Seema Jayachandran
LightNews LightNews
banner
seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran
@seema.bsky.social
17K followers 1.1K following 480 posts

Economics professor at Princeton. I study environmental conservation, gender equality, and (too many) other topics in developing countries.
seemajayachandran.com

Videos

Seema Jayachandran is an economist who currently works as Professor of Economics at Princeton University. Her research interests include development economics, health economics, and labor economics. .. more

Economics 30%
Environmental science 23%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · Dec 10
I argue in this piece that the nonprofit sector should be thinking more about the counterfactual when assessing fundraising success: winning a $2M competitive bid over capable peers advances the cause less than convincing someone to donate $1M they'd have spent on a yacht.
The Case for Counterfactual Thinking in Nonprofit Fundraising
When a nonprofit wins a major government contract or foundation grant, it’s cause for celebration. These wins reflect hard work and organizational strength. Yet beneath the success lies a subtle, ofte...
www.cgdev.org

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 6h
Read about Abdou Cisse's path to economics and what he thinks makes a great econ paper.

(We're lucky to have Abdou visiting @princetondevo.bsky.social this year.)

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran

aeacswep.bsky.social
CSWEP @aeacswep.bsky.social · 4d
It’s not too late to apply for CeMENT 2026! Join us in then warm Chicago on July 29–31 ☀️ Hard to believe now, but we promise: no parkas, just great feedback and good company. Deadline extended until Feb 15, 2026. Details: www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/co...
CeMENT: Mentoring for Junior Faculty
www.aeaweb.org

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran

princetondevo.bsky.social
Princeton Research Program in Development Economics @princetondevo.bsky.social · 4d
rpde.princeton.edu/news/2026/co...
A conversation with RPDE Postdoctoral Research Associate Abdoulaye Cisse
During the 2025-2026 academic year, RPDE is hosting a new set of visiting scholars, bringing a wide range of interests and expertise into the halls of JRR, Princeton’s economics building. We’ll be tal...
rpde.princeton.edu

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 6d
doctor's office, car mechanic

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 6d
Having a mobile phone area code that's not from where you live is great. Most calls from my current area code are legit. Those are the only unrecognized numbers I pick up!

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran, Philip N. Cohen, Jonathan Hopkin , and 1 more

polgreen.bsky.social
Lydia Polgreen @polgreen.bsky.social · 8d
Another civilian gunned down by federal agents in Minneapolis, the day after several Democrats, including moderate media darlings, voted to give ICE another $10 billion.

Reposted by Brian A. Nosek, David Lazer, Brendan Nyhan , and 7 more

jamiecummins.bsky.social
Jamie Cummins @jamiecummins.bsky.social · 10d
Comparing registrations to published papers is essential to research integrity - and almost no one does it routinely because it's slow, messy, and time-demanding.

RegCheck was built to help make this process easier.

Today, we launch RegCheck V2.

🧵

regcheck.app
RegCheck
RegCheck is an AI tool to compare preregistrations with papers instantly.
regcheck.app

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran, Valerie Mueller, Michael Kevane

aeajournals.bsky.social
AEA Journals @aeajournals.bsky.social · 12d
Forthcoming in the JEL: "Women's Power in the Household" by Seema Jayachandran and Alessandra Voena. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Women's Power in the Household
(Forthcoming Article) - We examine women’s household power in low- and middle-income countries, synthesizing theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence on its measurement, determinants, and consequ...
www.aeaweb.org

Reposted by Joshua Gans, Scott A. Imberman, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 16d
This is incredible.

(More legible version here www.npr.org/sections/the...)

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Michael A. Clemens, Caroline Krafft , and 4 more

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 17d
The Weiss Fund has a great new initiative for development economists on the PhD job market to support those taking up research positions in LMICs, offering supplementary income + research funds. Please share!
Weiss Fellowship for Junior Researchers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries - Weiss Fund
The Weiss Fund Fellowship provides supplementary financial support for exceptional job market PhD candidates accepting positions in Weiss Fund-eligible countries and doing work aligned with the Weiss ...
weissfund.uchicago.edu

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Richard S.J. Tol , and 11 more

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Michael A. Clemens, Seema Jayachandran , and 7 more

joshuajfriedman.com
Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 20d
Jerome Powell: "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation."

Reposted by Nandita Sharma, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan , and 13 more

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 22d
This is the second time in three months a DHS agent called a US citizen a "bitch" as he shot her. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/whos-threa...
The video also allegedly shows the CBP agent saying “Do something, bitch” before shots were fired. In private Signal chats, the CBP agent boasted to other officers: “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.” If he felt comfortable enough communicating that to fellow employees, it speaks to an irredeemable organizational culture.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Seema Jayachandran, James Goodwin

guygrossman.bsky.social
Guy Grossman @guygrossman.bsky.social · 22d
This ad appeared this week on our West Philly block. Read all the way down.

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran, David Rothschild, American Library Association , and 7 more

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 23d
Page One.

@nytimes.com

Reposted by Dunlap, Michelle Everson, Mark Robinson , and 24 more

mikehixenbaugh.com
Mike Hixenbaugh @mikehixenbaugh.com · 24d
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.

