Dr Vaidehi Tandel is an economist working in the areas of urban economics, real estate, political economy, and public finance with a focus in India.

Previously Vaidehi was Lecturer in Real Estate at the University of Reading and Junior Fellow at IDFC Institute in Mumbai. She was a postdoctoral visiting scholar at Columbia University, New York.

RESEARCH

Her research has been published in the Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Regional Science, Cities, Environment and Urbanisation, BMJ Open, among others. Her work has been featured in The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Straits Times, Livemint and others.

Her ongoing research looks at the impact of mandatory disclosures on housing markets, climate change and adaptation across cities in developing countries and impact of floods on real estate.

OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

A) Vaidehi has featured in two BBC podcasts where she discusses the impact of COVID-19 and the future of cities. 

1. BBC The Real story - How will Covid-19 change our cities?, (with Edward Glaeser, Astrid Haas and Matthew Carmona), June 2020.
2. BBC The Inquiry - Will Covid-19 change cities, (hosted by Kavita Puri), June 2020.

B) Vaidehi has also been quoted in two Financial Times pieces (here and here)

c) Selected blogs and opeds: 

1. VoxDev Blog: Constructing influence: Political turnover reveals quid pro quo arrangements in Mumbai’s real estate, with Sahil Gandhi and Alex Tabarrok, 30 November 2023.  
2. Brookings Institution: Are slums more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Mumbai, with Shaonlee Patrnabis and Sahil Gandhi, 16 April, 2020. 
3. Our youth may not shield us from high COVID mortality, with Paul Novosad, Livemint, 18 May, 2020. 
4. Legitimise informal rental agreements in slums, Hindustan Times, 12 February, 2019.