ABOUT
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, affiliated with the Pulte Institute for Global Development. I received my Ph.D. in Environment and Sustainability from the University of Michigan. My research lies at the intersection of climate change, inequality, and development policy, using computational and data-driven approaches to examine how large-scale policy interventions shape equitable and climate-resilient development. My work combines climate model simulations, remote sensing data, and household survey datasets to analyze sustainability challenges across spatial and temporal scales, with a focus on lower- and middle-income countries.
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, affiliated with the Pulte Institute for Global Development. I received my Ph.D. in Environment and Sustainability from the University of Michigan. My research lies at the intersection of climate change, inequality, and development policy, using computational and data-driven approaches to examine how large-scale policy interventions shape equitable and climate-resilient development. My work combines climate model simulations, remote sensing data, and household survey datasets to analyze sustainability challenges across spatial and temporal scales, with a focus on lower- and middle-income countries.
RESEARCH AGENDA
My research examines how climate change and inequality jointly shape human well-being, with a focus on identifying pathways linking environmental change to development outcomes. I use machine learning, causal inference, climate attribution, and integrated data to evaluate policy effectiveness and resilience.
1. Climate Change, Inequality, and Human Well-being
I study how climate variability and anthropogenic change affect human outcomes such as childhood stunting, both directly and through structural inequalities. My work leverages climate attribution frameworks and multi-country data to identify how environmental stressors translate into human impacts across diverse socioeconomic contexts.
2. Public Policy, Inequality, and Sustainability
I examine how public policies and governance systems shape resilience, equity, and sustainability outcomes. My research spans social protection programs and environmental governance, focusing on how policy interventions interact with inequality to influence both human well-being and ecological systems. This work shows that policy effectiveness systematically varies across inequality gradients and institutional contexts, emphasizing the need for equity-sensitive and context-specific design. In parallel, my research on community-based governance demonstrates how local institutional arrangements can generate synergies between biodiversity conservation and livelihoods, highlighting pathways for advancing sustainability development goals.
3. Data Harmonization for Transformative Change
I develop scalable empirical frameworks that integrate climate data, remote sensing, and household surveys to enable multi-dimensional analysis of sustainability challenges. This work generates policy-relevant insights and advances approaches for measuring inequality, exposure, and development outcomes across spatial and temporal scales.
My research examines how climate change and inequality jointly shape human well-being, with a focus on identifying pathways linking environmental change to development outcomes. I use machine learning, causal inference, climate attribution, and integrated data to evaluate policy effectiveness and resilience.
1. Climate Change, Inequality, and Human Well-being
I study how climate variability and anthropogenic change affect human outcomes such as childhood stunting, both directly and through structural inequalities. My work leverages climate attribution frameworks and multi-country data to identify how environmental stressors translate into human impacts across diverse socioeconomic contexts.
2. Public Policy, Inequality, and Sustainability
I examine how public policies and governance systems shape resilience, equity, and sustainability outcomes. My research spans social protection programs and environmental governance, focusing on how policy interventions interact with inequality to influence both human well-being and ecological systems. This work shows that policy effectiveness systematically varies across inequality gradients and institutional contexts, emphasizing the need for equity-sensitive and context-specific design. In parallel, my research on community-based governance demonstrates how local institutional arrangements can generate synergies between biodiversity conservation and livelihoods, highlighting pathways for advancing sustainability development goals.
3. Data Harmonization for Transformative Change
I develop scalable empirical frameworks that integrate climate data, remote sensing, and household surveys to enable multi-dimensional analysis of sustainability challenges. This work generates policy-relevant insights and advances approaches for measuring inequality, exposure, and development outcomes across spatial and temporal scales.
RECENT ARTICLES
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Anthropogenic warming is positively associated with increased stunting, while inequality is a strong and consistent predictor of stunting across contexts. Children in more poorer communities experience higher levels of stunting, highlighting the compounding risks of climate change and structural disparities. To know more, please click the link Article
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Greater household dependence on forest resources is associated with lower tree species diversity in tropical forests, highlighting the interconnected dynamics of poverty and biodiversity in multifunctional landscapes. To know more, please click the link Article and Policy Brief
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Research Framework
CURRENT RESEARCH
My research is interdisciplinary, integrating theories and methods from sustainability science, geography, public policy, and applied econometrics. I draw on diverse datasets comprising remote sensing, climate model simulations, household surveys, and census data to study complex socio-environmental systems.
My research is interdisciplinary, integrating theories and methods from sustainability science, geography, public policy, and applied econometrics. I draw on diverse datasets comprising remote sensing, climate model simulations, household surveys, and census data to study complex socio-environmental systems.
- Climate attribution and human development outcomes
- Inequality as a pathway linking climate change to social impacts
- Policy effectiveness under heterogeneous socioeconomic and environmental conditions
WORKING PAPER
Climate Change, Inequality, and Conflict Exposure in Africa
Demonstrates that climate anomalies and structural inequality jointly shape patterns of conflict exposure, emphasizing inequality as a key mediator of climate-related risks.
Inequality and Policy Effectiveness in Social Protection: Evidence from Ethiopia’s PSNP
Shows that the effectiveness of safety nets depends on local inequality, with stronger impacts in more unequal settings, highlighting the importance of equity-sensitive program design for food security
Public Works Programs and Multi-Dimensional Outcomes: Evidence from MGNREGS (India)
Demonstrates how large-scale public works generate economic and environmental co-benefits while producing trade-offs with inequality, highlighting the complexity of policy impacts across sustainability outcomes.
Climate Change, Inequality, and Conflict Exposure in Africa
Demonstrates that climate anomalies and structural inequality jointly shape patterns of conflict exposure, emphasizing inequality as a key mediator of climate-related risks.
