Bio
I am currently a final-year PhD candidate in Economics at Monash University, Australia, where I am also a Teaching Associate and Research Assistant at the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability. My research interests lie in development economics, with a particular focus on nation building, economics of ethnicity, and gender.
My current research projects include investigating the role of information and emotional nudges in harmonizing ethnic groups and exploring the impacts of gender norms on women’s hiring and workplace experiences in Bangladesh.
Before starting my doctoral studies, I held several academic and research positions. I served as a Lecturer and an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, where I taught and mentored undergraduate students. My research during this period focused on economic development, trade, and the socio-economic factors influencing education and employment.
I have been recognized with several scholarships and awards, including the Co-funded Monash Graduate Scholarship, the Monash International Tuition Scholarship, and the Fulbright Masters Scholarship.
Curriculum Vitae (Updated September 2025)
Email: naveen.wickremeratne@monash.edu
Phone: + 61 3 9902 6011
Address:
Buliding N, Department of Economics
Monash University, Caulfield Campus
Dandenong Road, Caulfield East, VIC 3145
Australia.
Working Papers
Nation Building Through Harmonizing Ethnic Groups: The Role of Information
and Emotional Nudges
Abstract (click to expand): We evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative intervention designed to diminish prejudicial attitudes while fostering compassion, trust, and collaboration between two ethnic groups. To evaluate the efficacy of our intervention, we use a cluster randomized controlled trial within the Jaffna and Hambantota districts of Sri Lanka. We examine the influence of screenings of two documentary films prepared to raise awareness regarding the lifestyles, cultures, and challenges faced by both ethnic communities, with the overarching goal of reshaping prevailing ethnic norms. We exploit the information and empathy channels inherent in documentary videos, facilitating access to novel information while simultaneously eliciting empathy and emotional responses to alter norm and behavioural change. We randomly selected villages into treatment group and control group from both districts. The treatment group was exposed to a documentary focusing on ethnic harmony, while the control group watched a documentary of similar duration centred on rainforests. We also conducted surveys on untreated individuals residing in treated households in treatment villages at baseline and endline, to investigate potential spillover effects of the intervention. We carried out three incentivized lab-in-the-field experiments, encompassing the trust game, ultimatum game, and the prisoner's dilemma, involving participants from both ethnic groups, to assess the levels of trust, compassion, and collaboration. Our findings unveil substantial reductions in prejudicial attitudes within both ethnic groups toward one another. Moreover, we observed significant improvements in attitudes of compassion and collaboration. Our results remained robust, accounting for social desirability bias. The information, empathy and emotional channels emerged as the three important underlying mechanisms driving these changes in outcomes. This research underscores the imperative of fostering positive intergroup relationships within diverse and conflict-prone societies, ultimately advancing the cause of nation-building.
Improving Gender Norms in the Workplace
(Accepted: Journal of Development Economics Pre-Results Review)
(with Emily A. Beam and Joshua D. Merfeld)
Abstract (click to expand): Gender norms influence women's access to employment opportunities and their workplace experiences, which can subsequently affect firm productivity. We conduct a randomized experiment with 1,900 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to examine gender norms in the workplace and assess the impact of promoting more gender-equitable norms among both workers and firm owners. Specifically, workers and firm owners in randomly selected markets participate in an intensive, three-day gender norms training program. We measure the impact of this training on gender attitudes, women's workplace experiences, inter-employee interactions, and firm productivity using self-reports and lab-in-the-field experiments. By understanding the malleability of gender norms and their effects on workplace dynamics and productivity, this study aims to inform interventions and policies that promote more equitable norms and evaluate their broader effects on productivity.
Shifting Subjective Expectations through Gender Norms Training
(with Emily A. Beam and Joshua D. Merfeld)
Abstract (click to expand): Gender norms are often reinforced through subjective expectations, as individuals' beliefs about gender-specific behaviors influence women's participation in labor markets and shape their workplace experiences, with potential implications for firm-level productivity and broader economic development outcomes. This paper investigates the impact of a gender norms training program on subjective expectations. We conducted a clustered randomized controlled trial in Bangladesh, involving both owners and workers across 1900 small and medium-sized firms to assess the effectiveness of a gender norms training program in promoting gender-equitable norms. Using a probabilistic visual aid elicitation method, we measure expectations across three domains: gender attitudes, perceived discrimination, and sense of belonging. We find that the training significantly improved expectations related to gender attitudes and women's inclusion but had no impact on beliefs about workplace discrimination. Effects are strongest among male participants, suggesting greater malleability of beliefs in this group. These findings highlight the potential of norm-based interventions to reshape expectations about gender equity in the context of firms.
Work in Progress
Bridging Divides: Promoting Ethnic Harmony in Sri Lankan Schools through Pen-Pal Programs
(with Andreas Pondorfer, and Matthias Sutter)
Research Grants
Field Work : Euro 50,000 from the Diligentia Foundation, Germany in 2024
Field Work : Euro 20,000 from Technical University of Munich, Germany in 2024
Study Away at UC Berkeley: AUD 8,000 from Monash Business School in 2024
Field Work : AUD 25,000 from Monash Business School in 2023
News
Presented at the 2025 ASSA Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California in January 2025
Study-Away at Department of Economics, UC Berkeley under the supervision of Edward Miguel from September - November 2024
Presented at CDES Sustainable Development Conference 2024, Prato, Italy in June 2024
Presented at 13th Edition of the Summer School in Development Economics at the Italian Association of Development Economists (SITES), Prato, Italy in June 2024
Presented at 19th Australasian Development Economics Workshop (ADEW) at the University of Melbourne, Australia in June 2024
Presented at 14th Australasian Public Choice Conference at Deakin University, Australia in December 2023
Website: Inspired by Gautam Rao.
