Varsha Sivaram
About Varsha Sivaram
Varsha Sivaram is a Senior Economic Geographer with extensive experience in economic research and data analysis. She has worked with various organizations, including Innovations for Poverty Action and The Economist Intelligence Unit, and holds a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.
Current Role at Fraym
Varsha Sivaram serves as a Senior Economic Geographer at Fraym, a position she has held since 2021 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States. In this role, she utilizes her expertise in geostatistics and development economics to contribute to multi-country survey projects. She collaborates with the Global Data and Research Support team and various IPA country offices to design nationally representative surveys and CATI surveys. Additionally, she has developed automated data management systems using APIs on STATA for producing summarized outputs for principal investigators.
Previous Work Experience
Prior to her current role, Varsha Sivaram held several positions that enhanced her expertise in economic geography and research. She worked as a Research Associate at Innovations for Poverty Action from 2019 to 2021 in Dhaka, where she focused on large-scale surveys. She also served as a Research Assistant at the Tata Centre for Development at UChicago for three months in 2018 in Chicago. Earlier, she was a Junior Consultant at ICRIER from 2016 to 2017 in New Delhi and held various internships, including at The Economic Times and the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
Education and Expertise
Varsha Sivaram completed her Bachelor's degree with honors in Economics from Delhi University, studying at Indraprastha College for Women from 2013 to 2016. She furthered her education by obtaining a Master of Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where she was recognized as a Ralph W. Nicholas Fellow and a Harris Alumni Fellow from 2017 to 2019. Her academic background is complemented by her expertise in conducting data quality checks for large-scale surveys and her skills in geostatistics.
Research and Collaboration
Throughout her career, Varsha Sivaram has collaborated with notable economists, including Dean Karlan, Andrew Dillon, Christopher Udry, and Steven Glazerman. Her work involves designing and implementing surveys that inform policy and development initiatives. She has experience in managing data quality for extensive survey projects and has contributed to research efforts across multiple countries, enhancing her understanding of economic geography and its applications in real-world scenarios.
Early Education and Foundation
Varsha Sivaram's foundational education took place at Ahlcon Public School, where she studied from 1999 to 2012. Her curriculum included subjects such as Economics, Mathematics, Accountancy, Business Studies, and English. This early education provided her with a strong analytical background, which she later built upon during her undergraduate and graduate studies, shaping her career in economics and public policy.