Reposted by David K. Evans, Todd Pugatch

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 26d
For econ RCTs: Make your pre-analysis plan public in the AEA registry before submitting to a journal. Most people set them as private initially and never update that. If you're lucky, referees ask the editor to nag you. More often, no one knows what's prespecified, increasing chance of rejection.

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Seema Jayachandran, David R. Miller , and 1 more

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 26d
The Kinsley gaffe to end all Kinsley gaffes
maggieastor.bsky.social Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 26d
Copy Editing Matters, from HHS's release on the new childhood vaccine schedule: All the diseases will still be available to anyone who wants them
Ensures that all the diseases covered by the previous immunization schedule will still be available to anyone who wants them through Affordable Care Act insurance plans and federal insurance programs, including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Vaccines for Children program. Families will not have to purchase them out of pocket. Among peer nations, the U.S. will continue to offer the most childhood vaccines for free to those who want them.

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran, David R. Miller, Nicole Guenther Discenza , and 1 more

normative.bsky.social
Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 27d
If the DEA had killed 80 innocent Americans in the course of apprehending one drug dealer, there would be riots. But we are so ghoulishly indifferent to the lives and humanity of people abroad that it's barely even part of the conversation.
jonathancohn.bsky.social Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 27d
A reminder that the US killed 80 people in Venezuela, and it would be nice if the US media cared enough to think that the life of a grandmother in Caracas whose building is destroyed by a US bomb matters as much as the life of a person in the US.

Reposted by Serge Guimond, Seema Jayachandran, Ryan Enos , and 5 more

jonathancohn.bsky.social
Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 27d
A reminder that the US killed 80 people in Venezuela, and it would be nice if the US media cared enough to think that the life of a grandmother in Caracas whose building is destroyed by a US bomb matters as much as the life of a person in the US.

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran, David R. Miller, Scott A. Imberman , and 1 more

anneapplebaum.bsky.social
Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 27d
And on this kind of garbage hang the fates of nations

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 28d
"Using the quasi-random timing of Navratri—a major Hindu festival worshipping goddesses—I find that girls born
shortly after the festival receive ~6% more birth vaccinations than girls born just before."

josuedjossou.github.io/navratri-paper.pdf

(stumbled across this, intrigued, haven't read it)

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran, Ian Campbell

artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social
ArtButMakeItSports @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social · 28d
Endless Column, by Constantin Brâncuși, 1938, 📸 by @stephenmally

Reposted by Brian A. Nosek, Seema Jayachandran, Ingo Rohlfing , and 3 more

Reposted by Caroline Krafft

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · Jan 2
If you're at the ASSA mtgs and are interested in gender gaps in the labor market, please join this session Monday 8 am. To draw out the links between the papers, there will be one discussant, a nice idea suggested by @profnoto.bsky.social; Camille Landais is generously playing this role.

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · Jan 2
You draft the tweet when you submit an NBER paper, but I swear I didn't write this ungrammatical tweet.

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran

nber.org
NBER @nber.org · Jan 2
Reviewing how much power do women have in their households in developing countries and why household power matters, from @seema.bsky.social and Alessandra Voena www.nber.org/papers/w34605

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran, Eric Goldman, Karen Benjamin Guzzo , and 5 more

3fecta.bsky.social
Dag. @3fecta.bsky.social · Dec 31
This should not be shrugged aside. They have stopped with the fake 22 million illegal immigrants things and are flat out saying we want to deport 10's of millions of citizens and legal residents from "third world countries" Basically they are advocating removing 1/3 of the population on a gov site.
Homeland security post The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world. A photo of an old 70's tan car on the beach with palm trees swaying in the wind as the surf comes in. with the text America After 100 million deportations.

Reposted by Seema Jayachandran, Peter Gratton

dillo.media
dillo (wiglet tuttle) @dillo.media · Dec 31
pound for pound this might be the funniest thing ever written
E-mail Addresses That Would Be Really Annoying to Give Out Over the Phone by Michael Ward MikeUnderscore2004@yahoo.com MikeAtYahooDotCom@hotmail.com Mike_WardAllOneWord@yahoo.com AAAAAThatsSixAs@yahoo.com One1TheFirstJustTheNumberTheSecondSpelledOut@hotmail.com

Reposted by Matthias Doepke

seema.bsky.social
Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · Dec 31
New NBER working paper with Alessandra Voena on women's power in the household in LMICs.

I'd never found a review article on this topic that met my needs as a PhD class reading, so we sought to fill this gap.

NBER : www.nber.org/papers/w34605
Ungated: seemajayachandran.com/womens_power_JEL.pdf
Abstract of "Women's Power in the Household": We examine women's household power in low- and middle-income countries, synthesizing theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence on its measurement, determinants, and consequences. We define women's household power as their influence over household choices, distinguishing it from broader empowerment concepts. We review economic models, including unitary, collective, and bargaining frameworks, and map these to empirical approaches. We then discuss measurement methods such as structural estimation of consumption allocation, survey measures, and laboratory experiments. On the determinants of women's power, we find that some approaches, such as transfers targeted to women, show mixed results, while others, such as increasing women's control over their earnings, show clearer positive impacts. On the effects of women's power, we pay special attention to children's human capital. Few studies provide strong evidence that mothers invest more in children than fathers do, but collectively the evidence suggests such an effect. We conclude by highlighting research and methodological gaps.