Padma Desai (born October 12, 1931) is an Indian-American
development economist
Development economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural ...
who was born and studied in India before completing a PhD at Harvard in 1960. She is the Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor Emerita of
comparative economic systems
Comparative Economic Systems is the sub-classification of economics dealing with the comparative study of different systems of economic organization, such as capitalism, socialism, feudalism and the mixed economy. It is widely held to have been f ...
and has been the director of the Center for Transition Economies at the
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
She was awarded the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
in 2009.
Early life and education
Desai was born and brought up in a traditional Gujarati
Anavil Brahmin
Anavil Brahmins are a community of Brahmins who, despite not being numerically superior, are particularly dominant in the Surat and Bulsar districts of south Gujarat, India, where they have been significant land-owners and have an influential role ...
family in
Surat, Gujarat.
She did her B.A. (Economics) in 1951 from the
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai.
The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...
, followed by an M.A. (Economics) also from the same university in 1953. Thereafter she completed her Ph.D. from
Harvard in 1960.
Career
Desai started her career at the Department of Economics, Harvard (1957-1959), after which she was associate professor of economics at
Delhi School of Economics
Delhi School of Economics (DSE), popularly referred to as "D School", is a Higher Educational Institution within the University of Delhi. The Delhi School of Economics is situated in University of Delhi's North Campus in Maurice Nagar. Establ ...
at
University of Delhi
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...
, from 1959 to 1968.
[
In November 1992, she joined as the Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems at Columbia University and went on to become the director of the Center for Transition Economies at the University.][
She later was the ]U.S. Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
’s advisor to the Russian Finance Ministry in the summer of 1995. She was president of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies in 2001.
She published her memoir, ''Breaking Out: An Indian Woman's American Journey'' in 2012.[
]
Personal life
She is married to Jagdish Bhagwati
Jagdish Natwarlal Bhagwati (born July 26, 1934) is an Indian-born naturalized American economist and one of the most influential trade theorists of his generation.
He is a University Professor of economics and law at Columbia University and a Sen ...
, also an Indian-American economist and professor of economics and law at Columbia University; the couple have one daughter.
Bibliography
* ''Breaking Out: An Indian Woman's American Journey''. Viking, 2012. .
* ''From Financial Crisis to Global Recovery''. Harper Collins, 2012. .
* ''Conversations on Russia: Reform from Yeltsin to Putin''. Oxford University Press, 2006. .
* ''Financial Crisis, Contagion, and Containment: From Asia to Argentina''. Princeton University Press, 2003. .
* ''Work Without Wages: Russia's Non-Payment Crisis'', with Todd Idson. MIT Press, 2001. .
* ''Going Global: Transition from Plan to Market in the World Economy'', Editor. MIT Press, 1997. .
* ''The Soviet Economy: Problems and Prospects''. Blackwell, 1990.
* ''Perestroika in Perspective: The Design and Dilemmas of Soviet Reform''. I B Tauris & Co, 1989. .
* ''Bokaro Steel Plant: A Study of Soviet Economic Assistance''. North-Holland, 1972. .
References
Celebrating Padma Desai
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
External links
Padma Desai, homepage
at Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, Padma
20th-century Indian economists
1931 births
Living people
American people of Gujarati descent
People from Surat
Indian emigrants to the United States
American economists
American memoirists
Indian development economists
University of Mumbai alumni
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Russian studies scholars
Academic staff of Delhi University
Columbia University faculty
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education
Indian women economists
American women memoirists
20th-century Indian women scientists
20th-century American women writers
Scientists from Gujarat
21st-century Indian economists
21st-century Indian women scientists
21st-century American women writers
American women economists
Women scientists from Gujarat
Educators from Gujarat
Women educators from Gujarat
20th-century Indian women writers
20th-century Indian writers
21st-century Indian women writers
21st-century Indian writers