Kumuthini Sivathas

Kumuthini Sivathas is a Research Fellow at the Institute for International Trade within the School of Economics and Public Policy, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics at the University of Adelaide. Her work bridges trade policy analysis with developmental and environmental considerations.

Her research focuses on policy-relevant questions at the intersection of international trade, economic development, environmental sustainability, and resource management. Key areas include welfare evaluations of regional trade agreements (RCEP, CPTPP), impacts of export restrictions on critical minerals for green technologies, trade facilitation agreements, and technical assistance programs for developing countries. She employs both econometric methods and quantitative trade models grounded in structural gravity frameworks to analyze policy effects on trade flows and welfare outcomes across diverse economies.

Notable recognition includes the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence Award for her project on critical minerals trade. Her work has directly informed capacity-building initiatives for Australia's developing country FTA partners.

Her doctoral research examined welfare consequences of trade liberalization amid demographic shifts, with specific analyses of trading blocs (CPTPP, RCEP) incorporating future population and productivity projections. Current projects include assessments of Asia-Pacific FTAs (RCEP, CEPA, AANZFTA, MAFTA) and export control regimes for critical minerals. She maintains active research collaborations through the Institute for International Trade, focusing on practical policy applications in trade economics.

Previous positions include Research Fellow at the World Trade Organization's Trade Policy Review Division (Geneva), where she conducted welfare evaluations of regional trade agreements using general equilibrium models, and contributions to Sri Lanka's trade adjustment programs and agricultural sector analyses at Verité Research (Colombo).