Arhat Virdi
Lecturer in FAME
- arhat.virdi@sbs.ox.ac.uk
Saïd Business School
University of Oxford
Park End Street
Oxford
OX1 1HP
Profile
Arhat’s areas of expertise span across economics, finance, accounting, and philosophy.
He holds Lectureships in Economics at Oriel and St Catherine’s Colleges within the University of Oxford. In previous years, he held Lectureships in Economics and in Management at several Oxford colleges. Arhat serves as an adjunct member of the Economics Faculty at Hong Kong University, as well as being a Research Associate at the London School of Economics (LSE). Arhat is also a member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Prior to returning to Oxford in 2014, Arhat was a member of the senior management team at the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), working as a Director of Policy, Research and Risk; the BMA is the integrated regulator of Bermuda’s financial services industry. Previous to that, he held positions as a London School of Economics (LSE) Fellow in Economics, a Research Fellow in the Philosophy of Economics at the University of Bielefeld and a Visiting Lecturer in Economics at City University (London).
Arhat read PPE at The Queen’s College, University of Oxford, then took a Masters in Economics & Philosophy at LSE. His intention thereafter was to pursue a Doctorate in Economics, but Arhat stayed at the LSE to take a Doctorate in Philosophy instead having been seduced into wrestling important topics in the fields of Mathematical & Philosophical Logic, as well as the Philosophy of Science.
Research
Arhat is concerned to apply the kind of analytical rigour found in philosophical analysis to social scientific research generally.
His current interests are focussed on methodological issues within Economics, the possibility of objectivity in Financial Reporting, and the soundness or otherwise in thinking that Game Theory has real-world applications.
Engagement
Arhat has extensive consulting and engagement experience.
Clients have included the governments of Germany and Kazakhstan, as well as the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office. He was also enlisted by the Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission in Bermuda to construct a macroeconomic model of the Bermudian economy to assist the Commission in its recommendations to government.
Arhat is involved in the delivery of a full range of solutions to institutional and corporate clients.
Teaching
Arhat’s teaching is characterised by friendly discipline, good order and a deep study of the issues.
He teaches (and has extensive teaching experience in) a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses across his areas of expertise. He was the recipient of two consecutive years’ best economics teacher prize at the LSE. He also has a comprehensive background delivering and directing a number of Executive Education programmes.