Rate My Professor Samreen Malik

Samreen Malik is Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Associate Professor of Economics in the Division of Social Science at New York University Abu Dhabi, positions she has held since 2023 and 2019, respectively. She joined NYU Abu Dhabi as Assistant Professor of Economics in 2012 and served as Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund during summer 2014. Previously, she directed the Development Research Cluster at NYU Abu Dhabi from 2022 to 2023. Malik obtained her Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University in 2012 and M.A. in Economics from the same institution in 2010 as a Fulbright scholar. She also holds an M.Sc. in Economics from Lahore University of Management Sciences in 2008 and B.Sc. Honors in 2007, earning Dean’s Honors Awards throughout her undergraduate and master’s studies.

Malik’s research specializes in applied microeconomics, development economics, and international macroeconomics, addressing structural transformation, trade and labor markets, human capital, religion and economics, COVID-19 effects, education policy, and environmental economics including air quality in schools. Her publications appear in leading journals such as Journal of Development Economics (“Irrigation and the Spatial Pattern of Structural Transformation in India,” 2022), The World Bank Economic Review (“Land Rezoning and Structural Transformation in Rural India,” 2022), Nature: Scientific Reports (“The Impact of Face Masks on Interpersonal Trust in Times of COVID-19,” 2021), Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (“Religion and Human Capital,” 2022; “In the Heat of the Moment,” 2021), and International Tax and Public Finance (“An Experimental Analysis of Tax Avoidance Policies,” 2018). She has received the Journal of Economic Psychology Best Paper Award (2022) for “COVID-19 and Children’s Health and Well-Being” and Econometric Society Best Paper Award (2022) for “Street Charity in India,” along with grants including Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond (2018) and NYUAD Global Seed Grant (2016). Additionally, she is Investigator at the Center for Behavioral Institutional Design, Invited Researcher at J-PAL, Research Fellow at IZA, and contributes as referee for journals like Economic Journal and Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, while presenting at conferences including EEA-ESEM and IFABS.