Abbie Turiansky is a development economist with research interests in agriculture, rural development, food security, natural resources, and climate change. Turiansky designs and implements experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations and observational studies of development interventions addressing agricultural development, poverty alleviation, and other social programs.
At Mathematica, Turiansky currently serves as principal investigator for the evaluation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Small-Scale Fisheries Project, which aimed to modernize infrastructure, increase artisan fishers’ access to markets, and improve the sustainability of marine resources. She also serves as a senior analyst for the evaluation of the India Dairy Digitization project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is equipping small-scale farmers with innovative technological solutions aimed at increasing productivity and incomes. She has supported agricultural interventions focusing on irrigation, farmer training, and land reform in Burkina Faso, Uganda, Niger, and Senegal; and water, sanitation, and health projects in Cabo Verde and Zambia. Her previous research includes studies of agricultural technology adoption in Haiti, payments for environmental services in Bolivia, and community-based water management in Colombia and Nepal.
Turiansky holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of California-Davis, master’s degrees in public policy and environmental management from Duke University, and B.A. in environmental studies from Oberlin College.