MIT Economist Shares Insights on Indian Democracy

On March 3, the South Asia Initiative at UC San Diego welcomed Abhijit Banerjee, a world-renowned development economist from MIT for a public lecture, ”Indian Democracy: Why Doesn’t It Deliver More?“

The South Asia Initiative consists of faculty from various departments and divisions. The Department of Economics, which has a strong research presence in South Asia, plays an active role in the initiative. The event was attended by faculty members from Economics, Political Science, the School of Global Policy and Strategy, the Rady School of Management, Anthropology, Ethnic Studies, as well as several undergraduates, graduate students and members of the broader San Diego community.

The special event with Banerjee was made possible by a generous donation from the Indira Foundation to the department. The donation is intended for interdisciplinary seminars, classes and graduate student research pertaining to India.

The department welcomed Esther Duflo, also from MIT, on March 6 for a special seminar in applied microeconomics. Duflo is one of the founders of the Poverty Action Lab at MIT and is a recent John Bates Clark medalist. She is the chief editor of the American Economic Review.