Editorial : Profile
Maitreesh Ghatak was educated at the Presidency College, University of Calcutta, Delhi School of Economics, and Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1996. He has been Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics since 2004, having earlier taught at the University of Chicago. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Development Economics since 2009 and the Director of the research programme Economic Organization and Public Policy (EOPP) at STICERD, LSE since 2006. Earlier he was the Managing Editor of the Review of Economic Studies, and a Co-Editor of the Economics of Transition. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of BREAD, and a Co-Editor of Economica. He is a founder member of the research networks Theoretical Research in Development (ThReD) and Non-Profits, Governments, and Organisations (NGO). His areas of research interest are development economics, economics of contracts and organisations, and public economics. Current projects include the role of market structure in microfinance, land acquisition and compensation for displaced farmers, non-profits and social enterprise, and incentives and organisation design in public service delivery.
Posts by Maitreesh Ghatak
Moving beyond the growth-versus-redistribution debate
The two dominant narratives on the state of the Indian economy – one centred on growth and the other on poverty – are in a constant state of conflict. In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor...
- Maitreesh Ghatak
- 14 August, 2015
Land acquisition Act: Addressing both justice and prosperity
The Modi government’s land acquisition ordinance did away with the consent and social impact assessment requirements for private projects in certain sectors under UPA’s 2013 land Act. In this art...
- Maitreesh Ghatak Parikshit Ghosh
- 29 July, 2015
Land acquisition debate: The price is not right
The central government’s move to amend the 2013 land acquisition Act has come under criticism for being ‘anti-farmer’. In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak and Parikshit Ghosh argue that while the...
- Maitreesh Ghatak Parikshit Ghosh
- 31 March, 2015
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 Bhagwa...
- Dilip Abreu Pranab Bardhan Maitreesh Ghatak Ashok Kotwal Dilip Mookherjee Debraj Ray
- 14 December, 2014
(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 de...
- Dilip Abreu Pranab Bardhan Maitreesh Ghatak Ashok Kotwal Dilip Mookherjee Debraj Ray
- 12 November, 2014
From 'Mess in India' to Made in India' as a global brand?
PM Modi recently launched the ‘Make in India’ campaign to attract investment and boost manufacturing. In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak contrasts the campaign with the Chinese model of economic g...
- Maitreesh Ghatak
- 15 October, 2014
Please weight
The latest wealth index by New World Wealth that looks at multimillionaires has ranked India eighth in the global rich list. This article contends that looking at absolute numbers may be misleading. ...
- Maitreesh Ghatak Debraj Ray
- 05 September, 2014
Mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the most dynamic state of them all?
This column analyses the economic performance of 16 major Indian states over the last three decades. It finds that Bihar has improved the most during the 2000s, Kerala has always been a star performe...
- Maitreesh Ghatak Sanchari Roy
- 23 March, 2014
The Land Acquisition Act is deeply flawed
In the second part of the Land Acquisition Act debate, Ghatak and Ghosh argue that the legislation is ill-conceived and falls short on several counts. They contend that the formula for compensation is...
- Maitreesh Ghatak Parikshit Ghosh
- 23 October, 2013
Cash Transfer versus In-Kind Transfers: A conceptual framework and preliminary evidence
This project studied the performance of a conditional cash transfer scheme called Mukhyamantri Cycle Yojana, which provides money to purchase a bicycle to every student who is enrolled in standard nin...
- Maitreesh Ghatak Sandip Mitra
- 01 June, 2013
The Chit fund crisis: Should not put all financial intermediaries in the same bracket
The government has announced a bailout package for the participants of unregulated saving schemes that have been put at risk by the current Chit fund crisis in West Bengal. In this article, Banerjee ...
- Abhijit Banerjee Maitreesh Ghatak
- 03 May, 2013
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...
- Maitreesh Ghatak Dilip Mookherjee
- 05 September, 2012