Canishk Naik

PhD candidate in Economics, LSE


Bio

Job Market Paper

Working Papers

Work in Progress

Teaching

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Bio

I am a PhD candidate in Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, specializing in public economics and psychology & economics. In 2025-26, I will be a Postdoctoral Scholar at the O’Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics at UC Berkeley, before joining the IIES as an Assistant Professor in 2026.

My research examines how governments can optimally provide assistance and social protection to help the most vulnerable meet their basic needs, focusing on the role of psychological factors—such as mental health and behavioural biases—in shaping behaviour and policy effectiveness.

I hold a BA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Applicable Mathematics from LSE. Before my PhD, I worked as an Economist at The Behaviouralist, a behavioural science research consultancy.

📄 CV (Updated November 2024)
🌐 LSE webpage
📧 c.naik@lse.ac.uk
Pronouns: he/him


Job Market Paper

Mental Health and the Targeting of Social Assistance

January 2025

Abstract (click to expand)


Working Papers

Intrapersonal Comparisons as Interpersonal Comparisons

(with Daniel Reck)

January 2025 (Submitted)

Abstract (click to expand)

A Welfare Analysis of Public Housing Allocation Mechanisms

(with Neil Thakral)

November 2022 (Please email for draft)

Abstract (click to expand)


Work in Progress

The Social Determinants of Mental Health

(with Jon Kolstad , Will Parker , Johannes Spinnewijn)

Abstract (click to expand)

Rebuilding Lives: Integrating Mental Health and Economic Recovery in Climate Disaster Response

(with Amen Jalal , Pol Simpson)

Abstract (click to expand)


Teaching

LSE