Reflections on Development Economics

International Conference on Reflections in Development Economics   2024

The Department of Economics at Presidency University held a series of lectures on Development Economics to honor the esteemed Professor Amiya Kumar Bagchi. This event was part of an International Conference titled "Reflections in Development Economics."

The conference featured a distinguished lineup of speakers, including Punarjit Roychowdhury from Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence, Shiva Sikdar from Keele Business School, Tannista Banerjee from Auburn University, Shreya Biswas from Birla Institute of Technology & Science (Pilani, Hyderabad), Aparajita Dasgupta from Ashoka University, Somdeep Chatterjee from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Souvik Banerjee from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Krittika Banerjee from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.

Lectures were conducted in four parallel sessions, providing attendees with a rich array of insights into Development Economics. The event took place on December 27, 2024 at the Department of Economics, Presidency University.

Download: Brochure, Programme

Prof. Gautam Bose, School of Economics, University of New South Wales, Sydney delivered a talk on Contest Theory on 3 May, 2023 from 3 PM at the Department. The talk was followed by interactions with the students.  Download the banner.

Professor Apurav Yash Bhatiya of Birmingham University gave an online talk on "Expected Benefits and Costs of Migration for Rural Youth: Experimental Evidence from India" on 18th April 2023 at 7 pm IST.  Download the Banner and Flyer.

Professor Arindam Mandal, Department of Economics, Siena College, USA delivered an online lecture titled "US financial crisis: Lessons for India" on 21st March, 2023 at 6.30 PM (IST). 

Abstract of the talk

The talk focusses on 2008 U.S. financial crisis by exploring the factors that lead to melt down of the U.S. financial market. Primarily focusing on role of the housing sector and the role played by financial institutions in exaggerating effects of the crisis. Finally, a comparison is drawn between the Indian and the U.S. financial sectors focusing on some of the lessons learned from the U.S. crisis.

Professor Krishnendu Ghosh Dastidar, Professor of Economics, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University delivered an online talk on "Basic Auction Theory" on 21 October 2022 from 6:30 pm IST via GoogleMeet.  Download the banner.

Abstract

This lecture provides a brief and non-technical introduction to “Auction Theory”. First, it is discussed why auctions are important. We provide some real-life examples of auctions. Subsequently, we discuss the evolution of auction theory as a discipline. Then we introduce four basic kinds of auctions and analyze the benchmark model where a single indivisible object is up for sale. Thereafter, we provide a discussion of the revenue equivalence theorem. We also discuss some issues related to the design of optimal auctions. After this we generalize the benchmark model, relax its assumptions, and analyze the interdependent value model with affiliated types. We also focus attention on common value auctions and winner’s curse. Thereafter, we proceed to analyze multi-unit auctions (where more than one unit is up for sale). It may be noted that auctions of many interrelated objects raise issues that do not come up in the analysis of "standard" single unit auction formats. We introduce various new auction formats: (i) Share Auctions (ii) Simultaneous Ascending Auction (iii) Combinatorial Clock Auctions and (iv) Incentive Auctions. We discuss the real-life applications of these auctions and the challenges and complexities of implementing them. Lastly, we provide some concluding remarks.

Professor Rajeshwari Sengupta, Associate Professor of Economics, IGIDR, Mumbai delivered a lecture on "Measuring monetary policy shocks in emerging economies: Evidence from India" at the Department on 17 August, 2022 at 3.30 PM. Download the banner.

Abstract

In this paper we provide a template for constructing monetary policy shocks for emerging economies. Our approach synthesizes high-frequency financial market data with a  narrative analysis of central bank communication and related media coverage. In the process we create a publicly available time-series database of policy dates and shocks for The Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In addition to capturing surprise changes to the RBI’s policy rate, our 0shocks suggest that financial markets infer substantial information about the future path of the policy rate from RBI communication. Bond and stock markets react strongly to these monetary shocks but exhibit notable heterogeneity across governor regimes. Finally, we use the monetary shocks as external instruments to identify the impact on macroeconomic variables. 

Prof. Gautam Bose, School of Economics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia sopke on "Development, efficiency, and the pursuit of equity " on Thursday 19th May 2022.

Dr. Manan Roy of Appalachian State University gave an online talk via Google Meet on "Partial identification and causal effect in the presence of endogeneity and measurement error" on 18th May 2022 (Wednesday) at 7.00 PM IST

The abstract of her talk is given below:

Identifying a causal relationship between a treatment (policy or program intervention) and outcome is complicated in the absence of a randomized experiment. The complications arise due to endogenous selection and misclassification errors that plague most survey data. To overcome these difficulties, a nonparametric bounds approach is a credible alternative. Utilizing weaker assumptions on the nature of selection bias and degree of misclassification (misreporting) of the treatment variable, this nonparametric approach (following Manski and others) provides tight bounds on the average treatment effect or causal effect. This method is widely applicable in the case of any binary treatment variable and binary outcome variable when selection bias and misreporting are suspected. Due to the weaker (and credible) assumptions, the method provides an upper and lower bound on the average treatment effect, instead of point estimates that require stronger assumptions. 

Mausumi Das, Professor, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi gave an online talk via Google Meet on "Culture and Market : A Macroeconomic Tale of Two Institutions" (with Priyanka Aurora) on 30 September 2021 (Thursday) at 5.30 PM

The abstract of the talk is given below:

IIn this paper we model endogenous evolution of cultural traits which is mediated through the market, and examine its impact on long run economic growth. Historically culture has played an important role in the process of economic development. Yet, economic development itself impacts upon the pre-existing cultural values and beliefs. We interact culture with market and show that such interaction may generate multiple growth trajectories depending on the initial distribution of cultural traits in the economy. In particular, an economy may end up in a culture-induced low growth trap in the long run. We also show that over time, with economic development, culture takes a back seat but its initial influence continues to impact long run outcomes. 

Video of the talk