Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, Ph.D.
http://www.gspia.pitt.edu/faculty/fac_gamper-rabindran.html

 

PLEASE NOTE: NEW LOCATION

Academic Employment
Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, Sept 2005-present

Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Jan 2002-Sept 2005, Curriculum in International Studies

Research and Teaching
Fields: Environmental, Health and Development Economics/Policy
Methods: Econometrics, GIS, Program Evaluation

Education
Ph.D, Economics, MIT, 1996-8, 1999-2001
M.Sc. Environmental Management, Oxford, 1998-1999
B.A. Jurisprudence, Oxford, 1994-6
B.A. Economics and Environmental Science, Harvard summa cum laude, 1990-4
International Baccalaureate, United World College of the Adriatic, Italy, 1988-1990
O levels, Malaysia, 1988

Awards and Honors
National Science Foundation grant award as single PI, Jan 2004-6
National Institute of Health grant award as single PI, Dec 2004-6
Association of Public Policy Analysis & Management, Best Thesis, runner-up, Nov 2001
American Association of Geographers, Best Thesis Paper, co-winner, April 2002
Rhodes Scholar, 1994-6, 1998-9
Martin Fellow for Sustainability, MIT
Phi Beta Kappa, Junior year; John Harvard & Elizabeth Agassiz honors (1991-4)
MIT, Harvard, United World College fellowships

Past positions
Researcher, International Center for Research in Agroforestry, Bogor, Indonesia
Human Rights Watch, project assistant
World Bank, Policy Research Department (Environment), project assistant

Current Grants as single PI
National Science Foundation (100K), Jan 2004-6
BCS 0351058: Program evaluation of voluntary emissions reduction programs
 Decision, Risk & Management and Geography programs

National Institute of Health (140K), Dec 2004-6:
HD48791-01: Medical care restrictions and immigrant health: geographical analysis

Foundation Public Policy Fellowship (60K), Nov 2003-5
 Program evaluation of the Industrial Toxics Program

Papers
Design of Policy Tools for Environmental Health
Corporate Environmental Management
1.  Did the EPA’s voluntary Industrial Toxics program reduce plants’ emissions?
A GIS analysis of distributional impacts and a by-media analysis of substitution
accepted,  Journal of Environmental Economics and Management   paper
2.  Did the voluntary Responsible Care and ISO 14000 programs reduce plants' emissions? in progress
3.  The Clean Air Act: Did plants substitute across media and chemicals?
APPAM presentation paper
4.  Did the information disclosure Toxic Release Inventory program reduce plants’ emissions?
AEA presentation paper

Environmental Health and Trade Liberalization
1.  NAFTA and the environment: what can the data tell us,
 forthcoming, Economic Development and Cultural Change paper
2.  Trade liberalization and environmental aspects of India’s manufacturing sector,
in review, World Development, (joint with S. Jha). paper

Health of Vulnerable Communities
1.  Welfare Reform restrictions on prenatal care and the health of immigrants’ infants:
a GIS analysis of immigrant composition and provider location, in review, Journal of Health Economics paper
2.  The role of land use in Indonesia’s fires: A GIS analysis of satellite and land use data, in review
Economic Development and Cultural Change paper

Development
1.  Do skills in reading, writing and arithmetic matter in primitive economies?
Evidence from Bolivian Amerindians. Economics of Education Review, in press 2004. paper
Joint with R. Godoy, T. Huanca, D. Karlan,
2.  Deforestation in Bolivia’s indigenous territories,
 revise and resubmit, Environment and Development Economics

Completed grants as single PI
Conservation Food and Health Foundation (20K)
Center for International Forestry and Research (15K)

Presentations at professional meetings
Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) sessions at ASSA, 2006 (accepted)
Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) sessions at AAEA, 2002-5
Camp Resources for Environmental Economists, 2004
Northeast Universities Development Conference, 2000-3
Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), 2003 (2005, accepted)
American Association of Geographers, 2002
National Bureau of Economic Research summer workshop, environment, 2002
Population Association of America, poster session, and discussant, 2005
International Health Economists Association, poster accepted, 2005

Seminar presentations at universities
Spring 2005: Columbia Quantitative Seminar in the Social Sciences,
Bren School of the Environment, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies,
Harvard New Directions in Regulation seminar, UNC Race-ing Research seminar,
Univ Southern California Geography, RAND
Fall 2004:NYU Interdisciplinary Seminar on Social Inequality, Columbia University Applied Micro,
U Washington Center for Demography and Ecology, U Washington Program in Environment,
Triangle Health Workshop, UNC Geography
2003-4:  Duke School of the Environment, Rice University-University of Houston.
2002-3:  UNC Geography,  UNC Environmental Science, UNC Public Policy
2001-2 : Syracuse Maxwell School of Public Policy, Georgetown School of Foreign Service,
UC Berkeley Energy and Resources Group, Williams College
2000-1: Princeton STEP, Columbia CERC, Yale Southeast Asian studies and development workshop,
MIT-Harvard development seminar              * scheduled

