Amrita Saha

Amrita Saha is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, specializing in political economy and development. Her work engages with the Rural Futures and Business, Markets and State clusters, focusing on trade protection, agricultural commercialization in Sub-Saharan Africa, and inclusive structural change through innovation.

She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Sussex. Previous roles include research positions at the Commonwealth Secretariat (London), Ministry of Commerce (India), WTO (Geneva), and United Nations ESCAP, alongside teaching appointments at IDS, LSE, SOAS, University of Sussex, and University of Bath.

Her research integrates rigorous quantitative modeling, qualitative methods, and digital survey applications to examine political economy dynamics across India, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Key methodologies include large-scale household/firm surveys and structured interviews, emphasizing context-specific policy solutions for trade and development challenges.

Recent publications (2024-2025) reveal concentrated expertise in trade policy impacts, environmental trade regulations, and inclusive development frameworks. Recurring themes include welfare effects of trade preferences, business perceptions of green regulations, and design principles for equitable aid-for-trade programs, reflecting urgent global debates on climate-resilient value chains.

Amrita actively contributes to IDS projects including 'The Justice Footprint of Mineral Imports in UK Value Chains', 'Environmental Trade Protection and Business Perceptions', 'Implementation Research in Food Policy', and the 'eModule on Gender and Trade' for Pakistan's Ministry of Commerce. She convenes the IDS short course 'Making Trade Policy Inclusive' and collaborates within interdisciplinary clusters addressing rural futures and market-state dynamics.