Winner. Scientist of the Year 2018. Social Sciences

Kaushik Basu

Academic title, degree: Ph.D.
Fields of science: Economics
Research interest: Economic development, economic theory, industrial organization, political economy
Institution: Cornell University
Position: Professor of Economics and the C. Marks Professor of International Studies
Country: USA

Kaushik Basu is a former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank. Prior to joining the World Bank, he served as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India. Prof. Basu is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and received India’s Padma Bhushan award as well as the National Mahalanobis Memorial award. He is currently President of the International Economic Association. Mr. Basu holds a PhD in economics from the London School of Economics. He has received honorary doctorates from several institutes, including IIT, Mumbai, and Fordham University, New York. He is the second World Bank Chief Economist from a developing country and the first from India.

Prof. Basu’s contributions span development economics, welfare economics, industrial organization and game theory. In addition to Cornell, he has taught at the Delhi School of Economics, Harvard, Princeton and MIT. He has published widely in academic journals, and has contributed articles to many widely read magazines and newspapers. He has written several books including ‘Beyond the Invisible Hand: Groundwork for a New Economics’ (Princeton University Press and Penguin); and ‘An Economist in the Real World: the Art of Policymaking in India’ (MIT Press).