Roshan Adhikari, PhD

Applied economist working across research and evaluation on agriculture, water, and rural livelihoods.

Based in
Cambridge, UK  ·  Kathmandu, Nepal
Works on
Agricultural & water economics · rural poverty & livelihoods · climate adaptation
Methods
Programme evaluation · impact assessment · large-scale survey research
Current
International Consultant, IFAD · Principal Researcher (MEL), IDI
Portrait of Roshan Adhikari

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About

I am an agricultural and natural resources economist who works in two connected registers: academic research on the economics of irrigation, water, and rural livelihoods, and independent evaluation and policy work for international development organisations.

My research examines how investments in agricultural water management, mechanisation, and risk management shape farm productivity, household welfare, and the distribution of economic opportunity across gender, caste, and class. It has appeared in Nature Sustainability, World Development, Environmental Research Letters, and Water Policy, among others.

Alongside this, I lead mixed-methods evaluations, impact assessments, and survey research for major donors and UN agencies, grounded in OECD DAC and UNEG standards, contribution analysis, and household surveys at scale. I trained at Oregon State University (PhD, Applied Economics) and Whitman College, with substantial fieldwork across Nepal, India, Ghana, Kenya, and the Pacific.

At a glance

PhD, Applied Economics
Oregon State University
11 peer-reviewed publications
& book chapters
10+ years across academia,
UN agencies & donors
Fieldwork in 14 countries
across 4 regions

What I do

Rigorous evidence, from design to decision

I combine the analytical discipline of applied economics with the practical demands of donor-funded evaluation, working from research design through fieldwork to policy-facing recommendations.

Evaluation & policy

  • OECD DAC & UNEG-aligned evaluation
  • Contribution analysis & theory of change
  • Impact assessment & influence tracing
  • FCDO 4E Value-for-Money assessment
  • GESI audits & gender-responsive methods
  • Systematic reviews & evidence synthesis
  • Institutional & policy analysis

Quantitative & field research

  • Econometric modelling & impact evaluation
  • Large-scale household surveys (14,000+ households)
  • Multi-stage cluster sampling & survey design
  • Integrated bio-economic modelling (AgMIP, APSIM)
  • Geospatial analysis & machine learning
  • KIIs, FGDs & participatory methods
  • Stata · R · Python · KoBoToolbox · ArcGIS

Clients & partners

Organisations I have worked with

World BankIFPRIIFADFAOUN WomenWFPUNDPFCDOUSAIDSDCBritish CouncilWelthungerhilfeInternational IDEA

See selected assignments for recent evaluation and policy-research engagements.