Research Associate (On leave)

aswathirasok@gmail.com

Aswathi Rebecca Asok is a trained economist and law graduate with nine years of experience in interdisciplinary, evidence-based, policy-oriented research. She currently serves as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Global Plastic Policy Centre (GPPC) at the University of Portsmouth. Her doctoral research—a four-paper thesis—explored multiple dimensions of the financial lives of low-income households in Kerala, India, with microfinance and gender among the key themes examined. She brings extensive experience in conducting impact evaluation studies and working collaboratively on diverse research initiatives. During her doctoral research, she played a lead academic role in a partnership project between Lendwithcare (the microfinance arm of CARE International UK) and the University of Portsmouth, evaluating the impact a microfinance programme in Ecuador and generating recommendations to strengthen programme outcomes. In her current role at GPPC, she also serves as a senior evaluator, assessing the impact of projects implemented by the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), a World Economic Forum initiative, across multiple developing countries. Her expertise bridges economic analysis, legal insight, and practical evaluation to inform and enhance impactful policy interventions.