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 ...

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

External links

Padma Desai, homepage
at

* {{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