MA (Economics), First Class First 

UGC Research Fellow.

Nationality: Indian

Research Area: International Economics, Development Economics,

                               Economics of Corruption.               

Languages known: Bengali (native), English, German, Hindi.

  E-mail Address: biswas.amitk@gmail.com, amitkbiswas@yahoo.com, 

                              amitkumar.biswas@visva-bharati.ac.in

  Webpage:  http://www.visvabharati.ac.in/AmitKumarBiswas.html

Official Address in India: 

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS & POLITICS , VISVA-BHARATI, SANTINIKETAN,

WEST BENGAL - 731235, INDIA.

  Permanent Residential Address in India:

  BLOCK: A; SECTOR: 9; PLOT NO. 321; POST: KALYANI; DISTRICT: NADIA; 

  WEST BENGAL; PIN: 741235; INDIA

 Academic Achievements:

Awarded with the prestigious Research Group Linkage Programme project by the Alexander von Humboldt foundation in association with the University of Bonn of Euro 55,000 funded by the Ministry of Education and Research, Government of Germany (2018 - 23). 

Project Title: Trade Data Fabrication and Possible Capital Flight: Experiences from India and other Developing Countries.

May 2016 – August 2016: Renewed Research Stay at the Institute for International Economic Policy, University of Bonn, Germany as a part of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Alumni Programme.

May 2014 – August 2014: Visiting Fellow at Technological University of  Dresden, Germany under ICSSR - DFG bilateral research programme in Social Science. 

Awarded with highly prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship to pursue Post-Doctoral research in Germany for 28 months (December 2008 - March 2011).

Scholarship to attend 3rd Summer School on Competition Policy and Market Regulation at Milan, Italy (September 7 -12, 2009).

One of best presentation awards at Russian Summer School on Institutional Analysis, Moscow, Russia (July 1 - 6, 2010).

Awarded with prestigious Junior Research Fellowship by University Grants Commission, India to pursue Doctoral Studies (1998 - 2002). 

Travel Grant award to attend 5th GTAP conference at Taipei, Taiwan (2002).

One of the Gold Medal finalists at 4th GDN conference at Cairo, Egypt (2003).

Awarded with fellowship to attend GTAP short course at IGIDR, Mumbai (2006).

First Class First in MA (Economics) Examination (1997).

PhD  Information

 PhD degree awarded on October 7, 2005. Completed PhD with University Grants Commission (UGC) research fellowship in International Trade at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC) and registered at the University of Kalyani, India.

Thesis Title: Policy Induced Distortions in Official Trade Statistics: Theory, Measurements and Corrections.

PhD Supervisor:  Dr. Sugata Marjit, RBI Professor of Industrial Economics, CSSSC, India.

  Teaching and Research Experience

1. 2017 - continuing: Professor of Economics at Department of Economics & Politics, Visva-Bharati  University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India.

Courses taught: International Trade, Public Finance, Economics of Corruption.

2. 2004 - 2014: Assistant/ Associate Professor of Economics at Department of Economics & Politics, Visva-Bharati  University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India.

Courses taught: International Trade, Public Finance, Economics of Corruption.

3. October 2022: Visiting Fellow at  Institute for International Economic Policy, University  of Bonn, Germany.

4. May 2019 - July 2019: Visiting Fellow at  Institute for International Economic Policy, University  of Bonn,Germany.

5. May 2018 - July 2018: Visiting Fellow at  Institute for International Economic Policy, University of Bonn,Germany.

6. May 2016 - August 2016: Visiting Fellow at  Institute for International Economic Policy, University of Bonn,Germany as a part of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation´s Renewed Research Stay. 

7. May 2014 - August 2014: Visiting Fellow, Department of Economics, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany.

 8. 2009 - 2011: Faculty and Alexander von Humboldt Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department f Economics,  Technische Universität Dresden, Saxony, Germany.

Courses taught: International Trade, Economics of Corruption.

 9. 2005 - 2007: Guest Faculty at Department of Economics, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India and at Institute of Population and Agricultural Research (INSPARC), University of Kalyani, India. 

Courses taught: Public Economics, Statistics.

 10. 2002 - 2004: Lecturer and Head, Department of Economics, Panskura Banamali College, West Bengal, India.

Courses taught: Micro Economics, International Trade.

11. 1999 - 2002: Project Associate at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta in different projects. 

