Emilia Tjernstrom

Emilia Tjernstrom is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Faculty of Business & Economics, Impact Labs, Monash University. She holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Davis, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Colby College. Her research focuses on Development Economics, Applied Microeconometrics, and Experimental Economics, with emphasis on agricultural innovation, rural development impacts, and social protection systems.

Education:

• PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California Davis (2015)
• Bachelor of Arts in Economics (major), Mathematics (minor), Colby College (2006)

Research Interests: Her work examines how agricultural technologies, policies, and interventions influence productivity and poverty reduction. Current projects include studies on agricultural innovation dynamics in India, climate information systems for farmers, and shock-responsive social protection in Fiji. She employs experimental and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate program impacts across diverse contexts.

Recent Projects:

• PI for 'The Impact of Shock-responsive Social Protection in Fiji' (J-PAL, 2024–2026)
• CI for 'SPIA Country Studies' in North/South India (2023–2027)
• CI for 'Agricultural productivity, poverty, and the environment' (Indonesia, 2023–2025)

Awards:

• AAEA Africa Section Award: Best Publication (2022)
• Monash Business School Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research (2022)

Grants & Advising: Accepting PhD students; leads multiple research grants totaling over AUD 3M. Active in policy dissemination through blogs like '5 Things Development Economists Do...' (2023).