Aashish Mehta

Aashish Mehta is an Associate Professor of Global & International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), affiliated with the Department of Economics. He holds a PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on development economics, globalization, labor markets, education policy, inequality, and structural transformation. He previously worked at the Asian Development Bank, contributing to electricity sector reforms and employment-related research. He received UCSB’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2017. His work spans peer-reviewed journals in economics and public policy, with notable contributions to understanding labor regulations, education returns, and the political economy of development.

Mehta’s academic affiliations include the Broom Center for Demography, the Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC Berkeley, and the Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies in Manila. His research explores topics such as global labor markets, public service corruption, and the impact of education on economic outcomes. He teaches courses on global political economy, research methods, and macro/microeconomic principles tailored to global studies.

His publications address diverse themes: the role of manufacturing in economic growth, the effects of trade liberalization on inequality, and the consequences of structural transformation. Recent work examines college major restrictions, the returns to economics education, and the interplay between economic growth and public service corruption.