Russell Toth

Russell Toth is an Associate Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Sydney, with affiliations to the Sydney Institute of Agriculture and Sydney Southeast Asia Centre. His research focuses on development microeconomics, particularly private sector development, financial inclusion, and the intersection of economic systems with environmental and behavioral factors. He holds a BA(Hons) from RWC, MS from SIUC, and MA/PhD from Cornell University.

Dr. Toth's research examines enterprise resilience in developing economies, impacts of digital financial systems, and inequality perception. His field projects span Fiji, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Vietnam, employing randomized control trials to study economic behavior. Recent work analyzes how information about inequality influences political preferences and tests strategies for expanding financial access in remote regions.

He leads multiple international grants including projects funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Current initiatives investigate climate-responsive social protection in Fiji and interoperable payment systems in Myanmar and Tanzania.