Rate My Professor Nathan Peng

Nathan Peng is Assistant Professor of Political Science (Education) at Singapore Management University. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Social Science with a double major in Political Science and Economics from Singapore Management University. Prior to his academic appointments, Peng spent five years in public policy roles at Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Social and Family Development, focusing on economic strategy, poverty alleviation, and inequality reduction.

Peng’s research examines poverty, inequality, and development in Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on Singapore and Indonesia. He employs mixed methods including qualitative interviews, survey experiments, geospatial analysis, and regression techniques to study the political, social, and economic forces shaping long-term developmental outcomes. His publications include work on Singapore’s social compact and inequality, contributions to edited volumes on poverty and inequality in Southeast Asia, and a doctoral dissertation on the political economy of equality, development, and influence in Indonesia and Singapore. Peng has received the Core Curriculum Teaching Excellence Award and the Most Promising Teacher Award from Singapore Management University, as well as the Best Paper Award for Early-Career Scholar Work from the East Asian Social Policy Network and Social Policy Association. He has served as a collaborator on research grants related to social inequality and aging, and maintains affiliations with the Centre for the Study of Social Inequality and the Lien Center for Social Innovation.