Publication:

Journal Articles:

1. Mis-invoicing and Trade Policy (with Sugata Marjit), Journal of Policy Reforms, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2005 (Rutledge).

2. Preferential Trade and Mis-invoicing: Some Analytical Implications (with Sugata Marjit), International Review of Economics and Finance, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2007 (Elsevier Inc).

3. Informality, Corruption and Trade Reform (with S. Marjit & S. Ghosh), European Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 23, 2007 (Elsevier Inc).

4. Minimize Regulations to Regulate – Extending the Lucas Critique (with Marjit & Beladi), Economic Modelling, Volume 25/4, 2008 (Elsevier Inc).

5. Tariffs and Imports Mis-invoicing under Oligopoly (with S. Sengupta), Economics and Politics, Volume 23/2, 2011 (Wiley-Blackwell).

6. Import Tariff Led Export Under-invoicing: A Paradox, Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, Volume 21/ 3, 2012 (Rutledge).

7. Pollution, Shadow Economy & Corruption: Theory & Evidence (with M.R. Frazanegan & M. Thum), Ecological Economics, Volume 75/ C, 2012 (Elsevier Inc). 

8. The Problem of Choosing True Trade Statistics: The ‘Actual’ – ‘Official’ Puzzle, Open Eye, December, 2014.

9. Corrupt Importers, Domestic Producers & Welfare: Role of Trade Policy, (with S. Sengupta), Economics & Politics, Volume 27/3, 2015, (Wiley-Blackwell).

10. Women Empowerment in India: Role of State Policies, (with R. Sanyal), Palli Charcha (Indian Journal of Rural Studies), Visva-Bharati Press, 2016.

11. Corruption, Environmental Regulation and Market Entry, (with M. Thum), Environment and Development Economics, Vol. 22/1, February, 2017 (Cambridge University Press).

12. Trade Mis-Invoicing Between India & USA: An Empirical Exercise (with S. Das), Foreign Trade Review, Vol. 56/1, 2021 (Sage).

13. COVID 19 Outbreak and the Saga of Migrant Workers (with D. Dey), PBC Journal of Economics, Vol. 1/1, January, 2021.

14. Quality and Determinants of Primary Education in India (with S. Das), Indian Journal of Human Development, Vol. 15/2, 2021 (Sage).

15. FDI Mismatch, Trade Mis-reporting and Hidden Capital Movements: The USA - China Case (with J v Hagen & S Sarkar), Journal of International Money and Finance, Vol. 120, February, 2022 (Elsevier).

16. Trade Data Falsification & Informal Capital Movement: A Study of Bangladesh with Major Asian Trade Partners (with S K Das), Foreign Trade Review, September 2022 (Sage).

17. Can authorities curtail falsified trade & investment data that hide capital movements? Evidence from flows between BRICS and the USA (with S Das), Journal of Policy Modeling, September 2023 (Elsevier).

18. The Drivers of India's Agricultural Trade: A Study Based on Major Crops (with L Gohain), Journal of Quantitative Economics, 2024 (Springer).

19. Abate, Bribe or Quit: Firms’ Decision in the Presence of Environmental Regulation, Informality and Corruption (with S Sengupta), Environment and Development Economics, 2025 (Cambridge University Press).

20. Falsified Trade Statistics and Substantial Capital Fled: Evidence from Bangladesh with Top OECD Partners (with S K Das), accepted, Journal of Quantitative Economics, 2025 (Springer).

21. Trade Misreporting between India and the USA:  Hidden Capital Flows and Tariff Evasion (with S Das & J v Hagen), accepted Open Economies Review, 2026 (Springer).

SSRN e-Journal Working Paper (Elsevier & Scopus)

22. Gains from Trade & WTO: A Study of Major Indian Industries (with R Deb). 2017. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3061131 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3061131.

23. Curious Case of Bilateral Trade Data Mismatch between India & the USA: Theory & Evidence (with S Das). 2020. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3646942 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3646942.

24. Hidden Capital Movements through Falsified Trade & FDI Data: Empirics and Theory Comprising BRICS & the USA (with S Das). 2021. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3912448 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3912448.

25. Trade Mis-Invoicing & Welfare Optimisation: Role of Policy Instruments (with S Das), 2022, available at https://ssrn.com/abstract=4138647 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4138647.

26. An Enquiry into the Trade Misreporting Scenario in Bangladesh with India as Partner (with S K Das). 2021. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4041194 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4041194.

