Ashwini Deshpande is Professor of Economics, Ashoka University, India. She is Founding Director of the University's Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA). Prior to Ashoka University, Professor Deshpande was affiliated to the Delhi School of Economics. She is also a Fellow of the International Economic Association, Research Fellow at IZA Institute of Labour Economics; a Fellow of the Global Labour Network (GLO); and non-resident Senior Research Fellow of UNU-WIDER, Helsinki. She has published extensively on economics of discrimination and affirmative action, focusing on caste and gender in India. Other areas of her research interest are social identity and economic outcomes, specially labour market outcomes, self-employment; early childhood development, and education. Recipient of the 2007 VKRV Rao Award for India Economist under 45, she has many books published by leading global publishers to her credit.