Tara Bedi, Marie Curie Irish Research Council Research Fellow, Trinity College, Dublin
Tara Bedi is a Marie Curie (CAROLINE) Irish Research Council Research Fellow in the Economics Department at Trinity College Dublin.
Podcast
Overview
Tara Bedi is a Marie Curie Irish Research Council Research Fellow in the Economics Department at Trinity College Dublin. She has previously worked with the World Bank in the Poverty Reduction Group. She has followed in the footsteps of her parents who moved from the US to India to serve the community. Tara has joined us from Dublin while she shares her research work with us in multiple countries like India, Mauritania, Malawi, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.
On Vulnerability:
Tara grew up in rural India and away from the privileges of cities. Her motivation to work for the people is the “hope” her parents brought to people in India. ”Through hope, there was change.” Tara has worked with vulnerable people, she helps us understand vulnerability better. According to Tara, you’re vulnerable if you don’t have a steady income source when you don’t know when your next paycheck is coming, or when you can’t plan your cropping cycle because you don’t know what shock is going to hit you.
Tara’s Research in Malawi:
In Malawi, Tara is addressing the concept of vulnerability by targeting the poorest. She explains that they help women transform their lives by providing couples gender empowerment training. Often, in almost all societies, the male is the household head. Tara is trying to create a power shift in Malawi households by training them to manage these power shifts in a gender-inclusive manner.
“50% of Malawi is classified as poor. And within that, there are unequal opportunities for women. So, I think 83% of men are literate, only 68% of women are. But when you look at the sample we’re working with, when we did baseline data collection, over 68% of women said that they can never or rarely purchase clothing for themselves or their children with their own earned money without the permission of someone else and the majority of men say that they’re the main decision-maker.”
Tara has worked and published on impact evaluations, poverty maps, and poverty monitoring systems. She received her master’s degree in Public Administration in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School. She shares her experience of finishing her Ph.D. so late in life and shares her challenges with us.
Tara gives an interesting take on success and defines success as having the time to read a book. Tune in and get inspired!
Profile
Tara Bedi is a Marie Curie (CAROLINE) Irish Research Council Research Fellow in the Economics Department at Trinity College Dublin. She is a development economist with a focus on gender and social protection. She is working on projects in Ethiopia, India, Malawi, Mauritania and Nigeria. Prior to this, she worked with Trócaire, an Irish NGO, leading on policy research, including Leading Edge 2020. Before moving to Ireland, Tara worked in the Poverty Reduction Group at the World Bank, where she worked and published on impact evaluations, poverty maps and poverty monitoring systems. She received a master’s degree in Public Administration in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School. She holds a PhD in Development Economics from Trinity College Dublin.