27. The Drivers of India’s Agricultural Trade: A Study Based on Major Crops (with L Gohain). 2022. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4039470 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4039470.

28. Trade Misreporting and Capital Flight: A Study of Bangladesh with Major OECD Export Partner Countries (with S K Das). 2022. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3877569 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3877569.

29. Incidence of Crime and its Determinants: A Study on Indian States (with Upal Das). 2023. Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4472648 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4472648. 

30. Abate, Bribe or Quit: Firms’ Decision in the Presence of Environmental Regulation, Informality & Corruption (with Sarbajit Sengupta). 2023. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4614127 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4614127 

31. Determinants of Crime in India: A District level Analysis  (with Upal Das). 2025. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5209604 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5209604 

Working Papers:

32. Rural Pollution, Informal Sector and Bureaucratic Corruption, UGC – SAP working paper, Department of Economics & Politics, Visva-Bharati, India, 2013.

33. Import Competition and Rural Industries: The Role of Tariff Protection, SAP working paper, Department of Economics & Politics, Visva-Bharati, India, 2014.

34. Tariff and Import Under-invoicing: Fixed vs. Flexible Exchange Rates, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany, 2014.

35. NREGS and Capital Formation in Rural India, (with R. Sanyal), Department of Economics & Politics, Visva-Bharati, India, 2014.

36. NREGS and Indian Fiscal Discipline: An Analysis, (with R. Sanyal), Department of Economics & Politics, Visva-Bharati, India, 2015.

37. Misinvoicing Trade & Informal Capital Movements: The USA - India Case (with Sugata Marjit & Sandip Sarkar), 2019.

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Seminars/Conferences/2019/03/25/7th-statistical-forum

38. Trading Mis-reporting, FDI and Capital Flight: A Case of the USA – India Trade (with Sandip Sarkar & Juergen von Hagen), 2019.

39. Revealed Comparative Advantage in Indian Agricultural Trade (with Lekha Rani Gohain), 2021.

40. Exchange Rate Volatility, Structural Break and Indian Agricultural Trade (with Lekha Rani Gohain), 2021.

41. Misreporting of Trade Statistics and GDP Miscalculation in Bangladesh (with Samir Kumer Das), 2021.

Book/Chapters and MonographS:

42. Black Market for Foreign Exchange and Capital Flight, in Chatterjee & Roychowdhury (Ed.) 'Trade, Finance & Development', Deep & Deep Publication, New Delhi, India, 2004.

43. Review of Foreign Trade Data in LDC: Role of Policy Instruments, VDM, 2010. ISBN 978-3-639-24488-5.

44. Agriculture, Trade and Foreign Investments: The Indian Experience, (2014), LAP Lambert, ISBN 978-3-659-52461-5.

45. Import Mis-Invoicing and Economic Policy Under Oligopoly as a Prerequisite for the Formation of Corrupt Components (With S. Sengupta), (2014), in Mironov, Y.I. (Ed.) “Actual Problems Of Anti-Corruption: Collective Monograph”, Volgograd Scientific Publishing House (Russia), ISBN 978-5-906081-95-7.

46. Data Falsification: A Serious Problem in International Trade in Egorov G. (Ed.) “Actual Problems of Legal Theory and Practice”, Volgograd Scientific Publishing House, Russia (2016). ISBN 978-5-00072-170-4.

47. Kautilya’s Arthasashtra: A Beckon that Might Solve Present Policy Dilemmas (with R Biswas) in Saha et al. (Ed.) "Revival of Indian Knowledge System A Boost to Holistic Education", Vistaar Publication (July, 2024), ISBN: 978-81-971709-2-8.

48. Architecting the State Economy: Sheer Relevance of Kautilya’s Arthashastra in Modern Times  (with R Biswas) in Saha & Saha (Ed.) Bharatiya Bodh Anweshan: An Inquiry into Indian Consciousness, Vidya Bharati Uchcha Shiksha Sansthan, West Bengal, March 2026, pp 139 – 156, ISBN: 978-81-942082-7-3. 

Conference Volumes:

49. Preferential Trade, Mis-invoicing and Capital Flight, 5th GTAP Conference Volume, 2002, Taipei, Taiwan.

50. Import Tariff led Export Under-invoicing, Proceedings of the XV SIGEF International Conference, Lugo, Spain, 2009. ISBN: 978-84-613-5575-4.

Magazine Articles:

51. Foreign Investment in India: Scopes, Opportunities and Challenges, four-volume article, Dukool (du-kool.com), USA, 2013.

