Duncan Thomas
Norb F. Schaefer Distinguished Professor of International Studies in Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Economics
Professor of Public Policy Studies
Affiliate, Duke Global Health Institute
Duncan Thomas joined Duke in 2007 with appointments in the Department of Economics and in the Duke Global Health Institute. His previous appointments include Yale, RAND and UCLA. His work primarily focuses on the behavior of individuals, households and families in very low income settings with particular emphasis on health and human capital of the population. His research explores the dynamics underlying decision-making within families, the motivations for those decisions and their consequences. Recent work has paid special attention to the impact of shocks and disasters on population well-being.
Projects
Publications
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LaFave D, Peet E, Thomas D. Farm profits, prices and household behavior. Journal of development economics. 2025 May;174:103423.Zhang YS, Frankenberg E, Thomas D. Education and Adult Cognition in a Low-Income Setting: Differences among Adult Siblings. Journal of human capital. 2025 Jan;19(2):245–79.Iwo R, Frankenberg E, Sumantri C, Thomas D. Extreme events, educational aspirations, and long-term outcomes. Population and environment. 2024 Jan;46(3):20.Lawton R, Frankenberg E, Seeman T, Crimmins E, Sumantri C, Thomas D. Exposure to the Indian Ocean Tsunami shapes the HPA-axis resulting in HPA "burnout" 14 years later. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2023 Oct;120(44):e2306497120.
See more publications at Scholars@Duke