Dr. Sam Asher

Biography

Sam Asher is an Associate Professor of Economics at Imperial College London Business School. Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor of International Economics at Johns Hopkins SAIS and worked as an economist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank. He is also associated with the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD) and is an affiliate at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. Sam received his PhD in Economics from Harvard University and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. His research focuses on understanding the drivers of growth and structural transformation in lower-income countries using high spatial resolution data and unconventional sources such as satellite imagery and government administrative data. He has published in esteemed journals like the American Economic Review and the Economic Journal, among others. His broader research agenda includes studying the relationship between electoral politics and private sector development, the impact of infrastructure on economic growth, and how cities shape social identity and access to economic opportunities. In 2019, he co-founded the Development Data Lab to assist policymakers and researchers in leveraging data for economic development. Sam believes that economic opportunities are often highly localized, which necessitates studying the unique dynamics of individual communities.

Research Interests