Shagata is a PhD candidate in Economics at Georgia State University. He is an applied micro-economist and his research encompasses the fields of Development Economics, Political Economy, Public Economics, and Behavioral and Experimental Economics. His work has a strong focus on the role of group behavior, gender, ethnicity, and social norms across different societies, especially in developing countries. Using empirical analyses and field experimental methods, he attempts to answer real world policy relevant questions such as 'how to reduce the risk of default among microfinance borrowers in India,' and 'how to increase community participation to provide public goods in rural Pakistan'.