Dana Kassam is a researcher at the Department of Economics, University of Mannheim. She is a Fellow of the Energy for Growth Hub and an Associate of the CESifo Network Energy and Climate Economics.

Her research is at the intersection of Energy and Environmental Economics and Development Economics, with special focus on how resources can drive growth and the externalities this growth creates. She is the author of the working paper “Does Electrification Cause Industrial Development? Grid Expansion and Firm Turnover in Indonesia” (2021), finding that electrification generates industrial development by attracting more entrants into the market and forcing less productive firms to exit more often. This translates into an increase in industrial activity and ultimately, productivity. Her ongoing work includes a study of Evaluating the Impact of Electrification on Kenyan Households using Meter-Level Data.

Dana holds a Ph.D. and MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics as well as a BA in Economics from the American University of Beirut.