Article in Bengali:

52. Poribesh, Durniti ebong Dushan, Arthabishleshan, Vol 4/2, 2016 (Dey’s Publishers)

Journal Refereeing:

Southern Economic Journal, Manchester School, Economic Systems, Economic Journal of Policy Reforms, Ecological Economics, Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, International Political Science Review, Quarterly Review of Economics & Finance, The World Economy, Indian Economic Journal, Journal of International Money and Finance, Journal of Social and Economic Development, PLOS One, International Economics and Economic Policy, Environment and Development Economics, Journal of Social and Economic Development.

Participation in Workshop/Training programme:

1. Refresher Course in Economics at University of Kalyani from 19.2 – 12.3.2004.     

2. World Bank sponsored Refresher Course in Public Economics at NIPFP, N. Delhi from 6.6. –  2.7.2005      

3. GTAP sponsored Training Programme in CGE modeling at IGIDR, Mumbai from 18 – 24.2.2006    

4. Summer School  in Economics at University Milano, Italy from 7.9. – 12.9.2010.

5. Training Programme on Economics of Corruption at University Of Passau, Germany from 10.10. – 17.10.2009 

6. University of Paris Quest sponsored ESNIE Workshop at Cargése, France from 30.5. – 4.6.2010.          

7. Summer School in Institutional Economics at Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia from 2 – 7.7.2010.   

8. Summer School on Advanced Economics & Econometrics at University of Crete, Greece from 1 – 8.8.2010.  

9. Refresher Course in Economics at University of Calcutta from 11 – 30.7.2011. 

10. Workshop on Public Economics at Technological University of Dresden, Germany from July 14 – 19, 2014.

11. Workshop on Microeconomics at University of Bonn, Germany from June 6 – 17, 2016.

12. Workshop on Microeconomics at University of Bonn, Germany from July 7 – 27, 2018.

13. Workshop on Microeconomics at University of Bonn, Germany from October 12 – 16, 2022.

Papers selected and/or presented at the following international conferences:

1) Conference on Exchange Rates etc, at Ryerson University, Canada (May, 2002).

2) Fifth Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis, at Taiwan (June, 2002).

3) Sixth METU/ERC Conference in Economics in Turkey (September, 2002).

4) IBER Conference, at Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (October, 2002).

5) Fourth GDN Conference at Egypt, Cairo (19 – 21, January, 2003).

6) SANEI Conference, held in Dhaka, Bangladesh (August, 2003).

7) Sixth Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis, Netherlands (June, 2003).

8) Eighth Conference on International Economics in Spain (September, 2003).

9) Second International Conference on International Economics at Hong Kong (August 21 – 22, 2003).

10) Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis, Washington, DC (June, 2004).

11) 7th INFER Annual Conference 2005 in London (October 7-9, 2005).

12) GTAP South Asia conference at Rawalpindi, Pakistan (March 29-31, 2007).

13) International INFER - HUB - GGS conference at Brussels, Belgium (August 20 - 22, 2009).

14) 3rd Summer School on Competition Policy and Market Regulation at Milan, Italy (September 7 -12, 2009).

15) 9th Workshop on Economics of Corruption at Passau, Germany (October 10 - 17, 2009).

16) INFER Workshop on Sustainability at Klagenfurt University, Austria (October, 2009).

17) XV SIGEF International Conference, Lugo, Spain (October 29 - 31, 2009).

18) Conference on 'Shadow Economy', Potsdam, Germany (April 15 - 16, 2010).

19) ESNIE international conference and workshop, Carge'se, France (May 30 - June 5, 2010).

20) 13th GTAP Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, (June 9 - 11, 2010).

21) Russian Summer School on Institutional Analysis, Moscow, Russia (July 1 - 6, 2010).

22) Warsaw International Economic Meeting, Warsaw, Poland (July 2 - 4, 2010).

23) International Conference on Economic Modeling, 'ECOMOD 2010', Istanbul, Turkey (July 7 - 10, 2010).

24) 5th Advanced Summer School in Economics and Econometrics, Rethymno, Crete, Greece (August 1 - 8, 2010).

25) International Conference on Economics - Turkish Economic Association (ICE-TEA), Girne, Turkey (September 1 - 3, 2010).

26) European Trade Study Group (ESTG) conference, Laussane, Switzerland (September 9 - 11, 2010).

27) International Trade and Academic Research conference, London, United Kingdom (November 28 - 30, 2010).

