Research Grant (2019)

Provost Research Grant (2018)

Provost Research Grant (2016)

Theodore and Jane Norman Research Grant (2016 - 2018)

Asian Development Bank (2015)

Food and Agricultural Organization, UN (2015)

International Growth Center Research Grant (2014)

United Nations Foundation (2012)

International Growth Center Research Grant (2011)

World Bank Research Grant (2010)

World Bank Research Grant (2010)

Who's Who in America (2009)

World Bank Research Grant (2009)

Norman Research Grant (2008)

Scholarship

Menon, Nidhiya. "Does BMI Predict the Early Spatial Variation and Intensity of Covid-19 in Developing Countries? Evidence from India." Economics and Human Biology (2021). (forthcoming)

Berik, Gunseli and Ebru Kongar, ed. "International Trade and Women Workers" with Yana Rodgers. New York and London: Routledge Press, 2020. (forthcoming)

Menon, Nidhiya/Maitra, Pushkar and Chau Tran. "The Winter's Tale: Season of Birth Impacts on Children in China." Economic Development and Cultural Change (2020). (forthcoming)

Menon, Nidhiya/Rodgers, Yana. Gendered Labor Access and Opportunities in the Rural Landscape and in Agricultural Markets. Rome Food and Agricultural Organization: 2017. (forthcoming)

Menon, Nidhiya/ McQueeney, Kathleen. "Christianity and Girl Child Health in India." World Development 136. (2021): 105109.

Menon, Nidhiya/Datt, Gaurav/Maitra, Pushkar/Ray, Ranjan. "Coal Plants, Air Pollution and Anemia." January 2021.

Menon, Nidhiya/Guimbeau, Amanda/Ji, James/Rodgers, Yana. "Can Mining Change Regressive Cultural Norms? Evidence on Acceptance of Domestic Violence and Shared Decision-Making in India." January 2021.

Menon, Nidhiya/Guimbeau, Amanda/Musacchio, Aldo. "Lasting Human Capital Consequences of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic in Brazil." March 2021.

Menon, Nidhiya/Li, Jinhu. "Echo Effects of Health Shocks: The Intergenerational Consequences of Prenatal and Early-Life Malnutrition During the Great Leap Forward Famine in China." March 2021.

Maitra, Pushkar/Menon, Nidhiya. "Portliness amidst Poverty: Evidence from India." February 2019.

Menon, Nidhiya/ Amanda Guimbeau and Aldo Musacchio. "The Brazilian Bombshell? The Long Term Impact of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic the South American Way." November 2019.

Menon, Nidhiya/Archana Dang, Pushkar Maitra. "Labor Market Engagement and the Body Mass Index of Working Adults: Evidence from India." Economics and Human Biology 33. 1 (2019): 58-77.

Menon, Nidhiya/Pitt, Mark. "Spatial Decentralization and Program Evaluation: Theory and an Example." Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 81. 3 (2019): 511-539.

Averett, Susan, Laura M. Argys and Saul D. Hoffman, ed. "Women's Labor Market Status and Economic Development" in the Oxford Handbook on the Economics of Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 1 2018.

Menon, Nidhiya/Maitra, Pushkar, Dang, Archana. "Labor Market Engagement and the Health of Working Adults: Evidence from India." March 2018.

Menon, Nidhiya/Maitra, Pushkar, Dang, Archana. "The Geography of Excess Weight in Urban India: Regional Patterns and Labor Market and Dietary Correlates." New Frontiers in Regional Science: Asian Perspectives. First ed. vol. 38 Ed. Amit Batabyal. New York: Springer, 2018. 47-69.

Menon, Nidhiya/Yana Rodgers. "Child Labor and the Minimum Wage: Evidence from India." September 2018.

Pitt, Mark/Menon, Nidhiya. "Spatial Decentralization and Program Evaluation: Theory and an Example." February 2018.

Menon, Nidhiya. Health Policy and Economic Growth in India: Lessons from International Growth Center Projects. London London School of Economics: International Growth Center: 2017.

Menon, Nidhiya/ Rodgers, Yana. "The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Male and Female Employment and Earnings in India." Asian Development Review 34. 1 (2017): 28-64.

Menon, Nidhiya/McQueeney, Kathleen. "Christianity and Infant Health in India." April 2017.

Menon, Nidhiya/Rodgers, Yana/ Alexis Kennedy. "Land Reform and Welfare in Vietnam: Why Gender of the Land Rights Holder Matters." Journal of International Development 29. 4 (2017): 454-472.

Menon, Nidhiya. "Gender and Technology Use in Developing Countries: Evidence from Firms in Kenya." Journal of Economic Development 40. 3 (2015): 105-140.

Menon, Nidhiya/ Rodgers, Yana. "The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Male and Female Employment and Earnings in India." January 2015.

Menon, Nidhiya/ Rodgers, Yana/Zveglich, Joseph/Marife Lou Bacate. Gender Earnings Gaps in Asia: Recent Trends and Explanations. Manila, Philippines Asian Development Bank: 2015.

Menon, Nidhiya/Brainerd, Elizabeth. "Religion and Health in Early Childhood: Evidence from the Indian Subcontinent." January 2015.

