Dr Manini Ojha is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Southampton Delhi. She is an applied microeconomist whose research examines how public policy, technology and social norms shape the lives of women and children. She has 12 years of teaching experience, including eight years on the faculty of the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, and earlier appointments as an Instructor at Southern Methodist University and an Assistant Professor at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. She holds a PhD in Economics from Southern Methodist University, an MA in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a BA (Hons) in Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce. She is a Fellow of the Global Labor Organization and the Jindal Institute of Haryana Studies, and a Non-Resident Fellow of the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability at Monash University.
Dr Ojha uses causal inference methods on large household surveys to study how public policy, technology and social norms affect the welfare of women and children. Her research covers intimate partner violence and women’s agency, reproductive and menstrual health, child nutrition, schooling and family planning. Her current work looks at how digital exposure affects women’s economic and social outcomes and evaluates major government policies with a focus on gender.
She has published in Feminist Economics, Economics of Education Review, Economics & Human Biology, the European Journal of Political Economy, the Journal of Development Studies, Economics Letters and Economic Modelling. Her policy briefs have appeared with the Observer Research Foundation, and she writes for Ideas for India, VoxDev and IndiaSpend. She referees for journals including the Journal of Development Economics, World Bank Economic Review, Journal of Population Economics and Economic Modelling, and is an External Editor of the Jindal Journal of Public Policy. At UoSD she teaches Applied Microeconometrics in the MSc Economics programme.
Causal evidence on internet exposure and justification of intimate partner violence. Review of Economics of the Household (forthcoming).
Attitudes and norms about intimate partner violence: What makes women more impressionable? Feminist Economics. doi:10.1080/13545701.2026.2684427.
The impact of period products on reproductive tract infections. Oxford Development Studies, 54(2), 167–193.
Examining the link between contraceptive use decision and domestic violence. Economics & Human Biology, 55, 101416.
Examining the link between contraception and child health. Economic Modelling, 129, 106562.
Low-cost mobile teaching during a pandemic. Economics of Education Review, 96, 102439.
Does increased credibility of elections lead to higher political competition? Evidence from India. European Journal of Political Economy, 77, 102277.
Linkages between desire for sons and sterilization in India. Applied Economics, 54(54), 6286–6302.
Hunger and health: Reexamining the impact of household food insecurity on child malnutrition in India. Journal of Development Studies, 58(6), 1181–1210.
Social influences on domestic violence. Journal of Development Studies, 58(2), 350–369.
Is there a role for health insurance? Journal of International Development, 34(1), 29–54.
Are we conditioned to internalize patriarchal norms? Economics Letters, 202, 109811.
Evidence from US survey data using quantile regression. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 29(85), 1–25.
Jindal Institute of Haryana Studies, O.P. Jindal Global University.
Binary and ordinal probit regression: Applications to public opinion on marijuana legalization in the United States. In D. Mukherjee (Ed.), Applied Econometric Analysis Using Cross Section and Panel Data (pp. 33–60). Springer.
Addressing the inclusion deficit in Sonipat’s education expansion. Niti Saṅkṣepa Policy Brief. International Institute for Higher Education Research & Capacity Building, O.P. Jindal Global University.
Towards an inclusive national policy on menstrual health and hygiene. Observer Research Foundation Policy Brief.
How digital access can change domestic violence. The Policy Edge.
How period products impact women’s health. Ideas for India (English and Hindi).
The role of family planning in nurturing child health in India. VoxDev.
Contraception as a pathway to better child nutrition and health. Ideas for India.
Unpacking the impact of contraceptive decisions on domestic violence. Ideas for India (English and Hindi).
Workplace maternity benefits elude 94% working Indian women. IndiaSpend.
What NFHS-5 reveals about menstrual health and hygiene practices. The Economic Times.
Findings from Odisha. Ideas for India.
Contraceptive decision-making in India. Observer Research Foundation.
Food insecurity and child malnutrition: New empirical evidence from India. Ideas for India.
Researcher on a multi-sectoral participatory action research project on health, education, legal aid, institutions and governance in Rai Industrial Area, Sonipat.
Independent evaluator of ThinkZone’s low-cost mobile teaching programme in Odisha; the study was published in the Economics of Education Review.
Education chapter and an accompanying policy brief on inclusion gaps in Sonipat’s education expansion (with N. Mishra).
Effects of internet exposure on intimate partner violence, attitudes to violence and financial autonomy (with G. Dhamija and S.K. Gupta).
