Kunal Mangal is a PhD candidate in the Public Policy program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. His interests are in labor and development economics. His current research focuses on structural problems in the market for educated labor in India, and the way that public sector employment affects the private sector.

Before starting his PhD, Kunal was a Research Fellow working with Professor Khwaja on vocational skills training and property tax collector wage and audit schemes in Pakistan. He was also a Research Associate at the Centre for Microfinance. Kunal holds a BA in Economics, Mathematics, and International Studies from the University of Arizona.