Varnitha Kurli (She/her/hers)

I am a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Environmental Studies. I’m co-advised by Prof. Zia Mehrabi and Prof. Amanda Carrico. I work very closely with Prof. Jane Menken on population dynamics and gender preferences in South Asia. I am affiliated with the Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS), Better Planet Laboratory, Environment and Behavior Lab, and the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience. I am a recipient of the University of Colorado Chancellor’s Fellowship.

My work is funded by the University of Colorado Chancellor’s Fellowship, The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and The Climate Innovation Collaboratory (CIC) launched by Deloitte and the University of Colorado Boulder.

Before embarking on my Ph.D., I was a Water Data Specialist in the World Bank’s Water Global Practice (GP). I joined the Bank in July 2018 and continue to provide analytical and advisory (ASA) support on multiple projects and be part of Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDR).

I hold an M.Sc. in Logic, Computation, and Methodology from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics (Honors) from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

My research is at the nexus of climate change and population dynamics via fertility preferences and internal displacement. I’m also interested in natural resource management-forests and groundwater, and use data-driven solutions to find solutions for sustainable development challenges. I use survey data, satellite data, and other types of novel data to develop applications, tools, and models to answer some of my research questions.

Fischer, W.H., Schultz, B., Coleman, E., Filippi, M.A., Guleria, V., Güneralp, B., Kurli, V., Lawrence. B ., Ma, A ., Ramprasad, V., Rana, P., Rana, R ., Solorzano,C. R., Fleischman, F "Forest Restoration for the Environment and Human Well Being is Supported by Empowered Local Governance over Long Time Horizons". (2024). (under review PNAS)

Agrawal, A., Chhatre, A., Gerber, E., Kurli, V. “Material Incentives in Sustainable Development Interventions: Evidence for Skepticism". (2024). (under review Science)

Demaree, K., Kurli, V., Magnuszewski, P., Andersson, K., Thomas, E. "Development and Evaluation of a Digital Behavioral Economics Game Towards Improved Understanding of Groundwater Conservation in Southern Colorado". (2024). (under review Environment Science and Technology)

Kurli, V. "Two-Child Policy in India: Challenges for Incentive Tools in the Face of Conflicting Motives" (Preparing for Submission to World Development)

Menken, J., Kurli, V., Khan, M. Nizam., Williams, J. "Changing Expression of Gender Preference: The Case of Bangladesh" 2024. (Population Association of America 2024)

Kaur, Komal, Kurli, Varnitha, Andersson, Krister. "The challenge of governing complex forest ecosystems: Can a polycentric approach help?" Handbook of Institutions and Complexity

Kurli, Varnitha. "To Be (e) or Not To Be (e): Understanding the Economics of Voluntarism" The Massachusetts Undergraduate Journal of Economics (2016): 55.