Education
He studied mathematics at Delhi University and economics and econometrics at the London School of Economics. Bhargava received his Doctor of Philosophy in econometrics from the London School of Economics under the supervision of John Denis Sargan in 1982.
Career
He is currently a full professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. His thesis (The Theory of the Durbin–Watson Statistic with special reference to the Specification of Models in Levels as against in Differences) led to many tests for unit roots that were used in co-integration analyses. Bhargava also worked on econometric methods for longitudinal ("panel") data.
Since 1991, Bhargava has been publishing on important aspects of nutrition, food policy, population health, child development, demography, epidemiology, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and finance in developing and developed countries.
Bhargava is an associate editor of the multi-disciplinary journal Economics and Human Biology. He has held teaching positions at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University and University of Houston,and has published over 50 articles in academic journals, several of which have been very highly cited.