Rate My Professor Paulo Santos

Paulo Santos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics within Monash Business School at Monash University. His research interests lie at the intersection of economics and sociology, as well as economics and natural resource management, with a focus on understanding why poverty persists. He notes that more than 70% of differences in income or life expectancy across the world arise from circumstances beyond individual control, such as birthplace or parental wealth. Santos seeks to comprehend why these disparities endure and identify effective interventions. As an economist, he examines how markets form, how agents address trust and asymmetric information issues, and the role of social networks in embedding economic relations—a concept drawn from sociology and anthropology. His work explores how social context shapes transaction costs, enables economic functioning, and influences market depth and inclusiveness. Additionally, he investigates identity and discrimination as explanations for persistent poverty. On the natural resources side, Santos studies land use changes, deforestation, water management, and technology adoption, which are critical for economic participation in developing countries and key areas for policy intervention requiring dialogue with non-social scientists.

Santos contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals including No Poverty, Good Health and Well-being, Clean Water and Sanitation, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, Climate Action, and Life on Land. He belongs to the Development, History, and Political Economy group (DeHiPE) and HEELP research groups. Notable publications include 'Persistent poverty and informal credit' (Journal of Development Economics, 2011), 'Heterogeneous wealth dynamics: On the roles of risk and ability' (The Economics of Poverty Traps, 2017), 'The impact of changing rainfall variability on resource-dependent wealth dynamics' (Ecological Economics, 2014), 'Economic games can be used to promote cooperation in the field' (PNAS, 2021), 'Sanitation, financial incentives and health spillovers: a cluster randomised trial' (Journal of Health Economics, 2021), and recent outputs such as 'Behavioral adaptation to improved environmental quality: evidence from a sanitation intervention' (Health Economics, 2025) and 'Understanding the potential adoption of agroforestry in Fiji using procurement auctions' (Monash Economics Working Papers, 2025). He serves as Chief Examiner for units including ECC3670 Economics of developing countries and BEX5479 Empirical strategies for policy evaluation.