Anita Rao

Biography

Anita Rao is an empirical marketing researcher with broad interests in the domains of digital technology, regulation and public policy. In one stream of research, she studies how changes brought about by the digital world impact the pricing and distribution of consumer goods. In another stream, she studies the interplay of regulation and law on consumer behavior and marketing actions of firms.

Her recent papers include “Demand for “Healthy” Products: False Claims and FTC Regulation” published in Journal of Marketing Research and “Strategic R&D Investment Decisions in the Pharmaceutical Industry,” published in Marketing Science.

Rao holds a PhD in marketing from Stanford University and a MS in transportation engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned a Bachelor of Technology in civil engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), in Madras, India.

Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked in the Customer and Brand Science practice at Mercer Management Consulting.

Research Interests

Quantitative marketing, empirical industrial organization, online content, digital distribution, emerging markets, research and innovation intensive industries.

Academic Areas

• Marketing