Inequality and Policy Effectiveness in Social Protection: Evidence from Ethiopia’s PSNP
Shows that the effectiveness of safety nets depends on local inequality, with stronger impacts in more unequal settings, highlighting the importance of equity-sensitive program design for food security
Public Works Programs and Multi-Dimensional Outcomes: Evidence from MGNREGS (India)
Demonstrates how large-scale public works generate economic and environmental co-benefits while producing trade-offs with inequality, highlighting the complexity of policy impacts across sustainability outcomes.
PUBLICATIONS
9. N. Pradhan, E. Ludwig-Borycz, & A. Agrawal, Climate change, inequality, and childhood stunting in African countries, 2026. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 123 (23) e2518179123, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2518179123
8. Pradhan, N., Ibáñez, I., Chhatre, A., Duddu, A., Fischer, H.W., Newton, P., Oldekop, J.A., Wilson, S.J., Agrawal, A., 2026. Advancing biodiversity through poverty solutions. Nat. Sustain. 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01816-9
7. Pradhan, N., Ibáñez, I., Chhatre, A., Duddu, A., Fischer, H.W., Newton, P., Oldekop, J.A., Wilson, S.J., Agrawal, A., 2026b. Synergies between poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. Nat. Sustain. 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01830-x
6. Pradhan, N., Agrawal, A., Mapping fine-scale socioeconomic inequality using machine learning and remotely sensed data, PNAS Nexus, 2025;, pgaf040, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf040
5. Fischer, H.W., Chhatre, A., Duddu, A., Pradhan, N., Agrawal, A., 2023. Community forest governance and synergies among carbon, biodiversity and livelihoods. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 1340–1347. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01863-6
4. Agrawal, A., Erbaugh, J., Pradhan, N., 2023. The Commons. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 48, 531–558. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112320-113509
3. Agrawal, A., Brandhorst, S., Jain, M., Liao, C., Pradhan, N., Solomon, D., 2022. From environmental governance to governance for sustainability. One Earth 5, 615–621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.05.014
2. Erbaugh, J.T., Pradhan, N., Adams, J., Oldekop, J.A., Agrawal, A., Brockington, D., Pritchard, R., Chhatre, A., 2020. Global forest restoration and the importance of prioritizing local communities. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 1472–1476. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01282-2
1. Davis, K.F., Chhatre, A., Rao, N.D., Singh, D., Ghosh-Jerath, S., Mridul, A., Poblete-Cazenave, M., Pradhan, N., DeFries, R., 2019. Assessing the sustainability of post-Green Revolution cereals in India. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 25034–25041. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910935116
8. Pradhan, N., Ibáñez, I., Chhatre, A., Duddu, A., Fischer, H.W., Newton, P., Oldekop, J.A., Wilson, S.J., Agrawal, A., 2026. Advancing biodiversity through poverty solutions. Nat. Sustain. 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01816-9
7. Pradhan, N., Ibáñez, I., Chhatre, A., Duddu, A., Fischer, H.W., Newton, P., Oldekop, J.A., Wilson, S.J., Agrawal, A., 2026b. Synergies between poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. Nat. Sustain. 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01830-x
6. Pradhan, N., Agrawal, A., Mapping fine-scale socioeconomic inequality using machine learning and remotely sensed data, PNAS Nexus, 2025;, pgaf040, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf040
5. Fischer, H.W., Chhatre, A., Duddu, A., Pradhan, N., Agrawal, A., 2023. Community forest governance and synergies among carbon, biodiversity and livelihoods. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 1340–1347. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01863-6
4. Agrawal, A., Erbaugh, J., Pradhan, N., 2023. The Commons. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 48, 531–558. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112320-113509
3. Agrawal, A., Brandhorst, S., Jain, M., Liao, C., Pradhan, N., Solomon, D., 2022. From environmental governance to governance for sustainability. One Earth 5, 615–621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.05.014
2. Erbaugh, J.T., Pradhan, N., Adams, J., Oldekop, J.A., Agrawal, A., Brockington, D., Pritchard, R., Chhatre, A., 2020. Global forest restoration and the importance of prioritizing local communities. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 1472–1476. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01282-2
1. Davis, K.F., Chhatre, A., Rao, N.D., Singh, D., Ghosh-Jerath, S., Mridul, A., Poblete-Cazenave, M., Pradhan, N., DeFries, R., 2019. Assessing the sustainability of post-Green Revolution cereals in India. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 25034–25041. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910935116
TEACHING
I am committed to creating an inclusive learning environment that fosters critical thinking, strengthens analytical skills, and equips students to address real-world sustainability challenges. At the School for Environment and Sustainability, I have served as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) for three courses.
Natural Resource Statistics
This course covers applied introductory statistics. It focuses on when and why different statistical techniques should be used to analyze different datasets, rather than deriving the mathematical underpinnings of these techniques. Through this course, the students are introduced to one of the most common statistical programming languages.
Introduction to R
The course focuses on the basic concepts of R programming language and how to analyze data using R. This class was open to anyone interested in learning the basics of using R. The course covered basic concepts of R, writing a function, importing a dataset, creating summary statistics, and basic data visualization techniques.
Climate Adaptation
The seminar focuses on the specifics of climate change adaptation activities taking place internationally and in the USA in different regions and at different scales. Emphasis is given to understanding the different components of climate change adaptation and resilience and how stakeholders at the international, national, state, local, private, and nongovernmental levels are taking action to address existing and projected climate impacts with a focus on equity and justice.
CONTACT
Email: npradhan[at]nd[dot]edu
Email: npradhan[at]nd[dot]edu
