Dr. Somjita Laha

Dr. Somjita Laha is a development economist and policy researcher specialising in the informal economy, labour, waste governance, environmental sustainability, urbanisation, gender, and global value chains. She is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute for Human Development (IHD), New Delhi, and an independent research and policy consultant for national and international organisations including the International Labour Organization (ILO), International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), SEWA, and Oxfam India. Her research bridges academic scholarship and policy practice, with a focus on labour markets, circular economy, informal work, digitalisation, social protection, and sustainable development.

Past Affiliations:

• Fellow, Institute for Human Development (IHD)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
• Associate Editor, The Indian Journal of Labour Economics
• Programme Officer, Toxics Link
• Junior Fellow, Oxfam Project on Pakistani Refugees in Rajasthan
• Media Reporter, Star News

Educational Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, United Kingdom (2015)
• M.A. in Development Studies (Environment & Sustainable Development), International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands (2008)
• M.A. in Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University (2003)
• B.Sc. (Hons.) in Economics, Presidency College, University of Calcutta (2001)

Selected Publications:

• Laha, S. (2022). Governing the network: Trust in e-waste informality in India. Geoforum, 134, 1–12. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718522001142) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.05.016