Education
Ph.D., George Mason University, 2008
M.S., George Mason University, 2003
B.A., Northwestern University, 2001
Professional Experience
- Assistant Professor, Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, 2010-present
- Associate Director, Institute for Development Strategies, Indiana University, 2010-present
- Associate Fellow, Ratio Institute, Sweden, 2010-present
- Visiting Scholar, Kauffman Foundation, 2009-present
- Assistant Professor, Henry W. Bloch School of Business & Public Administration, University of Missouri, 2008-2010
- Occasional Consultant, United Nations University – World Institute for Development Economics Research, 2008-2010
- Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, Germany. 2007-2009
- Research Assistant, Center for Entrepreneurship & Public Policy, Fairfax, Virginia, 2003-2007
Awards, Honors & Certifications
- Principal Investigator, global microcredit trends analysis, funded by the Microcredit Summit Campaign, 2012
- SPEA Teaching Award, Graduate Instruction, 2012
- Bosch Foundation Fellow, Transatlantic Policy Consortium, 2011
- Principal Investigator, Entrepreneurship in Postconflict Recovery, funded by the Kauffman Foundation, 2010
- Principal Investigator, Entrepreneurship in Iraq, funded by the US Army, 2008-2009
- University of Missouri New Horizons Award, 2009
- Best Paper Award (with Johan Eklund) Uddevalla Symposium, 2008
- Fellowship in Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, (Kauffman Foundation and Max Planck Institute), 2006-2008
- Ratio Institute Grant Award, Colloquium for Young Social Scientists, 2007
- Kauffman Foundation Fellowship, PhD entrepreneurship course
- University of Paris Grant for the European School for New Institutional Economics, 2006
Professional Interests
Entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development policy; political economy and allocation of entrepreneurship in areas of political instability, conflict and disaster; postconflict reconstruction; social entrepreneurship
Current Projects
- Market-Based Strategies in Postconflict Governance
- Multi-level Shocks and Firm Performance
- Terrorism and Industry Dynamics: Profit Persistence in South Asia Firms, with J. Eklund and V. Nadella
- Terrorism and Firm Performance Across Countries, with J. Eklund and V. Nadella
- Multilevel Institutions and Urban Entrepreneurship, with M. Belitski and D. Audretsch
- Theorizing Destructive Entrepreneurship, with Z. Acs and U. Weitzel
- Business Environment and Persistence of Profits, with J. Eklund
- Political Conditions and Economic Organization: (In)formal Entrepreneurship, with P. Stenholm, S. Webeck and R. Wuebker
- New Industry Creation and Originality: Insight from the Funding Sources of University Patents, with M. Guerzoni, T. Aldridge and D. Audretsch
Selected Publications
Short Vita
- Desai, S., Acs, Z.J. and Weitzel, U. (accepted) “A Model of Destructive Entrepreneurship: Insight on Conflict and Postconflict Recovery,” Journal of Conflict Resolution.
- Desai, S. (forthcoming) “Entrepreneurship and a Tale of Two Cities,” Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
- Desai, S., Eklund, J., and Högberg, A (2011) “Pro-market reforms and allocation of capital in India,” Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Vol. 3 Iss: 2, pp.123 – 139.
- Acs, Z.J., Audretsch, D.B., Desai, S. and Welpe, I. (2010). “On Experiments in Entrepreneurship Research” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 76: 1-4.
- Weitzel, U., Urbig, D., Desai, S., Acs, Z.J. and Sanders, M. (2010) “Allocation of Entrepreneurial Talent and Other-regarding Behavior,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 76: 64-81.
- Acs, Z.J., Desai, S. and Klapper, L. (2008). “What Does Entrepreneurship Data Really Show?”. 2008. Small Business Economics, 31(3): 265-281.
- Acs, Z.J., Desai, S. and Hessels, J. (2008). “Entrepreneurship, Economic Development and Institutions,” Small Business Economics, 31(3): 219-234.
- Sany, J. and Desai, S. (2008). “Transnational Ethnic Groups and Conflict: The Zaghawa in Chad and Sudan,” Conflict Trends, 2008/2: 25-29.
- Desai, S. (2006). “An Introduction to the Potential of Microfinance in Postconflict Economies” 2006, Journal of Insurance and Risk Management, IV(7): 199-210.
- Desai, S. (2005) “Microfinance in Iraq,” Global Studies Review, Fall.
