How do we make decisions? This and other critical aspects of human nature have informed Pavan Mamidi’s lifelong research in behavioral sciences.

An alumnus of Harvard Law School and the University of Oxford, Pavan Mamidi has previously worked with the Solicitor-General of India in the Supreme Court, and is currently working closely with Niti Aayog to help set up a Behavioural Insights Unit in India.

Since September 2019, Pavan has been the director of the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change (CSBC) at Ashoka University, a preeminent research and practice center that applies behavioral economics and other behavioral sciences to improve living standards for low-income and marginalized members of society.

Prior to that, Pavan served as director of the Centre for Experimental Social Sciences (CESS Nuffield-Flame), where he founded Oxford University’s behavioral/experimental lab in collaboration with FLAME University in Pune. The lab is dedicated to research on human decision-making.

Pavan works closely with several states, including human resources, health and finance departments of the Delhi government, as well as with governments in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. He has taught at several leading institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Management, Ahmedabad and Bangalore, and the University of Michigan Law School. Adept at applying behavioral sciences to solve complex policy problems, Pavan was recently involved in a study on encouraging people to make more privacy-conscious decisions.