Hello!

I'm a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Economics at the School of Economics, University of Sydney.

My research is on the broad areas of political economy, network empirics, institutions, conflict and development.
I'm passionate about using innovative data and tools to explore the world around us.

Read more about my research: Dissecting Political Fragilities in Human Societies, School of Economics Magazine, University of Sydney (2024).

Research

Publications

- Diverting Domestic Turmoil (Journal of Public Economics 208, Article No. 104608) WP Version

- Public Sentiment in Times of Terror (Journal of Development Economics 162, Article No. 103058) WP Version

- Key Players in Economic Development (Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization 223, 40--56)
(with Roland Hodler, Paul Raschky and Yves Zenou) WP Version Online Appendix

- How Natural Disasters Spread Conflict (European Economic Review 181, Article No. 105194)
(with Paul Raschky, Yves Zenou and Junjie Zhou) WP Version Online Appendix

- Mapping Violence Perceptions through YouTube Comments: A New Approach to Real-Time Violence Monitoring (EPJ Data Science 15, Article No. 47)
(with Sascha Nanlohy, Thomas Morgan, David Hammond, Yashdeep Dahiya and Francesco Bailo) WP Version

- Partisan Alignment, Insurgency and Public Safety: Evidence from the Indian Red-corridor (Economic Development and Cultural Change, forthcoming)
(with Pushkar Maitra and Yuchen Zhong)

Working papers

- Competing for Attention – The Effect of Talk Radio on US Politics
(with Paul Raschky)

- Getting Along or Getting Ahead? The Domestic Roots of Status-Seeking in International Relations
(with Kathryn Baragwanath)

- Aid, Interrupted: Conflict Dynamics Following the USAID Suspension in Africa
(with Annabelle Tan and David Ubilava)

Workshops

Applied Young Economist Webinar (AYEW)

I am the founder and co-organizer of the Applied Young Economist Webinar series, which provides a virtual platform for PhD students and PostDocs to share their work, receive feedback and connect with peers. This event is funded by the Monash-Warwick Alliance.

Social Conflict and Political Economy (SCoPE) Workshop

I co-organize the Social Conflict and Political Economy (SCoPE) Workshop, at the University of Sydney, which brings together international and local researchers working on conflict and other interesting aspects of political economy. This event is funded by the Australian Research Council.

Australasian Public Choice Conference

I will be co-organizing the Australasian Public Choice Conference at the University of Sydney on 19th and 20th of November. This event is funded by the School of Economics, University of Sydney.

Australian Political Economy Network (APEN) Workshop

I co-organized the 2024 edition of the Australian Political Economy Network (APEN) Workshop, at the University of Sydney on 8th November 2024. This event was funded by the School of Economics, University of Sydney and the Resilient Democracy Lab, UNSW.

Contact me on

Email: ashani.amarasinghe@sydney.edu.au

Office: 562 Social Sciences Building, Camperdown NSW 2050, Australia