Menon, Nidhiya/Elizabeth Brainerd. "Religion and Health in Early Childhood: Evidence from South Asia." Population and Development Review 41. 3 (2015): 439-463.

Menon, Nidhiya/Kathleen McQueeney. "Christianity and Infant Health in India." December 2015.

Menon, Nidhiya/Yana Rodgers. "War and Women's Work: Evidence from the Conflict in Nepal." Journal of Conflict Resolution 59. 1 (2015): 51-73.

Menon, Nidhiya. "Gender and Technology Use in Developing Countries: Evidence from Firms in Kenya." February 2014.

Menon, Nidhiya. "The "State" of Persons with Disabilities in India." Journal of Human Development and Capabilities 15. 4 (2014): 391-412.

Menon, Nidhiya/Elizabeth Brainerd. "Seasonal Effects of Water Quality: The Hidden Costs of the Green Revoluation to Infant and Child Health in India." Journal of Development Economics 107. (2014): 49-64.

Menon, Nidhiya/Yana Rodgers. "Women's Land Rights and Children's Human Capital in Vietnam." World Development 54. (2014): 18-31.

Menon, Nidhiya. "Technology Use and Firms with Female Principal Owners in Kenya." Journal of African Development 15. 2 (2013): 19-60.

Menon, Nidhiya/Elizabeth Brainerd. "Religion and Health in Early Childhood: Evidence from the Indian Subcontinent." October 2013.

Menon, Nidhiya/Rodgers, Yana. "Credit and Self-Employment." Handbook of Research on Gender and Economic Life. First ed. vol. 1 Ed. Deborah M. Figart and Tonia Warnecke. Northamption, MA, and London: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013. 359-377.

Menon, Nidhiya/Yana Rodgers. "A Meta-Analysis of Land Rights and Women's Economic Well-Being." November 2012.

Menon, Nidhiya/Yana Rodgers. "Labor Regulations and Job Quality: Evidence from India." Industrial and Labor Relations Review 66. 4 (2013): 933-957.

Menon, Nidhiya/Yana Rodgers. "Land Rights and Economic Security for Women in Vietnam." December 2013.

Menon, Nidhiya/Yana Rodgers. "Impact of the Twin Economic Crises on the Philippine Labor Market." World Development 40. 11 (2012): 2318-2328.

Menon, Nidhiya/ Yana Rodgers. "How Access to Credit Affects Self-Employment: Differences by Gender during India's Rural Banking Reform." Journal of Development Studies 47. 1 (2011): 48-69.

Menon, Nidhiya. "Investment Credit and Child Labor." Applied Economics 42. 12 (2010): 1461-1479.

Menon, Nidhiya. "Rainfall Uncertainty and Occupational Choice in Agricultural Households of Rural Nepal." Journal of Development Studies 45. 6 (2009): 864-888.

Menon, Nidhiya/ Yana Rodgers. "Gender Inequality in the Labor Market During Economic Transition: Changes in India's Manufacturing Sector." Labor Markets in Transition and Developing Economies: Emerging Policy and Analytical Issues. Ed. Ravi Kanbur and Jan Svejnar. London and New York: Routledge Press, 2009. 341-363.

Menon, Nidhiya/Glick, David. "Public Programs Pare Poverty: Evidence from Chile." Bulletin of Economic Research 61. 3 (2009): 249-282.

Menon, Nidhiya/Rodgers, Yana. "International Trade and the Gender Wage Gap: New Evidence from India's Manufacturing Sector." World Development 37. 5 (2009): 965-981.

Menon, Nidhiya. "The Relationship between Labor Unionization and the Number of Working Children in India." Indian Economic Journal 54. 3 (2008): 133-151.

Menon, Nidhiya/rodgers, Yana. "Trade Policy Liberalization and Gender Equality in the Labor Market: New Evidence for India." Rutgers University World Affairs Review. vol. Issue 3, 2008. 1-25.

Menon, Nidhiya / Sanyal, Paroma. "Labor Conflicts and Foreign Investments: An Analysis of FDI in India." Review of Development Economics 11. 4 (2007): 629-644.

Menon, Nidhiya / Subramanian, Narayanan. "Learning, Diversification, and the Nature of Risk." Economic Theory 35. 1 (2007): 117-145.

Menon, Nidhiya. "Inter-dependencies in Micro-Credit Groups: Evidence from Repayment Data." Journal of Developing Areas 40. 2 (2007): 111-132.

Pitt, Mark/Menon, Nidhiya. "Program Evaluation Using Spatial Instruments: Evidence from Indonesia." 2007.

Menon, Nidhiya. "Long Term Benefits of Membership in Microfinance Programs." Journal of International Development 18. (2006): 571-594.

Menon, Nidhiya. "Non-Linearities in Returns to Participation in Grameen Bank Programs." Journal of Development Studies 42. 8 (2006): 1379-1400.

Menon, Nidhiya/ Sanyal, Paroma. "Labor Disputes and the Economics of Firm Geography: A Study of Domestic Investment in India." Economic Development and Cultural Change 53. 4 (2005): 825-854.