Data Analyst / Statistical Programmer

Selvan Kumar

Email: *******@******.***.*** Address: 21 W Starr Avenue, Columbus OH, 43201 Phone: 631-***-****

EDUCATION

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY August 2011-present

Ph.D Student in Economics and Public Policy.

M.S in Economics and Public Policy, awarded June 2013

Heinz Fellowship and William Larimer Mellon Fellowship recipient, 2011-present

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO September 2004-June 2008

B.A. Economics, awarded June 2008

National Merit Scholarship recipient

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

YALE UNIVERSITY NEW HAVEN, CT

Project Associate. June 2009-July 2011

• Conducted econometric and statistical analysis of proprietary data to rigorously evaluate the impact of

international development policies and programs.

• Supervised data collection, management, and analysis for a diverse portfolio of economic research projects

• Prepared academic articles, policy briefs, and other publications to disseminate technical concepts and

research findings to a broad audience.

• Assisted professors with the design of research projects and experiments.

• Provided statistical programming and data management support to regional field offices.

• Drafted content for a forthcoming textbook on economic development.

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY POVERTY ACTION LAB INDIA

Research Associate. November 2006-June 2009

• Managed data collection for six large-scale randomized impact evaluations of development programs.

Oversaw the design and implementation of a voter information campaign in 200 slum neighborhoods of New

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Delhi through a network of local NGOs.

Managed the implementation and monitoring of a large-scale institutional police reform project.

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Cleaned, synthesized, and analyzed data from a variety of sources to support academic research efforts.

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Presented key technical insights and research findings in a manner accessible to government officials,

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development practitioners, and other diverse audiences.

Secured funding from UN and other donor agencies by writing effective grant proposals.

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Contributed articles on Indian economic policy to the India Development Blog.

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TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• Graduate Teaching Assistant, “Economic Development,” Masters program, Heinz School of Public

Policy, Carnegie Mellon University. Spring 2013.

• Teaching Assistant, “Evaluating Social Programs.” MIT Executive Education, Summer 2009.

PAPERS AND PUBLICATIONS

• “Do Informed Voters Make Better Choices? Experimental Evidence from Urban India” (with Abhijit

Banerjee, Rohini Pande, and Felix Su.), presented at NBER Seminar on Political Economy

• "Making the Right Choice." (with Abhijit Banerjee, Rohini Pande, and Felix Su.) Hindustan Times,

April 21, 2009.

• “Production Uncertainty and Agricultural Investment in sub-Saharan Africa” – currently under review

SKILLS

Quantitative modeling and data analysis (Programming experience includes Matlab, STATA, R, SPSS,

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SAS, R, Eviews, Minitab, Gauss, and SQL)

Project management in a rigorous quantitative research context

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Data extraction, synthesis, mining, and visualization

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Strong proficiency in Hindi and Spanish languages

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Contact this candidate