Avinash is interested in the intersection of environmental economics with development and education settings. He graduated from Carleton College, Magna Cum Laude, with a B.A. in Economics, where he received the Ada M. Harrison Prize in Economics. His senior thesis on the value-added of Grade 13 in Ontario was awarded best undergraduate thesis in Minnesota by the Minnesota Economics Association. Prior to starting his Ph.D., Avi worked as a research assistant on the microeconomic studies team at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.