28) International Colloquium at Technische Universität Dresden, Germany, July, 2014.

29) International Colloquium at University of Bonn, Germany, May, 2016.

30) International Colloquium at University of Bonn, Germany, June, 2016.

31) International Colloquium at University of Bonn, Germany, July, 2016.

32) International Colloquium at University of Bonn, Germany, June, 2018.

33) International Colloquium at University of Marburg, Germany, June, 2018.

34) International Colloquium at University of Bonn, Germany, May, 2019.

35) International Colloquium at University of Bonn, Germany, October, 2022.

36) International Colloquium at University of Bonn, Germany, October, 2022.

Paper presented at the following national conferences:

Annual Conference on Development Economics at Jadavpur University in 2001.

2nd MME (Models & Methods in Economics) Conference at ISI, in 2002.

3rd MME Conference at ISI, Kolkata in 2003.

4th MME Conference at ISI, Kolkata in 2004.

5th MME Conference at ISI, Kolkata in 2005.

Greening of Indian Economy, Utkal University, Bhuvaneshwar in 2015.

Invited Lectures:

1. Conference on ‘Development & Governance’ at Visva-Bharati in November, 2011.

2. International conference on ‘Issues on Law & Environment’ at University of Kalyani in December, 2011.

3. National Conference on Trade and Development at Jadavpur University in March, 2013.

4. Seminar at Khanyan College in February, 2015.

5. Seminar at AK Dasgupta Centre, Visva-Bharati, March, 2015. 

6. Panel Discussion on Demonetization and Its Impact on Indian Economy, St. Xaviers’ College, Kolkata, 2017.

7. Doordarshan Kendra, Santiniketan on 'Green Economy and Agriculture' on August, 9, 2017.

8. Prasar Bharati, Santiniketan, live Phone-in on 'Agricultural Marketing and Prices' on November, 18, 2017.

9. Prasar Bharati, Santiniketan, on “Doubling of Farmers’ Prices” in August, 2018.

10. Institute for Studies in Industrial Development on Trade, Capital and Industry in September, 2018. 

11. Panel Discussion on "Save Visva-Bharati, Save Bengal's Future", Bengal Intellectual Group, ritambangla.com, August 29, 2020. 

12. Lecture on “Formation of Microeconomic Models from Empirical Observations” at a Faculty Development Programme at AK Dasgupta Centre, Visva-Bharati, July, 2021. 

13. Delivered a national level lecture on “Incidence and Abatement of Corruption in Development Economics” as resource person in a webinar organized by ABN Seal College, Cooch Behar, 2022.

14.  Delivered a seminar lecture on “Economics of Corruption & International Politics”, at Media Lab, Centre for Journalism & Mass Communication, Visva-Bharati, in December, 2024.

15. Delivered a seminar lecture on “The Economics & Philosophy of Incidence of Corruption in Public Domain”, at the Department of Philosophy & Religion, Visva-Bharati, in July, 2025.

Membership

AvH (Alexander von Humboldt) Foundation, Germany

GTAP (Global Trade Analysis Project), Perdue University, USA

GDN (Global Development Network), USA

ETSG (European Trade Study Group), Europe

ECOMOD (Economic Modeling), Europe.

Names and addresses of four referees:

1) Prof. Dr. Marcel Thum

Chair Professor of Public Economics

Technische Universität Dresden

Fakultät Wirtschaftswissenschaften

01062 Dresden, Germany.

Phone No: +49 351 463 35453

Email: marcel.thum@tu-dresden.de

2) Prof. Dr. Sugata Marjit

Distinguished Professor

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Commerce and Industries, India)

1583, Chowbaga Canal Side Rd, Madurdaha, Chowbaga,

Kolkata, West Bengal 700100

Phone No: +91 9831089776

E-mail: marjit@gmail.com, sugata@iift.edu

3) Prof. Dr. Juergen von Hagen

Professor of Economics

University of Bonn

Adenauerallee 24-42, D-53113, Bonn

Tel: +49 228 739199, Fax:+49 228 737953

E-mail: usi00083@uni-bonn.de, vonhagen@uni-bonn.de

4)     Prof. Dr. Krishnendu Ghosh Dastidar

Professor of Economics

Centre for Economic Studies and Planning

Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi – 110067, India.

Phone No: +91 11 26704448/ 26741296

   Email: kgd0302@mail.jnu.ac.in; kgd12@yahoo.com