Assistant Professor of Political Science

Member, Committee on Global Thought

Nikhar Gaikwad’s research interests span international and comparative political economy, with a focus on the politics of economic policymaking, trade and migration, business-state relations, and identity. He has a regional specialization in India, which he studies in comparative perspective with Brazil and other democracies.

His articles have been published in the American Journal of Political Science, British Journal of Political Science, and the Quarterly Journal of Political Science. His research has been funded by the Social Science Research Council, International Growth Center, Tobin Project, Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, Evidence in Governance and Politics, and Research and Empirical Analysis of Labor Migration, among other organizations. He received the David A. Lake Award for the Best Paper presented at the 2014 International Political Economy Society Annual Meeting, the Pi Sigma Alpha Award for the Best Paper presented at the 2017 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, and the Kellogg/Notre Dame Award for Best Paper in Comparative Politics presented at the 2017 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting. In 2017, he was named an Emerging Diversity Scholar by the National Center for Institutional Diversity.

Prior to joining Columbia University, he was a Fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University. He has worked at Cornerstone Research, an economics and finance research firm.

Curriculum Vitae

Website

Select Publications

  • Ballard-Rosa, Cameron, Allison Carnegie and Nikhar Gaikwad. “Economic Crises and Trade Policy
    Competition.” British Journal of Political Science 48(3): 713-748, 2018
  • Gaikwad, Nikhar and Gareth Nellis. “The Majority-Minority Divide in Attitudes toward Internal Migration: Evidence from Mumbai.” American Journal of Political Science 61(2): 456-472, 2017
  • Gaikwad, Nikhar. “Presidential Prospects, Political Support, and Stock Market Performance.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 8(4): 451-464, 2013
  • Gaikwad, Nikhar. Review of Globalization and Economic Nationalism in Asia, by Anthony P. D’Costa, ed. Comparative South Asia 21(2): 172-173, 2013

Select Honors and Awards

  • Pi Sigma Alpha Award for Best Paper, 2017 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, 2018
  • Kellogg/Notre Dame Award for Best Paper in Comparative Politics, 2017 Midwest Political Science
    Association Annual Meeting, 2018
  • Professor Robert Keohane’s Balzan Prize for International Relations Grant, Principal Investigator, with F. Genovese and D. Tingley, 2018-20
  • Research and Empirical Analysis of Labor Migration, Principal Investigator, 2018-20
  • Evidence in Governance and Politics, Principal Investigator, with A. Bohlken and G. Nellis, 2017-20
  • Vice Provost’s Hybrid Learning Course Redesign and Delivery Grant, Columbia University, 2018-19
  • Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy Seed Grant, Columbia University, 2017-18
  • Departmental Research Incentive Program (DRIP), Columbia University, 2018
  • South Asian Studies Council Travel Grant, Yale University, 2012-16
  • Hall-Mercer Fellowship, Yale University, 2014-15

Education

  • Ph.D., Yale University
  • M.Phil., M.A., Yale University
  • B.A., Williams College