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Dilip Mookherjee Mookherjee
Dilip Mookherjee teaches economics at Boston University, where he has been serving as Director of the Institute for Economic Development since 1998. He is currently President of BREAD. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, and has been recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Mahalanobis Memorial Medal of the Indian Econometric Society. His current research interests are development economics, contract and organisation theory, and the Indian economy. Current projects include effectiveness of new forms of microfinance and provision of price information to farmers; land acquisition for industrialisation and compensation of displaced farmers; effects of reforms in bankruptcy and contract enforcement laws on credit markets; land reforms; deforestation; government accountability; decentralisation; trade middlemen and effects of globalisation; and theories of education, inequality and development.
Middleman margins and market structure in West Bengal potato supply chains
Potato farmers in West Bengal sell to local middlemen because they lack direct access to wholesale markets. Middleman margins are large and there is negligible pass-through from wholesale to farm-gate prices. Farmers are uninformed about downstream wholesale and retail prices. This column finds that providing farmers with wholesale price information has negligible average effects on farm-gate sales and revenues, but increases pass-through from wholesale to farm-gate prices.
कृषि कानून: कृषि विपणन निजीकरण के लिए कार्य-योजना
कृषि विपणन में मुक्त बाजार प्रतिस्पर्धा को कथित रूप से बढ़ावा देने वाले कृषि कानूनों के सार पर ध्यान केंद्रित करते हुए दिलीप मुखर्जी एपीएमसी (कृषि उपज विपणन समिति) मंडियों के सुधार की आवश्यकता पर जोर देते हैं। उनके अनुसार निष्पक्ष प्रतिस्पर्धा सुनिश्चित करने, विवादों को सुलझाने और छोटे किसानों के अवसरवादी शोषण को रोकने के लिए प्रभावी विनियामक बुनियादी ढांचे का निर्माण करते हुए, खरीदारों और विक्रेताओं के बीच सीधे लेन-देन की अनुमति देना एक समझदारीपूर्ण तरीका होगा।
Farm laws: Roadmap for agricultural marketing privatisation
Focussing on the essence of the farm laws, which purportedly seek to promote free market competition in agricultural marketing, Dilip Mookherjee emphasises the need for reform of APMC (Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee) mandis. In his view, the sensible way forward would be to permit direct transactions between buyers and sellers, while building effective regulatory infrastructure to ensure fair competition, arbitrate disputes, and prevent opportunistic exploitation of small farmers
Moving past the mandis: A revolution waiting to happen
A revolution in agricultural marketing organisation in Gansu province in China led to a 50% increase in potato yields within the past 15 years. In this article, Dilip Mookherjee, Professor of Economics at Boston University, contends that the time is opportune for a similar transformation in agricultural marketing in India in order to increase outputs and farmers’ incomes.
Transforming Indian agriculture: The role of credit policy
Despite various policy attempts at priority sector lending to poor farmers, very little progress has been made on the ground, suggesting problems in the design and implementation of these policies. In this article, Amartya Lahiri and Dilip Mookherjee and explore where the problem really lies and what can be done to address the issues.
Financial inclusion for agricultural growth: An alternative approach
Traditional, group-based microcredit has had limited success at enabling farmers to expand the cultivation of risky but profitable cash crops. Evidence suggests that this is mainly because of its mechanisms for borrower selection and enforcement of repayment. This column proposes a new approach that leverages local intermediaries and aligns their incentives with farmer profits, to generate better outcomes for agricultural production and incomes.
Community networks and the growth of private enterprise in China
China has witnessed the same degree of industrialisation in three decades as Europe did in two centuries – without the preconditions that are generally believed to be necessary for economic development, that is, effective legal systems or well-functioning financial institutions. Analysing unique administrative data on the universe of registered firms in the country, this article shows that community networks organised around the birth county paved the way for entrepreneurs to flourish.
Community origins of industrial entrepreneurship: Theory and historical evidence from India
The transition from agriculture to trade and the subsequent transition from trade to manufacturing are key stages in the development process. In countries where a substantial manufacturing sector exists, a few small communities often dominate it.
An economist’s view on recent domestic and world events
Dilip Mookherjee spoke to Hindu Business Line at length on a variety of issues including demonetisation, the upcoming Budget, and the Trump Presidency’s impact on the world economy.
A 'new' land reform policy in India?
The Ministry of Rural Development has recently issued a draft of a new National Land Reform Policy. In this article, Dilip Mookherjee discusses the key features, and presents his views on the pros and cons of the draft policy.
