Ritika Goel

Ritika Goel is a PhD candidate in Comparative Political Economy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Economy and Society, SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University (2024-25). Her research focuses on social and economic inequality, status dynamics, right-wing politics, and democratic backsliding in democracies. She explores how these factors interact to influence institutional and policy outcomes.

Education: Master's in Economics and Public Policy from Princeton University, and a Bachelor's in Engineering from NSIT, Delhi University. She has professional experience in international development with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group, and UK Department for International Development (DFID).

At UC Berkeley, she serves on the Department's Diversity and Inclusion Committee and represents Women in Political Science (WIPS). She has taught undergraduate courses on quantitative research methods and comparative politics as a Graduate Student Instructor. Additionally, she is an Associate at Berkeley's Center on the Politics of Development.

Her current affiliations include Johns Hopkins University as a Visiting Scholar and active involvement in research-driven initiatives addressing inequality and governance challenges in developing economies.