I am a cradle Catholic from Indonesia. I came to the US for college and stayed for graduate school. I received my PhD from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago in 2013. My experience growing up in Indonesia and my faith led me to development economics and human capital. I have analyzed the broader effects of poverty reduction programs and natural disasters in Southeast Asia and decent work in Bangladesh (academic profile here).
I am an economist at the World Bank’s Office of the Chief Economist for South Asia. My work focuses on the distributional impacts of environmental shocks and policies in South Asia. Prior to joining the World Bank, I was Assistant Professor of Economics at Wake Forest University, Visiting Assistant Professor at the Keough School and Visiting Fellow at the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame, and Assistant Professor of Economics at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Having moved around quite a bit, and moving from academia to policy research, I hope I can share a different perspective in research and the sometimes surprising ways one can live one’s faith life.
I have been blessed to have met some amazing mentors (including some CREDO members!) along the way, especially during graduate school, and would like to play it forward. As a mentor, I hope to share my experience, pray and journey with each mentee as you prepare to enter the profession.
Contact: mtriyana@gmail.com