Kashif Ahmed, a Masters of Public Policy (MPP) student at Harris Public Policy, teamed up with Harris Assistant Professor Fiona Burlig. Ahmed studied the effects of cash transfers to low-income migrant workers in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. While conducting an endline survey via phone to thousands of migrant workers, he ran data quality assurance checks and coordinated closely with a field team in Delhi.
“I now have a preliminary understanding of how cash transfers affect the expenditures, decisions, and wellness of low-income workers, as well as a sense of common challenges in India. The project was also well organized and had a superb field team in Delhi that was great to work with. It was also great to be able to practice my STATA skills and use my understanding of econometrics that I learned in my first year of Harris. After Harris, I want to pursue careers that bridge the gap between social science research and policymakers in Global South countries and working for this project and EPIC is a great step in that direction.”