Dr. Srabashi RAY

Research Scientist, Luxembourg Center for Socio-Environmental Systems (LCSES)

Srabashi Ray’s research focusses on food systems transformation at the nexus of socio-environmental sustainability. She applies a Global–Local–Global (GLG) framework to sustainability science using novel modelling strategies that link local specific environmental challenges to its global drivers, enabling a comprehensive assessment of how policy interventions operate across different scales. Her work demonstrates that policies often generate market-mediated spillover effects across geographically distant regions, shaping environmental and economic outcomes in ways that are overlooked under purely local, national or regional analyses.

Leveraging her doctoral training in Applied Economics and experience working in transdisciplinary teams, Srabashi’s research integrates environmental and social dimensions of the sustainability challenge. She examines how finite natural resources can be responsibly managed to meet rising global demand and evaluates implications for farm worker welfare and economic stability, critical for resilient rural communities. Her research has made foundational contributions to highlight the role of labor markets in determining the effectiveness and distributional impacts of sustainability policies.

Srabashi’s research thus far, spans the United States (here, here and here), Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where she explored various aspects of food systems transformation in diverse contexts. At LCSES, she brings this cross-regional perspective to address Europe’s distinct sustainability challenges, leveraging interdisciplinary collaboration to inform evidence-based strategies for sustainable food systems.

Srabashi has extensive experience in teaching disciplinary (Economics) and interdisciplinary courses at different levels of learning (Bachelor’s, Masters’s and Doctoral) in the United States. At LCSES, Srabashi will develop coursework for a Master’s level curriculum on Environmental Sciences as well as supervise and mentor doctoral students interested in advanced training in fine-scale approached to sustainability science.

After completing her doctoral training in Applied Economics from Oregon State University (OSU), Srabashi was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP). As a Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Srabashi secured competitive funding from USDA-AFRI and served as a Co-PI, leading foundational analysis on the role of labor markets in shaping the impacts of environmental policies. Her collaborations with labor economists led to peer-reviewed publications that underscore labor markets as an overlooked lever for sustainability policies. Srabashi also has experience working with research institutes under the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) focused on the adoption of conservation agricultural techniques to support food and nutritional security in the Global South.

Srabashi actively contributes to the advancement of research communities through editorial, reviewing, and organizational roles. She has served as a referee for peer-reviewed journals such as World Development, Scientific Reports, Resource and Energy Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications and Applied Economics, as well as for conferences i.e., the Annual Meetings of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, and the Annual Conference for GTAP. Beyond reviewing, she contributes by organizing scholarly events at academic conferences.

Srabashi holds a doctoral degree in Applied Economics from Oregon State University, a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the Tata Institute for Social Sciences (TISS) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics.

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