Kaushik Basu

Kaushik Basu is a nonresident senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program. He is also a professor of economics and Carl Marks professor at Cornell University; and former chief economist of the World Bank and chief economic adviser to the Indian Government. He currently serves as President of the International Economic Association. Basu’s research interest spans development economics, welfare economics, game theory, and industrial organization. As a policymaker, he was engaged in macro fiscal policymaking, multilateral policy coordination, and development policy work in several continents.

Basu was a professor at the Delhi School of Economics, where in 1992 he founded the Centre for Development Economics and served as its first Executive Director. He is also a founding member of the Madras School of Economics. He was the fourth President of the Human Development and Capabilities Association. He has held advisory posts with the ILO, the Reserve Bank of India, and was a member of the steering committee of the Expert Group of Development Issues set up by the Swedish Government. He has also served as member of the Board of Directors of the Exim Bank of India.

Basu is the author of “An Economist in the Real World” and “The Republic of Beliefs,” among other books. He is a contributor to Project Syndicate and Mint, and has contributed popular articles to magazines and newspapers, such as The New York Times, Scientific American, India Today, and Business Standard. He also wrote a regular column for BBC News Online and has appeared on various television programs including CNN (USA), NDTV and CNBC (India), and BBC.

He holds a B.A. in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, an M.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics, a Ph.D. of Economics, from the London School of Economics, and several honorary degrees, including doctorates from IIT Bombay, Fordham University New York, Bath University, England, and the University of Florence.