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 Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

of economics and law 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 ...

and a Senior Fellow in International Economics at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

. He has made significant contributions to international trade theory and economic development. He is widely regarded as the intellectual father of the Indian economic reforms of 1991. He is the only professor in American academia to have a chair named after him while he was still teaching at the university. He is one of only 10 scholars who hold the title of University Professor at

. Bhagwati is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service" ...

, Frank Seidman Distinguished Award in Political Economy and the Freedom Prize of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 2014, the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

called him “one of the most outstanding economists of his generation never to have won the Nobel Prize”. This view is shared by his peers including

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winning economist

Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman ( ; born February 28, 1953) is an American economist, who is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a columnist for ''The New York Times''. In 2008, Krugman was th ...

, "The crucial point for me is that people didn’t understand at all clearly how distortions in a

trading Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

economy relate to policy before Jagdish spelled it out. Once he did, it became so clear that it was hard to believe that someone had to point it out. In my view, that makes his work Nobel-worthy."

Early years and personal life

Bhagwati was born in 1934, into a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

family in the Bombay Presidency during the British Raj. He is the son of Indian judge Natwarlal H. Bhagwati and the brother of P. N. Bhagwati, former Chief Justice of India and also of S.N. Bhagwati, an eminent neurosurgeon who served as the president of the

Neurological Society of India The Neurological Society of India (NSI) is the apex body representing neuroscientists of the country. It was founded in 1951 by Jacob Chandy, Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi, S. T. Narasimhan, and Baldev Singh, who together have been credited to be ...

. Bhagwati attended St. Xavier’s High School and received a

BCom A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa ...

from

Sydenham College Sydenham College of Economics is a college located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is affiliated to the Dr. Homi Bhabha State University. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in management. It was awarded a re-accreditat ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

He then traveled to England to study at

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, receiving a second BA at Cambridge (in economics) in 1956. Between 1957 and 1959 he studied at

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer co ...

. He received a PhD in economics from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1967 for a thesis titled "Essays in International Economics," supervised by

Charles P. Kindleberger Charles Poor Kindleberger (October 12, 1910 – July 7, 2003) was an American economic historian and author of over 30 books. His 1978 book ''Manias, Panics, and Crashes'', about speculative stock market bubbles, was reprinted in 2000 after the ...

. He has also received

honorary degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

and

Erasmus University Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humanist ...

, as well as others. Bhagwati is married to Padma Desai, also a Columbia economist and Russia-specialist; they have one daughter. Bhagwati and Desai's joint 1970 OECD study ''India: Planning for Industrialization'' was a notable contribution at the time.

Career

After completing his PhD, Bhagwati returned to India in 1961, first to teach briefly at the

Indian Statistical Institute Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a higher education and research institute which is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the 1959 act of the Indian parliament. It grew out of the Statistical Laboratory set up by Prasanta ...

, Kolkata, and then as professor of international trade 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 the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

, from 1962 to 1968. He then returned to American academia and from 1968 until 1980, Bhagwati was the Ford International Professor of Economics at the

. From 1980 he taught economics at

, where he was Arthur Lehman Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science and later University Professor, Economics and Law. He is one of the only 10 scholars who hold the title of University Professor at

. Bhagwati is a Senior Fellow of the

in New York and is a Member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. He currently serves on the Academic Advisory Board of

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

(Asia) and on the board of scholars of the

Centre for Civil Society Centre for Civil Society (CCS) is a non-profit think tank based in New Delhi. The Centre was founded in 1997 by Dr Parth J Shah, former Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. It operates as an independent educational organisatio ...

. He has held several important positions internationally, including special adviser to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

on globalization, economic policy adviser to Arthur Dunkel-the director-general of

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its pre ...

and external adviser to the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

. He has also worked as a member of group appointed by the director-general of the

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

on the future of the

. He was also a member of the advisory committee to UN Secretary General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, an economic program accelerating economic co-operation and integration among African countries. In May, 2004, Bhagwati was one of the experts who took part in the

Copenhagen Consensus Copenhagen Consensus is a project that seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare using methodologies based on the theory of welfare economics, using cost–benefit analysis. It was conceived and organized around 2004 by Bjørn Lo ...

project. In 2006, Bhagwati was a part of the Eminent Persons Group along with Brazilian President

Fernando Henrique Cardoso Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2002. He was the first Brazi ...

on the future of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In early 2010, Bhagwati joined the advisory board of the Institute for Migrant Rights in Indonesia. In 2000, Bhagwati was signatory to an amicus briefing, coordinated by the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. ...

, with the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

to contend that the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

should, contrary to a prior ruling, be allowed to take into account the costs of regulations when setting environmental standards. In January 2004, Bhagwati published ''In Defense of Globalization,'' a book in which he argues that

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

, when properly governed, is the most powerful force for social good in the world today. He described how globalization helps the cause of women, reduces child labor and increases literacy. He makes a point that:

... this process f globalizationhas a human face, but we need to make that face more agreeable.

Jagdish Bhagwati was the fictional winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

episode

Elementary School Musical (The Simpsons) "Elementary School Musical" is the twenty-second season premiere of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 2010. In this episode, Krusty the Clown inv ...

Awards, honors and commentary

* Mahalanobis Memorial Medal of the Indian Econometric Society (1974) * Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

(1982) *Member of the

(1995) * Seidman Distinguished Award in International Political Economy (1998) *

Award (2000) * Lifetime Achievement Award of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (2004) *

, Gold and Silver Star (2006) *Member of the

(2012) Nobel laureate

Paul Samuelson Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 – December 13, 2009) was an American economist who was the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. When awarding the prize in 1970, the Swedish Royal Academies stated that he "h ...

, on the occasion of Bhagwati's 70th birthday ''

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' conference in Gainesville, Florida in January 2005 said:

I measure a scholar's prolific-ness not by the mere number of his publishings. Just as the area of a rectangle equals its width times its depth, the quality of a lifetime accomplishment must weight each article by its novelties and wisdoms. ... Jagdish Bhagwati is more like
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
: a composer of more than a hundred symphonies and no one of them other than top notch. ... In the struggle to improve the lot of mankind, whether located in advanced economies or in societies climbing the ladder out of poverty, Jagdish Bhagwati has been a tireless partisan of that globalization which elevates global total-factor – productivities both of richest America and poorest regions of Asia and Africa.

Other awards include the Bernhard Harms Prize (Germany), the Kenan Enterprise Award (United States), the Freedom Prize (Switzerland), and the

John R. Commons John Rogers Commons (October 13, 1862 – May 11, 1945) was an American institutional economist, Georgist, progressive and labor historian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Early years John R. Commons was born in Hollansburg, Ohio on ...

Award (United States). He has also received

from the

and

, as well as others.

Bibliography

Books

* * * * * * * * * Jagdish N. Bhagwati (editor) (1977
''The New International Economic Order: The North-South Debate''
. *

Articles

* * * *

References

External links

Homepage of Professor Jagdish Bhagwati
Columbia University website, accessed March 2004. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagwati, Jagdish Living people 1934 births People from Mumbai Indian emigrants to the United States Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge American economists Columbia University faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Econometric Society Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 20th-century Indian economists International economists MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education Trade economists Delhi University faculty University of Mumbai alumni Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class Writers about globalization American people of Gujarati descent American academics of Indian descent Indian political writers Indian male writers American political writers American male writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford Distinguished Fellows of the American Economic Association 21st-century Indian economists 21st-century American economists Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Indian American Indian economists