Ratna Shrestha

Ratna Shrestha is a Sessional Lecturer (Continuing) at the Vancouver School of Economics and Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (UBC). She teaches graduate courses including Managerial Economics for MBA/MHA students as well as various undergraduate courses such as ECON 323 (Quantitative Economic Modelling with Data Science Applications). Prior to joining UBC, she served as an Assistant Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Dr. Shrestha earned her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Hawaii, Manoa. She was born in Bandipur, a small hill-top town in Nepal, and remains active in Nepali community activities in the greater Vancouver area and the United States.

Her research focuses on Environmental/Resource Economics, Public Finance, and Healthcare Policy. Her influential 1998 paper on citizens' participation in pollution permit trading introduced a two-sided market approach that can achieve efficient solutions even under regulatory uncertainty about pollution control costs. This work has generated numerous follow-up studies in environmental economics. Her research demonstrates a consistent thread connecting theoretical economic models with practical environmental and public policy applications.

Dr. Shrestha has published in prestigious journals including the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, FinanzArchiv, Seoul Journal of Economics, International Tax and Public Finance, Resource and Energy Economics, and Environmental and Resource Economics. Her work spans environmental regulation, healthcare policy reform in Nepal, public goods provision, and the theoretical foundations of economic policy under uncertainty.

• Environmental Economics: Developing innovative approaches to environmental regulation and policy instruments
• Public Finance: Analyzing group dynamics, burden sharing, and country size effects in public goods provision
• Healthcare Policy: Proposing self-financing models for healthcare insurance in developing countries

Dr. Shrestha has made significant contributions to understanding how economic mechanisms can address environmental challenges and improve policy design. Her work bridges theoretical economic analysis with practical policy applications, particularly in the context of developing economies.