Dr. Nirupama Rao

Biography

Nirupama Rao is an Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the economic effects of fiscal policy, with particular emphasis on how policy impacts firm production and investment decisions. She has studied the effects of excise taxes on oil production and how they influence domestic producers' extraction decisions. Additionally, she has investigated the effectiveness of federal tax credits for research and development as well as the implications of regulation and taxation on alcohol markets, specifically regarding pricing behavior and tax pass-through. In recognition of her work, she received the National Tax Association Dissertation Award in 2019 for her paper published in the Journal of Public Economics. Dr. Rao completed her Ph.D. in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 2010 and obtained her undergraduate degree from the same institution in 2004. Before attending graduate school, she worked at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and served as a Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers in Washington, D.C. from 2015 to 2016.

Research Interests