About
Biography
Vishal Jamkar is a doctoral candidate in Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. His research encompasses the themes of critical caste and agrarian studies, as well as the political economy of development. His dissertation examines the enduring significance of access to land for caste-oppressed communities in India, bridging econometric analysis of the intergenerational impact of land reform policies with an ethnographic study of Dalit agrarian resistance in western India. His research has been supported by the ICGC-Mellon and the American Institute of Indian Studies fellowships.
Before joining graduate school, Vishal worked in the nonprofit sector as a community mobilizer with Dalit and Adivasi (“tribal”) women collectives in central India, focusing on issues of caste, gender, and economic justice. He also served in an advisory capacity for the Government of India's rural development programs and the State governments of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Vishal has been engaged in teaching courses on policy analysis (of discrimination), crime and law enforcement, applied statistics, and critical caste studies. His research experience spans regions, covering South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and the US, on the theme of policy analysis of exclusion in social welfare schemes.
Education
Master of Development Practice (University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, 2020)
Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India, 2003)
Recent Publications
Journal Articles (peer-reviewed)
Jamkar, V., Butler, M., & Current, D. (2023). Barriers and facilitators for successful community forestry: Lessons learned and practical applications from case studies in India and Guatemala. Case Studies in the Environment, 7(1), 1827932. Honorable mention in the 2023 Case Studies in the Environment Paper Prize Competition.
Butler, M., Jamkar, V., & Current, D. (2023). Understanding Facilitators and Barriers to Success: Framework for Developing Community Forestry Case Studies. Case Studies in the Environment, 7(1), 1820524.
Working Papers
Assaad, R., Jamkar, V., Krafft, C. (2024). Gender, Work, and Time Use in the Context of a Low-Income Agrarian Economy: The Case of Sudan. In Economic Research Forum, Egypt. Working Paper No. 1704. Available at this link.
Assaad, R., Boustati, A., Jamkar, V. (2022). Cash Transfers and Food Vouchers for Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Do They Reach Multidimensionally Poor? In Economic Research Forum, Egypt. Working Paper No. 1561. Available at this link.
Policy Briefs
Jamkar, V., Awad, M., & K. P., Ashwini. Land Rights as Dalit Human Rights. Submitted to the High Commissioner, United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Professional and Advocacy Publications
Jamkar, V. (2022). Inventing a Bahujan Grammar: In Memory of Abhay Xaxa. AGITATE! Volume 4: Breath and Death. Available at this link.
Jamkar, V., & Johnstone, C. (2021). Privatization and Unequal Access in India. International Higher Education, (106), 34-36. Available at this link.