He holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. from Louisiana State University. His research interests lie in the areas of economic growth and development, political economy, and finance and development. His current research topics include corruption, gender inequality, financial risk, and economic and financial reforms. He has published several research articles in many reputed journals such as the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, the Journal of Population Economics, International Review of Finance, and Information Economics and Policy. He has also written several columns and Op-Eds covering social and economic issues. 2020 Kuznets Prize of the Journal of Population Economics.