In the fall of 1984, Sharma earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Hawaii.

 

Between 1984 and 1997, he held many positions, including a Senior Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance in the Nepali Government; a Senior Economist in the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore; and a Fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii. He also served as a Professor of Economics in the Centre for Economic Development and Administration at Tribhuvan University in Nepal.

 

He worked regionally and globally for many organizations, such as the UNESCAP, World Bank, and ASEAN.

 

Dr. Sharma has edited or co-authored eight books such as Energy, the Environment and the Oil Market: an Asia-Pacific Perspective in August 1995 and more than fifty articles such as Trade, Protectionism, and Industrial Adjustment in Vegetable Oils: Asian Response to North America in 1989.

 

In 1997, he joined the National Planning Commission as a member and eventually became the Vice Chairman, a post he held until 2009.

 

In 2006, he introduced the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and Medium-term Expenditure Framework.

 

In late 2009, Sharma participated in forming the Constitution Committee on "Distribution of Natural Resources, Economic Rights and Public Revenue” as part of the drafting of a new Nepalese Constitution.

 

He currently is the Immediate Past President of the East-West Center Association in Nepal and is married with two children.