Vegard Iversen

Vegard Iversen

Senior Research Fellow

Vegard Iversen is a 3ie senior research fellow with more than 25 years of experience teaching and researching development. He is currently a Professor of Development Economics and Head of the Livelihoods and Institutions Department at the Natural Resources Institute (NRI), University of Greenwich. He joined NRI from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad where he was a Professor (Economics Area).

Professor Iversen’s research spans the use of modern impact evaluation techniques, mixed methods, behavioural experiments, archival work and the occasional sociological/anthropological detour. He has extensive fieldwork, survey management and data collection experience. Current research focuses on e.g. social mobility in developing countries (with UNU-WIDER); women (and other) politicians; caste and inequality; social audits; the agricultural productivity, poverty and other impacts of large dams; the impact of aquaculture interventions on smallholder income, nutrition and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh (with 3ie).

He holds a PhD in Economics from University of Cambridge and was awarded the Dudley Seers Memorial Prize for the best article published in Journal of Development Studies in 2008. He has published widely and has served on the Editorial Board of Journal of Development Studies since 2016.  


The Research Fellows Program brings together experts from diverse backgrounds to provide intellectual leadership and technical support to strategic areas for 3ie. Our fellows work with our global team and are uniquely positioned to lead or support new and ongoing initiatives and programs in their areas of expertise.