Anaka Aiyar
Assistant Professor
Affiliate, Gund Institute for Environment
PRONOUNS She/Her
146 University Pl
Morrill Hall 101
Burlington, VT 05405
United States
- Post-Doctoral Associate - Cornell University
- Ph.D., Economics, University of California - Riverside
- M.A., Economics, University of California - Riverside
- MSc, Economics, Madras School of Economics, Chennai, India
- B.A., Economics (Hons), Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, New Delhi, India
Area(s) of expertise
- Food Systems
- Applied Microeconomics
- Development Economics
- Health Economics
BIO
Anaka Aiyar is a health economist passionate about researching the determinants of poor health and food insecurity among communities living in resource-constrained settings. Her transdisciplinary research approach evaluates food and health interventions and policies, offering practical and actionable recommendations to enhance their efficacy. Her focus is on questions of community resource access, affordability, and policy impacts, also exploring how intra-community inequalities affect health and food insecurity.
Anaka weaves insights from across disciplines such as economics, demography, marketing, public health, and nutrition, to design multi-disciplinary studies that capture the complexity of food system challenges. She uses qualitative research methods and causal estimation strategies to measure the food systems challenges faced by communities, and to measure the impact of programs and policies on community development. Her goal is to provide a holistic view of global food systems, considering opportunities, challenges, strengths, and weaknesses.
Her research has been published in - Journal of Development Economics, World Development, Food Policy, Journal of Development Studies, Economics and Human Biology, Economics Letters & Journal of Business Ethics. Additionally, her downloaded by over 150,000 readers worldwide, offering insights into developing a nutrition-secure food system in the Anthropocene era.
Courses
- FS 2010 / NFS 2113 - US Food Policy and Politics
- CDAE 2660 - Introduction to Community Entrepreneurship
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Postdoc Achievement Award for Excellence in Leadership at Cornell University (2019)
- Taraknath Das Foundation Grant in Aid (Columbia University 2013)
- The Dean’s Distinguished Fellowship Award at the University of California, Riverside (2011-2016)
Bio
Anaka Aiyar is a health economist passionate about researching the determinants of poor health and food insecurity among communities living in resource-constrained settings. Her transdisciplinary research approach evaluates food and health interventions and policies, offering practical and actionable recommendations to enhance their efficacy. Her focus is on questions of community resource access, affordability, and policy impacts, also exploring how intra-community inequalities affect health and food insecurity.
Anaka weaves insights from across disciplines such as economics, demography, marketing, public health, and nutrition, to design multi-disciplinary studies that capture the complexity of food system challenges. She uses qualitative research methods and causal estimation strategies to measure the food systems challenges faced by communities, and to measure the impact of programs and policies on community development. Her goal is to provide a holistic view of global food systems, considering opportunities, challenges, strengths, and weaknesses.
Her research has been published in - Journal of Development Economics, World Development, Food Policy, Journal of Development Studies, Economics and Human Biology, Economics Letters & Journal of Business Ethics. Additionally, her downloaded by over 150,000 readers worldwide, offering insights into developing a nutrition-secure food system in the Anthropocene era.
Courses
- FS 2010 / NFS 2113 - US Food Policy and Politics
- CDAE 2660 - Introduction to Community Entrepreneurship
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Postdoc Achievement Award for Excellence in Leadership at Cornell University (2019)
- Taraknath Das Foundation Grant in Aid (Columbia University 2013)
- The Dean’s Distinguished Fellowship Award at the University of California, Riverside (2011-2016)