Teaching
Ph.D. courses
Spring 2004:  Quantitative Research Design and Program Evaluation†
Spring 2003:  Empirical Methods for Health and Environmental Policy*
Spring 2002:  Quantitative Decision Analysis†
MA and Advanced Undergraduate courses
Fall 2003:  Environment and Development*
Fall 2002:  International Environmental Economics*
Undergraduate courses
Fall 2002:  Global Environment: Policy Analysis and Solutions*
Spring 2004:  International Studies: Research Design and Honors thesis II†
Fall 2003:  International Studies: Research Design and Honors thesis I†
Spring 2003: Public Policy: Research Design and Honors thesis II
* created  and  † significantly modified these courses

Students: training in the assembly and analysis of large GIS based datasets.
PhD – Y. Tong (sociology), B. Lahiri (economics), R Oertel (economics)
BA  – K. Didow (environmental policy), S. Dempsey (public policy)

Thesis advisees: A.Rangaraj, Cultural-based education (2003); J.Dowdy, Immigrant health (2004),
B.Dobbins, Domestic violence in immigrant communities (2004), A.Gino, Marine protected areas and development (2004).

Department service: Curriculum revision in public policy & international studies, 2002-3
Professional service: organized panels at AERE (2002) and APPAM (2003)

Public policy service: Oxfam Sustainable Livelihood Program (2004-)
Sustainable development of palm oil estates in Indonesia

Country work experience:
Mexico, Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia

Languages:
English, Spanish, Malay/Indonesian

Immigration status:
Permission to work anywhere in the US, US permanent residency pending,
Italian citizenship pending.

Professional Affiliations:
Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management
Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
American Association of Geographers
International Health Economists Association
Population Association of America

Program Reference:
Prof. John Pickles
Curriculum for International Studies
Earl N. Phillips Distinguished Chair of International Studies
Phone: (919) 962-3919   Fax: (919) 962-1537
Email: JPickles@email.unc.edu

Policy Reference:
Dr. Lea Borkenhagen
Sustainable Livelihoods Program Development Manager
Oxfam International
Email: Lborkenhagen@oxfam.org.uk

Academic References: on request
 
 
 

GRADUATE
Spring 2004  PLCY 302            Research Design: Quantitative Research & Program Evaluation
MA and PhD level course
Students: Graduate: ESE, HPAA, PLAN, PLCY, GEOG
Syllabus

Spring 2003   PLCY 298(2)  Environment and Health: Policy Instruments and Empirical Methods
MA and PhD level course. We examine the effectiveness of policy instruments, such as traditional regulation and
new approaches, such as voluntary corporate efforts (such as ISO 14000, Responsible Care), market based approaches,
(such as pollution permit trading),  information based approaches (such as the stock market reaction to news about
corporation's pollution liability, community right to know laws). We mimic the research process by conducting a team
project on evaluating the effectiveness of a specific policy instrument - we organize and merge socioeconomic
and environmental data from various sources and test various hypotheses. In Spring 2003, we examined
an EPA voluntary program with our team of students from Epidemiology, Ecology, Environmental Science and Engineering,
Public Policy and City and Regional Planning.
Syllabus

Spring 2002   PLCY 232       Quantitative Decision Analysis
Ph.D level course
Syllabus

GRADUATE AND ADVANCED UNDERGRAD
Fall 2003     PLCY 184           Environment and Development
Upper-level course on the causes and solutions to international environmental problems
and emphasizes legal remedies, market-based approaches, voluntary approaches, development policies,
international cooperation, trade and environment, and sustainable development.
Students: juniors, seniors and graduate students
Syllabus

Fall 2002    PLCY 198(02)         International Environmental Economics

UNDERGRAD
Fall 2002    PLCY 198(02)     International Environmental Policy
Fall 2003    PLCY 89             Global Environment: Policy Analysis and Solutions
Introductory level course on the issues, players and the international framework in international environmental
policy and on the positions of the US government in international environmental protection and avenues for
US public to influence these positions.
Students: freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors
Syllabus

Fall 2003    INST 90/91             International Studies Honors Seminar
Syllabus
 

It's be best to contact the Dept managers for the following matters:
For issues related to public policy or environmental policy courses, projects, or administrative issues:
                       please contact Asta Crowe (acrowe@email.unc.edu)
For issues related to international studies courses, projects, or administrative issues:
                        please contact Anne Scaff (ascaff@email.unc.edu)
Good luck !

Biosketch
Research
 

MEET MY "FUN and GREEN" STUDENTS !