Kumar Aniket
I am a trained economist with a PhD from the London School of Economics.
My work bridges the gaps between Economics, Philosophy, Sociology, and the Built Environment. It combines academic rigour with a practical understanding of how societies organise production, space, and infrastructure and brings a systems-level perspective to issues of economic development, public policy, and institutional design.
- An experienced educator and researcher, I have designed and taught highly rated courses at the LSE, University of Cambridge, UCL, and the University of Edinburgh, making complex economic ideas accessible to diverse audiences through discussion-based Socratic teaching methods.
- I also have substantial experience in the administration of UK Higher Education Institutions, including academic governance and programme development.
I am open to collaborating on research, consultancy, and advisory projects with organisations seeking evidence-based insights and research-driven strategies that apply academic understanding to real-world challenges.
Research
While I am primarily an Economist by training, my research draws on insights from Philosophy, Sociology and Built Environment to try to answer some big questions about how our world is organised and how we can make it better.
Drawing on the Philosopher Henri Lefebvre’s radical idea of social space and Brian Larkin’s politics and poetics of infrastructure, my recent work untangles the often complicated and tangled relationships between operation of markets, the space it operates on and the underlying infrastructure that supports that space.
- My research on markets explores the nature of the space over which markets can operate efficiently and reveals numerous counter-intuitive insights about the basic foundations of markets in the real and the virtual worlds.
- My research on infrastructure explore the role vital role infrastructure plays in shaping the space and making it conducive for economic and social activities.
My research on economic growth incorporates the roles of infrastructure in modern economic growth and explores the vital role it can plays driving and shaping economic development.
My research on automation explores the frictions that create mismatch between workers’ skills and the skill’s that firms’ demand.
My research on Microfinance explores how Microfinance Institutions can be designed to create new social capital that can then be leveraged to alleviate financial constraints of the poor. These papers explore how ability of Microfinance Institutions to target the poorest of the poor can be enhanced through the following two mechanisms.
- Sequential group lending where the group members are allocated credit sequentially instead of simultaneously and
- the Microfinance Institutions explicitly introduce compulsory savings in the group lending.
Educator
As an educator, I am passionate about making economics accessible and relevant to everyday life. I have designed and taught a wide range of Economics courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, consistently receiving strong student and peer evaluations.
UCL, 2017-2025
- Developed and taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Economics, Infrastructure and Modern Economic Growth Theory for students pursuing degrees in Construction Management, Built Environment and Architecture.
LSE Summer School, 2007–11
- Designed and lectured on a highly-rated Economic Development course, attracting diverse international students and professionals aged 18 to 70. The course was the top-rated LSE summer course from 2008 to 2011.
University of Cambridge, 2007-17
- Served as Director of Studies of Economics at Murray Edwards, Newnham College, and Trinity Colleges. In this role, I oversaw admissions, teaching and pastoral care of the students in the College.
- Served as a Graduate Tutor at Newnham College.
University of Edinburgh, 2004-2007
- Developed a new undergraduate course on Economic Growth that was highly rated by the students.
Professional & Institutional Experience
In addition to my academic and teaching roles, I have contributed to academic governance and the administration of higher education institutions in the UK.
Served as a Member of the Civil Infrastructure Systems grant proposal review panel for National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2021.
Fellow of Murray Edwards College at University of Cambridge from 2007 to 2017.
Served as an Elected member of the Governing Council and as a Trustee of of Murray Edwards College from 2013 to 2017. These roles required full engagement in the strategic governance, policy development, operational oversight of the College and safeguarding the interest of College’s stakeholders interests thus ensuring that the College complied with its Royal Charter.
Served on a wide range of Murray Edwards College Committees including Finance and Investment Committees.
Appointed as a Member of the Economics Tripos Curriculum Reform Committee at University of Cambridge in 2012 that was tasked with updating the undergraduate Economics curriculum.
Contact
If you are interested in brainstorming, collaborating or simply exchanging ideas, I would love to hear from you. You could email me at <kumar.aniket [at] gmail.com>.
