Kalani Kiriveldeniya

Kalani Kiriveldeniya completed her M.S. in Agricultural Economics at Louisiana State University (LSU) in May 2026. Originally from Sri Lanka, she holds a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Peradeniya and a B.S. in Agricultural Sciences and Management, specializing in Agribusiness Management, from Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. Growing up in an agriculture-based economy, she developed a strong interest in international trade, agribusiness, global value chains, and policy analysis. 

 
Her research focuses on analyzing global trade patterns and agricultural markets using large-scale data and causal inference methods. In her M.S. thesis, “Third-Country Gains from the U.S.-China Trade War (2018-19): The Role of Pre-Tariff Exposure in Agricultural Trade Diversions,” she examined how retaliatory tariffs reallocate trade flows across countries. Using a gravity-based triple-difference-in-difference framework, the study highlights how pre-existing market conditions, such as exporter presence and importer market concentration, drive heterogeneous trade diversion effects across product categories. 

 
At LSU, Kalani served as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at LSU, supporting the course in International Agricultural Trade. She is also an active member of international student communities and serves as Treasurer of the Agricultural Economics Graduate Student Association, contributing to student engagement and departmental initiatives. 

She is pursuing research-oriented opportunities in academia, policy institutions, or industry to further develop her applied research experience before pursuing a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Through her future work, she aims to generate actionable insights that inform agricultural and trade policy and support resilient global food systems.