Contributor : 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 Lead Academic of the India-Bihar Programme of the International Growth Centre. 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
Union Budget 2018: Unpleasant arithmetic and the art of the possible
In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak contends that while the Union Budget 2018-19 deserves some praise for signalling priorities given the constraints, it disappoints in terms of its vision of reforms.
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Maitreesh Ghatak
13 February, 2018
- Perspectives
Why 'free' speech is not always 'costless'
A recent CBI raid at the premises of the owners of NDTV has sparked off yet another round of debates about freedom of the media, the spectre of authoritarianism, and freedom of expression in India. In...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
19 July, 2017
- Perspectives
Free speech and the rule of law
In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, argues that the fight over freedom of expression in India is a shadow fight; the real fight is about preser...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
07 April, 2017
- Perspectives
The dangers that lie beneath India's IT layoffs
The ongoing layoffs in India’s IT sector are at a scale that has not been seen since the global financial crisis of 2008. In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics at LSE, contends t...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
24 March, 2017
- Articles
Notes ban: Modinomics vs. Moditics
Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, contends that while the ban on high-denomination currency notes is bad economics, it is a brilliant political move.
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Maitreesh Ghatak
23 November, 2016
- Perspectives
Nobel prize in Economics 2016: The economy as a nexus of contracts
An important line of research in microeconomics has tried to explain how the economic institutions that underpin the ‘invisible hand of the market’ actually work. The specific economic institution...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
19 October, 2016
- Perspectives
Is India ready for a universal basic income scheme?
Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics, contends that potential resources do exist to fund a universal basic income scheme, via subsidy cuts and/or raising more tax reve...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
28 September, 2016
- Perspectives
Surrogacy bill: Boon or ban(e)?
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 proposes a complete ban on commercial surrogacy and restrictions on altruistic surrogacy. In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics, London School...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
07 September, 2016
- Perspectives
Fixit, not Brexit
In a referendum on 23 June, Britain voted for its exit from the European Union. In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics, discusses the causes and likely ...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
24 June, 2016
- Perspectives
The crisis of farmer suicides
More than 15,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide per year, on average, in the last two decades – a suicide rate that appears to be higher than that of the general population. In this article,...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
04 May, 2016
- Perspectives
Union Budget 2016: A UPA-III Budget
In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, contends that the Modi government presented a reasonably good United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-III Budget ...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
04 March, 2016
- Perspectives
Bihar verdict: Development, cow politics, and caste
The Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance of JD(U)-RJD-Congress defeated the Modi-led NDA in the recent Bihar assembly elections. In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics at the London Sch...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
12 November, 2015
- Perspectives