satarupa.mitra@manipal.edu
satarupamitra1@gmail.com
T.A. Pai Management Institute
Manipal Academy of Higher Education
Bangalore, India
satarupamitra1@gmail.com
T.A. Pai Management Institute
Manipal Academy of Higher Education
Bangalore, India
Satarupa Mitra
Assistant Professor of Economics
T.A. Pai Management Institute, Bangalore
I am an Assistant Professor and Area Chair for Economics at TAPMI Bengaluru, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. I study why people make the choices they do, especially the irrational, biased, and beautifully human ones. I have a PhD in Economics with a specialisation in Behavioural Economics from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. My research interests lie at the intersection of economics and psychology. I use behavioural and experimental methodologies to investigate issues such as biases, corruption, education, mental health, risk preferences, and labour markets. Currently, I teach Microeconomics at the undergraduate level and Behavioural Economics at the postgraduate level, including visiting engagements at IIM Indore and IIM Amritsar. As Area Chair, I oversee curriculum design, course development, and a fantastic team of colleagues navigating the exciting and sometimes chaotic world of business education.
Research
Publications
Caste Identity and Teachers' Biased Expectations: Evidence from Bihar, India
Journal of Development Economics, 179, 103650 (2026)
We investigate whether teachers hold systematically biased expectations about students based on caste identity, using data from a large, detailed, and representative survey of public schools in Bihar, India. Students take standardized tests that determine their actual academic rank, while teachers independently rate each student's relative standing within the class. The gap between a student's actual rank and their teacher's perceived rating gives us a measure of the teacher's Evaluation Bias. Using a teacher fixed-effect approach, we find that forward caste teachers systematically underestimate the performance of backward caste students compared to forward caste peers taught in the same class. These caste-based differences in Evaluation Bias remain robust to alternative definitions of backward caste status and different measures of students' performance.
The Role of Nudges in Reducing Exponential Growth Bias and Increasing Safety Compliance in COVID Times
Review of Behavioral Economics, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 358–378 (2026)
Exponential growth bias (EGB), the tendency to underestimate exponential trends, has been linked to lower compliance with safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses an online experiment with 631 Indian participants to evaluate the effectiveness of three behaviorally informed nudges: numerical feedback, graphical feedback, and forecast range prompts. While prior research shows that increasing the frequency of forecasting modestly reduces EGB, the authors find that combining this approach with feedback and forecast-range-based interventions eliminates the bias entirely. These reductions are associated with significant improvements in self-reported compliance and shifts in the perceived effectiveness of government crisis management. The results highlight the potential of low-cost, behaviorally informed interventions to strengthen public health communication and improve behavioral responses during health emergencies.
Stopping the Rot I: A Review of Models and Experimental Methods of Corruption Experiments
The Political Economy of Corruption, Routledge, pp. 100–114 (2023)
In a two-part review, we focus on the behavioral experimental literature on corruption from the past decade with a particular focus on papers that offer behavioral insights into corrupt decision-making. In this first chapter, we restrict attention to the prominent theoretical models that have been used in the literature to lay out the framework of analysis in the corruption literature. We then discuss the important methodological issues related to the measurement of corruption, especially when using lab experiments.
Stopping the Rot II: Consequences, Causes and Policy Lessons from Recent Experiments on Corruption
The Political Economy of Corruption, Routledge, pp. 115–138 (2023)
In this second chapter of the two-chapter review on corruption research, we start with a discussion of the consequences of corruption. We follow up with the fundamental causes of corruption identified in the literature, which also serves to anchor the subsequent section that examines recent advances on the policy levers designed to fight corruption using experimental methods. We end with some thoughts on avenues for future research.
Selected Work in Progress
Does Teacher Caste Matter for Student Mental Health? Evidence from Bihar, India
Impact of ESG Disclosure on Labour Preference: A Developing Nation Perspective
Demographic and Behavioural Representativeness of Indian Online Labour Market
Truth or Lies: Experimental Enquiry of Dishonesty in Repeated Reporting Scenarios
Teaching
| Course | Institution | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Microeconomics | BBA Honours, TAPMI Bangalore | Ongoing |
| Behavioural Economics | PGP, IIM Indore (Visiting Faculty) | 2025 |
| Macroeconomics | Executive MBA, IIM Amritsar (Visiting Faculty) | 2025 |
| Behavioural Economics | MBA, MESA School of Business, Bangalore (Visiting Faculty) | 2024 |
CV
Positions
Feb 2024 – Present
Assistant ProfessorT.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Bangalore
Sep 2022 – Feb 2024
Faculty AssociateT.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Bangalore
2019 – 2022
Teaching AssistantIndian Institute of Management, Bangalore
Aug 2016 – Jul 2017
Assistant ProfessorCentral University of Jharkhand, Ranchi
Education
2024
PhD, Economics and Social SciencesIndian Institute of Management, Bangalore
2014 – 2016
Master's in EconomicsBanaras Hindu University, Varanasi
2011 – 2014
B.A. (Hons.) EconomicsBanaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Grants, Fellowships & Awards
2025
Best Paper Award, HOPE 2025, IIT Roorkee
2025
Research Grant, ₹3,00,000, T.A. Pai Management Institute, Bangalore
2023
Best Paper Award, Behavioral Science in Management, IIM Ahmedabad
2017–2022
PhD Fellowship, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
2018
Research for Impact Fellowship, J-PAL, MIT
2015
UGC National Eligibility Test and Junior Research Fellowship (NET-JRF), Economics
Beyond Work
Stirring Things Up
I find cooking meditative — the precision of a recipe and the freedom to improvise feel surprisingly close to research. Cooking for someone is how I say I care. See my experiments →
Roots, Colours & Corners
Messy fingers, colours everywhere, shades of green and mud — that is my happy place. I make things, grow things, and arrange things until a space feels just right. Craft, décor, and plants are my alternative to therapy. Take a peek →
Wandering on Purpose
New places, new stories waiting to be discovered. Meeting new people taught me things that no paper ever could. I travel to share, eat, explore, and occasionally get wonderfully lost.
Some favourite clicks →
Some favourite clicks →
Finding Stillness in the Chaos
Yoga and meditation keep me grounded amid the beautiful chaos of academic life. There is something clarifying about returning to the breath when everything else demands attention.
Some resources I love →
Some resources I love →
Contact
Address
satarupa.mitra@manipal.edusatarupamitra1@gmail.com
T.A. Pai Management Institute
Manipal Academy of Higher Education
Bangalore, Karnataka
