Professor Geeta Kingdon

  • Qualifications and position:
    • BSc (Hons.), MSc, DPhil (Oxford)
    • Professor of Education Economics and International Development
  • Faculty:
    • Faculty of Policy and Society
  • Department:
    • Department of Education and International Development
  • Summary:
    • Geeta Kingdon is Chair of Education Economics and International Development at the Institute of Education, and was until recently a Research Fellow at the Department of Economics, University of Oxford. She is a Development Economist and her research interests include Economics of Education, Labour Economics and the Economics of Happiness.
  • Teaching:
    • Learning, Education and Development (LED) module
      Gender, Education and Development (GED) module
      Planning, Education and Development (PED) module
      Economic Perspectives on Education Policy (EPEP) module
      Economic Value of Education (EVE) moduleContributing to the following degrees :
      MSc in Economics of Education (MSc EE)
      MA in Economics of Education (MA EE)
      MA in Education and International Development (MA EID)
      MA in Education, Gender and Development (MA EGID)
      MA in Educational Planning, Economics and International Development (MA EPEID)
  • Research Projects:
    • 1. 'The relative effectiveness of 'para' and regular teachers in India' – funded by Spencer Foundation, USA.
      2. 'Outcomes of Education for Pro-poor Development', Research Programme Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty – funded by DFID
  • Postgraduate Research:
    • Geeta Kingdon's research is mostly on countries of South Asia and Africa and is based on micro-econometric analysis of survey data. In economics of education, her work has focused on the determinants of schooling access and of student achievement levels; intra-household allocation of educational expenditures; impact evaluation of educational policy interventions; the political economy of education; and labour market outcomes of education.
  • Professional Activities:
    • 25 papers in peer reviewed Economics journals
      Editorial Board member of three academic journals
      Guest Editor for Education Economics and Journal of African Economies
      Extensive academic refereeing
      Advisory work for governments and donor agencies
      Member, University of London External System Academic Committee
      Member, International Consortium Advisory Group of RECOUP Project
      Member, British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE)
      Session convenor at the UKFIET biannual conferences
  • Conferences/presentations:
    • 1. Title of paper: "Teacher unions, teacher pay and student achievement in India"
      Event: 'Economic Incentives in Education: Do They Work?', International Conference jointly organised by CES-ifo, University of Munich, and Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG), Harvard University, in Munich.
      Date: 15-17 May, 2008.
      2. Title of paper: "Is education a path to gender equality in the labour market in Pakistan?".
      Event: Global Symposium on Education: A Critical Path to Gender Equality, World Bank, Washington D.C. Date: 2-3 October, 2007.
      3. Title of paper: "Public private partnerships in education in India".
      Event: 'Quality Education for All in South Asia' Conference, jointly organised by World Bank and DFID. Grand Hotel, New Delhi.
      Date: 24-26 October, 2007.
      4. Title of paper: "School quality and the incidence of low achievement at Key Stage 4 in English secondary schools".
      Event: British Educational Research Association's (BERA) Annual Conference.
      Date: 5-6 Sept. 2007.
  • Personal Country Knowledge:
    • India: All aspects of school education; labour markets
      Pakistan: Intra-household allocations; public and private schooling; returns to education
      Bangladesh: School education, girls' education, madarsa education
      South Africa: labour markets, unemployment, informal sector, intra-household allocation
      Ghana: labour market outcomes of education, returns to education
  • Languages Spoken:
    • English - advanced (can interview in English
      Hindi – advanced (can interview in Hindi
      Urdu – intermediate (can interview in Urdu)
  • Languages Written:
    • English - advanced
      Hindi – advanced
  • Research Students:
    • Doctoral students:
      Richard Thompson
      Modupe Adefeso
      Robert French
      Shenila Rawal
Professor Geeta Kingdon

Contact details

Contact details

  • Email:

  • Address:
  • Department of Education and International Development
    Institute of Education University of London
    20 Bedford Way
    London
    WC1H 0AL

Publications

  • Kingdon, G. and N. Theopold (2008) 'Do Returns to Education Matter to Schooling Participation?', Education Economics 16, No. 4, 329–350.
  • Aslam, M. and G. Kingdon (2008) 'Gender and Household Education Expenditure in Pakistan: Engel Curve Evidence', Applied Economics 40, No. 20, 2573 – 2591.
  • Kingdon, G (2007) 'The Progress of School Education in India', Oxford Review of Economic Policy 23, No. 2, 168-195.
  • Kingdon, G. and F. Teal (2007) 'Does Performance Related Pay for Teachers Improve Student Achievement? Some Evidence from India', Economics of Education Review 26, No. 4, 473-86.
  • Kingdon, G. and J. Knight (2007) 'Unemployment in South Africa 1995-2003: Causes, Problems and Policies', Journal of African Economies 16, No. 5, 813–848.
  • Kingdon, G. and J. Knight (2006) 'How flexible are wages in response to local unemployment in South Africa?', Industrial and Labor Relations Review 59, No. 3, 471-495,
  • Kingdon, G. and J. Knight (2006) 'The measurement of unemployment when unemployment is high', Labour Economics 13, No. 3, 291-315.
  • Kingdon, G (2005) 'Where Has All the Bias Gone? Detecting Gender Bias in the Household Allocation of Educational Expenditure in India', Economic Development and Cultural Change 53, No. 2,
  • Kingdon, G. and J. Knight (2007) 'Community, Comparison and Subjective Well-being', Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 64, No. 1, 69-90.
  • Kingdon, G. and J. Knight (2006) 'Subjective Well-being Poverty Versus Income Poverty and Capabilities Poverty', Journal of Development Studies 42, No. 7, 1199-1224.
  • Aron, J., B. Kahn and G. Kingdon. (eds.) (2009) South African Economic Policy Under Democracy. Oxford and New York (Oxford University Press).
  • All publications