The Land Acquisition Bill
Will the new Land Acquisition Bill make protests like those in Singur and Bhatta-Parsaul a thing of the past? Will it make land acquisition so expensive and difficult that the pace of industrialisation will suffer? Will it achieve justice? Development? Neither? Experts from academia and industry examine a piece of legislation that is likely to have far reaching consequences for the future of the country.
The Land Acquisition Bill
Will the new Land Acquisition Bill make protests like those in Singur and Bhatta-Parsaul a thing of the past? Will it make land acquisition so expensive and difficult that the pace of industrialisation will suffer? Will it achieve justice? Development? Neither? Experts from academia and industry examine a piece of legislation that is likely to have far reaching consequences for the future of the country.
Developing a Land Acquisition Policy for India
The Land Acquisition Bill is a key piece of legislation under consideration in the Indian Parliament. This column argues that the current policy on compensating landowners, as proposed in the Bill, is misguided and could adversely affect the pace and character of future growth in India. It draws lessons from economic theory as well as the failed land acquisition experience in Singur to propose a workable model for determining appropriate compensation for land acquisition.
प्रत्यक्ष लाभ हस्तांतरण कार्यक्रमों का विकेन्द्रीकृत लक्ष्यीकरण : एक पुनर्मूल्यांकन
'डिसेंट्रलाइज्ड गवर्नेंस : क्राफ्टिंग इफेक्टिव डेमोक्रेसीज़ अराउंड द वर्ल्ड' में दिलीप मुखर्जी कल्याण कार्यक्रमों के विकेन्द्रीकरण के खिलाफ राजनीतिक ग्राहकवाद और अभिजात वर्ग के कब्ज़े की घटनाओं सहित कुछ तर्क प्रस्तुत करते हैं और हाइब्रिड ‘पुनर्केन्द्रीकरण’ पहल के लिए विकासशील देशों द्वारा किए गए प्रयासों का सारांश प्रस्तुत करते हैं। प्रत्यक्ष लाभ हस्तांतरण (डीबीटी) योजना गलत आवंटन और भ्रष्टाचार की गुंजाइश को सीमित कर सकते हैं, इसे स्वीकारते हुए वे स्थानीय झटकों और राजकोषीय संघवाद के लिए केन्द्रीकरण के प्रति प्रतिक्रिया की डीबीटी की क्षमता की जांच करते हैं।
Decentralised targeting of transfer programmes: A reassessment
Ahead of the release of ‘Decentralised Governance: Crafting Effective Democracies Around the World’, Dilip Mookherjee brings together some of the arguments against decentralisation of welfare programmes, including the incidence of political clientelism and elite capture, and summarises attempts made by developing countries to undertake hybrid ‘recentralisation’ initiatives. While acknowledging that direct benefit transfer (DBT) programmes can limit the scope for misallocation and corruption, he probes the ability of DBTs to be responsive to localised shocks and recentralisation’s implications for fiscal federalism.
ड्यूएट: रोजगार सृजन को शहरी स्थानीय निकायों में विकेंद्रीकृत करना
दिलीप मुखर्जी रोजगार सृजन को शहरी स्थानीय निकायों में विकेंद्रीकृत करने के ज्यां द्रेज़ के सुझाव का समर्थन करते हैं और कहते हैं कि अभी तक शहरी स्थानीय सरकार के अशक्त स्वभाव के कारण शहरी नवीकरण, स्वच्छता और सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य की उपेक्षा की गयी है। हालांकि वित्त-पोषण के साथ-साथ भ्रष्टाचार के मुद्दों और राजनीतिकरण की संभावना पर भी गहन विचार करने की आवश्यकता है।
DUET: Decentralise employment generation to urban local bodies
Dilip Mookherjee supports Drèze’s suggestion to decentralise employment generation to urban local bodies, and contends that the moribund nature of urban local government is a key reason for the neglect of urban renewal, sanitation, and public health so far. However, more thought needs to be devoted to issues of corruption and potential for politicisation, as well as funding.
Response to the Bhagwati-Panagariya rejoinder on MNREGA
In a recent article, Abreu et al. refuted the Bhagwati-Panagariya argument for phasing out MNREGA in favour of cash transfers. In this article, Abreu et al. respond to claims in a rejoinder by Bhagwati-Panagariya, regarding net benefits of MNREGA employment, the self-selection feature of the programme, and rural asset creation.
Turn Right or Left? Or is there a middle way?
Dilip Mookherjee shares his perspective on the recent Bhagwati versus Sen debate. While Sen represents the pro-state-led assistance stand and Bhagwati is seen as pro-market, what India requires is the right combination of prescriptions from both camps to effectively combat poverty.
