Bio


Saumitra Jha is an Associate Professor of Political Economy at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and by courtesy, of Economics and of Political Science. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law in the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Affairs and convenes the Stanford Conflict and Polarization Lab.

Saumitra holds a BA from Williams College, master’s degrees in economics and mathematics from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in economics from Stanford University. Prior to joining the GSB, he was an Academy Scholar at Harvard University. He has been a Center Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, as well as of the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance and the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University. He was voted Teacher of the Year by the students of the Stanford GSB Sloan Fellow Class of 2020. He received the Michael Wallerstein Award for best published article in Political Economy from the American Political Science Association in 2014 for his research on ethnic tolerance and his co-authored work on Heroes was awarded the 2020 Oliver Williamson Best Paper Award from the Society for Institutional and Organizational Economics.

Academic Appointments


2023-24 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • Heroes and Villains: The Effects of Heroism on Autocratic Values and Nazi Collaboration in Frances AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW Cage, J., Dagorret, A., Grosjean, P., Jha, S. 2023; 113 (7): 1888-1932
  • Heroes and Villains: The Effects of Combat Heroism on Autocratic Values and Nazi Collaboration in France Jha, S., Cage, J., Grosjean, P. CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. 2022: 608-609
  • Pandemic Spikes and Broken Spears: Indigenous Resilience after the Conquest of Mexico Journal of Historical Political Economy Diaz-Cayeros, A., Espinosa-Balbuena, J., Jha, S. 2022; 2 (1): 89-133

    View details for DOI 10.1561/115.00000025

  • Valuing Peace: The Effects of Financial Market Exposure on Votes and Political Attitudes ECONOMETRICA Jha, S., Shayo, M. 2019; 87 (5): 1561–88

    View details for DOI 10.3982/ECTA16385

    View details for Web of Science ID 000488189200006

  • Trading for peace ECONOMIC POLICY Jha, S. 2018; 33 (95): 485-+
  • A New Economic History of Colonial India: A Review Journal of Economic History Jha, S. 2017; 77 (2): 641-643
  • Financial Market Exposure Raises Support for Peace The Political Economist Jha, S., Shayo, M. 2016; Spring
  • FINANCIAL ASSET HOLDINGS AND POLITICAL ATTITUDES: EVIDENCE FROM REVOLUTIONARY ENGLAND QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS Jha, S. 2015; 130 (3): 1485-1545

    View details for DOI 10.1093/qje/qjv019

    View details for Web of Science ID 000359638900010

  • 'Unfinished business': Historic complementarities, political competition and ethnic violence in Gujarat JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR & ORGANIZATION Jha, S. 2014; 104: 18-36
  • Gandhi’s Gift: Lessons for Peaceful Reform from India’s Struggle for Democracy Economics of Peace and Security Journal Bhavnani, R., Jha, S. 2014; 9 (1): 80-92
  • Trade, Institutions, and Ethnic Tolerance: Evidence from South Asia AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW Jha, S. 2013; 107 (4): 806-832
  • Analyzing Political Risk in Developing Countries: A Practical Framework for Project Managers Business and Politics Jha, S. 2013; 15 (1): 117-136
  • Can Financial Innovations Mitigate Ethnic and Civil Conflict? World Financial Review Jha, S. 2013
  • Who has voice in a deliberative democracy? Evidence from transcripts of village parliaments in south India JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS Ban, R., Jha, S., Rao, V. 2012; 99 (2): 428-438
  • Does Combat Experience Foster Organizational Skill? Evidence from Ethnic Cleansing during the Partition of South Asia AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW Jha, S., Wilkinson, S. 2012; 106 (4): 883-907
  • Sharing the Future: Financial Innovations and Innovators in Solving the Political Economy Challenges of Development Proceedings of the 16th World Congress of the International Economic Association Jha, S. 2012
  • The administrative foundations of self-enforcing constitutions 120th Annual Meeting of the American-Economic-Association Gonzalez de Lara, Y., Greif, A., Jha, S. AMER ECONOMIC ASSOC. 2008: 105–9
  • Governance in the gullies: Democratic responsiveness and leadership in Delhi's slums WORLD DEVELOPMENT Jha, S., Rao, V., Woolcock, M. 2007; 35 (2): 230-246
  • Maintaining Peace across Ethnic Lines: New Lessons from the Past Economics of Peace and Security Journal Jha, S. 2007; 2 (2): 89-93