Assistant Professor of Economics, Barnard College, Columbia University
My research interests are focused on the links between economic development and environmental economics.
One strand of my research explores how natural resource booms, in particular mining investments, affect local welfare, with specific focus on labor markets, criminality, health and gender. My recent work centers on crucial green energy transition minerals, such as copper and cobalt mining in Africa. One project explores the linkages between the copper/cobalt mining sector and the Zambian economy.
My recently published research includes a review paper, Extractive Industries and Gender Equality in Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Industrial Gold Mining and Female Empowerment (Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2024), The Evolution and Persistence of Women’s Roles: Evidence from the Gold Rush (Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2023), and Local Industrial Shocks and Infant Mortality (Economic Journal, 2019).
Another strand focuses on links between the environment, health and gender in low and middle-income countries, exploring the different aspects of the WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) sector and its links with education. A recent project investigated how a sanitary pad provision program affected school absenteeism and psychosocial wellbeing among adolescents in Kenya.
I use several empirical methods including quasi-experiments, randomized control trials, lab experiments in the field and qualitative co-designing of policy interventions.
At Barnard College, I teach Introduction to Development Economics, Empirical Development Economics, Econometrics and a senior seminar on Women in Development Economics.
I am the co-founder and organizer of the Columbia Women in Economics Network that aims to strengthen intra-university network ties, provide space for research sharing across sub-disciplines and skills training for junior female faculty in Economics.
Please look here for my CV
Contact details:
Anja Benshaul-Tolonen
atolonen [at] barnard [dot] edu
Updated: 01/26/2024
Anja Benshaul-Tolonen 