Economic policy agenda for India in 2013
What should the priorities be for economic policymakers in India in the coming year? This column emphasises the need for greater transparency, and improved governance and regulation for reviving economic growth in 2013.
Political Clientelism and Government Accountability in West Bengal: Theory and Evidence
This project provide a theory of political clientelism, which explains sources and determinants of political clientelism, the relationship between clientelism and elite capture, and their respective consequences for allocation of public services, welfare and empirical measurement of government accountability in service delivery.
Land Acquisition for Business and Compensation of Displaced Farmers
This project addresses the question of how farmers displaced by acquisition of agricultural land for the purpose of industrialisation ought to be compensated. Prior to acquisition, the farmers are leasing in land from a landlord, either a private owner or a local government.
(Mis)Leading attack on MNREGA
Bhagwati and Panagariya have argued for phasing out MNREGA in favour of cash transfers. In this article, Abreu et al. contend that the argument is based on inflating the costs of the programme and deflating the benefits. While they do not claim that all is well with MNREGA, they believe it needs better governance, not slow suffocation.
MNREGA: Populist leaky bucket or successful anti-poverty programme?
MNREGA – the world’s largest workfare programme - formed the backbone of the UPA government’s anti-poverty programme, and may well represent its most important legacy in the long run. This column reviews various studies on its performance, and provides a perspective on its broader macroeconomic effects. It argues that while MNREGA was far from perfect in terms of implementation, it was much more effective than other existing schemes in benefitting the poor.
Potato Traders in West Bengal: A Survey of Contractual Relations and Market Structure
This study consists of a pilot survey of a random subset of phorias (middlemen) and larger traders who operate in 72 villages of West Medinipur and Hugli districts in West Bengal and their corresponding potato markets.
Middleman Margins, Credit and Information Constraints: Potato Markets in West Bengal, India
This project investigates how potato farmers in West Bengal sell their crop to local traders, the determinants of farm-gate prices and margins earned by traders. Specifically, it examines the role of asymmetric information regarding prices in neighbouring wholesale markets where local traders resell these potatoes.
Automation and inequality
Public discourse around automation has seen some take a fairly alarmist view – with concerns around its impact on employment, wages, the labour share of national income, and inequality. Others take a more optimistic view – that short-run turbulence and long-run increases in welfare are the typical outcomes of any technological change. In this context, Dilip Mookherjee (Boston University) speaks with Pascual Restrepo (Boston University) to discuss the evidence around the developed and developing country experience with automation, and whether the optimistic or alarmist view is bearing out in reality. Prof Restrepo outlines the definition of automation technology – differentiating it from ‘augmenting’ technologies – and contends, that like most things in economics, the answer lies somewhere in the middle of the alarmist and optimist views. They foray into discussing evidence on automation and technological change for developed countries: decline in the labour share of national income,,,
Automation and inequality
Public discourse around automation has seen some take a fairly alarmist view – with concerns around its impact on employment, wages, the labour share of national income, and inequality. Others take a more optimistic view – that short-run turbulence and long-run increases in welfare are the typical outcomes of any technological change. In this context, Dilip Mookherjee (Boston University) speaks with Pascual Restrepo (Boston University) to discuss the evidence around the developed and developing country experience with automation, and whether the optimistic or alarmist view is bearing out in reality. Prof Restrepo outlines the definition of automation technology – differentiating it from ‘augmenting’ technologies – and contends, that like most things in economics, the answer lies somewhere in the middle of the alarmist and optimist views. They foray into discussing evidence on automation and technological change for developed countries: decline in the labour share of national ...
Deforestation in the Himalayas: Myths and reality
It is widely believed that the extent of deforestation in developing countries is large and growing over time, and that this has significant adverse effects on local livelihoods. This column presents findings of a study of the mid-Himalayan region, and contends that forest degradation, not deforestation is the key problem. It discusses the determinants of degradation and what can be done to limit it.
On research in development economics
In an interview with a student at Fudan University, China, Dilip Mookherjee (Member of the I4I Editorial Board) discusses Chinese growth; India-China comparison; and research in development economics.
Case study on successful land acquisitions in Bihar
This project addresses the question of compensation policies for rural communities that lose their traditional lands and livelihoods to make way for business (e.g., industry, commercial agriculture, urban development). The empirical study surveys households in affected areas as well as neighbouring non-affected areas in order to estimate the income losses for the former and assess the suitability of compensations offered by the government in relation to their losses.