Siwan Anderson


Siwan Anderson is a Canadian economist and professor at the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia. Her area of focus is on development economics with a micro-level approach focusing on institutions in developing countries, and also gender economics focusing on the role of women in the economy. Siwan Anderson is also an Associate of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, an Associate of the Theoretical Research in Development Economics, a Fellow of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development, and a Faculty Associate of the Center for Effective Global Action. Siwan Anderson is the first woman to receive the John Rae Prize from the Canadian Economics Association.

Early life and education

Siwan Anderson was born and raised in Canada. She first earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of British Columbia in 1990, finished her master's degree two year later and completed her doctoral degree in 1999. Anderson studied mathematics during her undergraduate years, but seeking to apply these skills to social issues in a more relevant way, she was drawn to economics. When she entered graduate school, Anderson was interested in the issue of poverty, the reasons behind it and the challenges it creates for people. She eventually decided to become an economic researcher, addressing problems within the social sciences using economic tools and analysis.

Education

Siwan Anderson's economic research mainly focuses on the role of micro-level institutions in developing countries such as India, and the role of gender within social science. Most of Anderson's analyses in developing countries tackle the issues between economic development and the function of institutions and female participation. One of her projects aims the reveal "the solution to the missing women puzzle in India." Anderson explains that she wants to "look beyond the explanation of an elevated rate of female infanticides to see what role widowhood might also play" in the economy. She also works on projects in India that examines the rural political institutions. Anderson and her colleagues Ashok Kotwal and Patrick François "have collected data from interviews with 9,000 households on the subject of the new unique identification system that is being implemented across the country." Indeed, Siwan Anderson's researches reveal that women in development economy play a crucial role in constructing the conformation of institutions within society, and also enhancing female endorsement in economic growth positively.

Selected scholarships

"Property Rights Over Marital Transfers" (2015)

Together with her colleague Chris Bidner, Siwan Anderson examines women's property rights after marriage in developing countries. With a focus on dowry, the study reveals the incentives of allocating property rights between the married couples, as well as the shifting bargaining power within the marriage market. They utilize economic tools and models to clarify and formalize the "dual role" of dowry in the marriage: the dowry represents both a premortem bequest and a market clearing price to compete in the marriage market. The study explains that women's property rights over the dowry depreciate along with the development, and also suggests that since increased direct economic returns for women enhances the welfare of women, it is essential to promote the financial returns to determine women's welfare and legal rights.

"Suicide and Property Rights in India" (2015)

This paper studies the significance of female property rights on male and female suicide rates in India. Siwan Anderson and her co-researcher Garance Genicot utilize state-level variation in legal changes to women's property rights to examine this issue.
They discover that enhanced property rights for women are in correlation with a decrease in the difference of suicide rates between female and male, but an increase in suicides in both gender. The vast majority of people who committed suicide are in a married relationship. The paper also provides suggestive evidence that marital discord can be a potential reason for explaining that improving female property rights raises suicide rates. However, this paper is not suggesting that enhancing women's ownership over their properties is an undesirable channel.
With theoretical models and empirical analyses, the study shows how establishing the inheritance rights of women can raise conflict within households and has a correlation in the increase of suicide rates of both genders, highlighting the importance of gender equality and providing help for women seeking to leave unhappy marriages.

"The Age Distribution of Missing Women in India" (2012)

In this article, Anderson and her colleague Debraj Ray examine the concept of "Missing Women," which was first proposed by Indian economist Amartya Sen. Some estimates suggest that the number of women who could potentially be alive is over 25 million. In other words, there are more than two million women "missing" in India in a given year. Anderson and Ray analyze the phenomenon by dividing up the age group across the regions in India, and the findings are shocking.
Foremost, the majority of missing women in India die in their adulthood. The research estimates that roughly 12% of missing women die at birth, 25% in childhood, and 43% in adulthood. Additionally, the distribution of missing women by age group varies across different states in India. The southern states have the lowest number of missing women and make up only 10% of the national total. The remaining part of the data distributes throughout the rest of the country. Since the distribution of missing women varies between states and regions, it is difficult to explain such a phenomenon in India theoretically.
Consequently, the research reveals that the severity of the life-threatening dilemma adult women face in India is no less than young girls.

Grants and awards

Notable awards and honours

YearGrantsInstitutions
2018-2019EDI Research GrantDepartment for International Development
2018-2019Monash University Internal Research GrantMonash University
2018-2019CERC Internal Research GrantCanada Excellence Research Chairs
2017-2019EDI Research GrantDepartment for International Development
2015-2017IDRC Research GrantInternational Development Research Centre
2015-2019SSHRC Insight GrantThe Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
2014-2016Hampton Research GrantUniversity of British Columbia
2014-2015IGC Research GrantInternational Growth Centre
2012-2013IGC Research GrantInternational Growth Centre
2012-2016IDRC Research GrantInternational Development Research Centre
2011-2012IGC Research GrantInternational Growth Centre
2011-2012UNSW Internal GrantUniversity of New South Wales
2010Weatherall Visiting FellowshipQueen's University
2009-2012SSHRC Research GrantThe Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
2007-2010SSHRC Research GrantThe Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
2007UBC Killam Research PrizeUniversity of British Columbia
2006-2009SSHRC Research GrantThe Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
2004-2006HSS Hampton Large GrantUniversity of British Columbia
2003-2006SSHRC Research GrantThe Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
2003-2004Peter Wall Early Career ScholarThe Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of British Columbia
2002-2003HSS Hampton Small GrantUniversity of British Columbia

Publications

Academic publications

Live radio interviews with Siwan Anderson: