Santosh Kumar Gautam is Professor of Development and Global Health Economics at the Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame.
My research lies at the intersection of development economics, global health, and human capital. I am particularly interested in understanding how investments in health, nutrition, education, and infrastructure shape economic opportunity, productivity, and long-run development.
My work combines randomized field experiments, quasi-experimental methods, administrative data, and large-scale household surveys, with research conducted across India and other low- and middle-income countries.
My current research examines maternal and child health, anemia and nutrition, early-life human capital, intergenerational health mobility, rural infrastructure, education, and the economic consequences of public policy.
I am affiliated with several research institutes and academic networks at Notre Dame and internationally, and regularly engages with policymakers, international organizations, and development institutions.
Research
I am a development economist with research interests at the intersection of health, human capital, and economic development. Much of my work asks how investments in health, nutrition, education, and infrastructure shape human capital, economic opportunity, and well-being.
My research combines randomized field experiments, quasi-experimental methods, administrative data, and large-scale household surveys. I am particularly interested in research that can generate rigorous evidence for public policy in low- and middle-income countries.
Health & Human Capital
A central part of my research examines how health and nutrition early in life shape human capital. I study maternal and child health, anemia and iron deficiency, nutrition, immunization, birth outcomes, and the longer-run consequences of early-life health investments.
Intergenerational Mobility
I am interested in understanding why inequalities in health and human capital persist across generations. This work examines the transmission of health disadvantage from parents to children and asks which economic and policy environments can improve intergenerational mobility.
Infrastructure & Development
Another strand of my research studies how infrastructure affects economic and human development. I examine rural roads, water and sanitation, access to public services, agricultural markets, labor markets, and the ways in which infrastructure can influence health and economic opportunity.
Education & Learning
My work in education focuses on how schools and teachers shape children’s learning and broader human-capital development. I am particularly interested in curiosity, critical thinking, pedagogy, teacher effectiveness, and the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills.
Economic Development & Public Policy
More broadly, I study poverty, productivity, structural transformation, labor markets, and regional development. I am interested in why some places develop more rapidly than others and how public policy can translate economic growth into improvements in human well-being.
Where I Work
Much of my research is based in India, with ongoing and previous research also spanning Ghana, Mozambique, and The Gambia. I work closely with academic collaborators, governments, and local research partners in designing and implementing these projects.
History
As a Professor of Development and Global Health Economics at the Keough School of Global Affairs, my journey to the University of Notre Dame has been shaped by incredible academic communities worldwide. I began my education in India, earning my BA (Honors) in Economics from the University of Delhi and my Master’s degree from the Delhi School of Economics, before moving to the United States to complete my Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Houston. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, I spent valuable years teaching as an Associate Professor of Economics at Sam Houston State University, and I expanded my academic horizons as a Bell Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies and as a researcher at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
Here at Notre Dame, I am deeply invested in guiding the next generation of global leaders and changemakers. I serve as both the Director of the Master of Global Affairs Major in Sustainable Development and the Director of the Doctoral Program in Sustainable Development. Beyond managing these academic programs, I collaborate closely with colleagues across campus as a Faculty Fellow of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and an affiliate of the Eck Institute for Global Health. I was also deeply honored to receive the Pulte Institute Excellence in Research Award, which recognized my ongoing commitment to mentoring early-career researchers and actively collaborating with scholars from the Global South.