Kaushik Basu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kaushik Basu
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কৌশিক বসু
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Basu in Festival Economia 2013
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| 11th Chief Economist of the World Bank | |
| In office October 2012 – October 2016 |
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| President | Jim Yong Kim |
| Preceded by | Martin Ravallion (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Paul Romer |
| 14th Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India | |
| In office 2009–2012 |
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| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | Arvind Virmani |
| Succeeded by | Raghuram Rajan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 January 1952 Kolkata, India |
| Spouse | Alaka Malwade |
| Education | University of Delhi (BA) London School of Economics (MSc, PhD) |
| Academic career | |
| Field | Macroeconomics |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2008) Humboldt Prize (2021) |
| Information at IDEAS / RePEc | |
Kaushik Basu was born on January 9, 1952. He is an economist from India. He served as the Chief Economist for the World Bank from 2012 to 2016. Before that, he was the Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India from 2009 to 2012.
Today, he is a professor of economics at Cornell University. He also serves on the advisory board for the upcoming Plaksha University. In June 2017, he started a three-year term as President of the International Economic Association. Basu received the Humboldt Research Award in 2021 for his work.
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Early Life and Education
Kaushik Basu was born in Kolkata, India. He went to St. Xavier's Collegiate School there. After finishing school in 1969, he faced a choice. His father wanted him to study physics. But Kaushik was unsure what he wanted to do. They decided on economics as a middle ground.
In 1969, he moved to Delhi. He studied economics at St. Stephen's College. Later, he went to the London School of Economics. He earned his master's degree in economics in 1974. After his master's, he planned to study law. However, he became very interested in logic and the work of Amartya Sen. So, he stayed at the London School of Economics. He completed his PhD there from 1974 to 1976. His teacher for his PhD was Amartya Sen.
Basu has received several honorary doctorates. These special degrees recognize his achievements. He received them from universities like Lucknow University (2011) and Fordham University (2013). He also got one from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (2013). The University of Bath, U.K., honored him in 2016. Jadavpur University Kolkata gave him one in 2018.
As a child, he loved Euclidean geometry. This interest showed up again when he was the Chief Economist of the World Bank. He published a new way to prove the Pythagoras theorem. He did this using a special property of isosceles triangles.
Career Highlights
Kaushik Basu has worked at many famous universities. He was a visiting professor at places like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University. He also visited the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He was a distinguished visitor at the London School of Economics in 1993. He also worked as a visiting scientist at the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata.
Basu was the Chief Economic Adviser for India's Ministry of Finance. He took a break from his job at Cornell University for this role. He is a professor of economics there. He is also the C. Marks Professor of International Studies. He is a member of the Econometric Society. He also received the Mahalanobis Memorial Medal.
Basu has written many scientific papers. His work covers different areas of economics. These include development economics and game theory. He has also written about industrial organisation and political economy. He studied the economics of child labour. He also created a famous problem called the traveller's dilemma.
In 1992, he started the Centre for Development Economics. This center is at the Delhi School of Economics. He was its first leader until 1996.
Basu writes columns for several news outlets. These include BBC News Online and the Hindustan Times. He has also written several books about economics. He even wrote a play called Crossings at Benaras Junction. He edited the Oxford Companion to Economics in India. This book is a collection of information about the Indian economy.
On September 5, 2012, he was chosen as the Chief Economist at the World Bank.
Basu was the president of the Human Development and Capabilities Association. This group was started by Amartya Sen. He is also an editor for Social Choice and Welfare. He is an associate editor for the Japanese Economic Review. He is also on the board of editors for the World Bank Economic Review. In June 2017, he became the president of the International Economic Association. He served for three years.
Basu also inspired Arthapedia. This is an online website. It helps people understand concepts used in Indian public policy. He also created Dui-doku. This is a two-player version of Sudoku.
While working at the World Bank, Basu taught game theory. He taught these courses at the George Washington University. He also writes monthly articles for Project Syndicate.
Since 2011, he has been on the jury for the Social Sciences category of the Infosys Prize. He became the jury chair in 2012.
Today, Basu teaches at Cornell University. He works as an economics professor. He teaches in both the Department of Economics and the SC Johnson College of Business.
His Ideas on Economics and Society
Basu has written about Adam Smith's idea of the "invisible hand." This idea suggests that when people act in their own interest, it can lead to good results for everyone. It helps an economy work in an orderly way. Basu believes this idea is very important. However, he also feels that many economists forgot something vital. He thinks that moral qualities are crucial for an economy to do well. These qualities include honesty, fairness, and integrity. He sees them as the "nuts and bolts" that make the invisible hand work effectively. Basu also believes it is important to encourage good thinking in government and public discussions.
Basu has also supported Karl Marx's idea of a society. In this ideal society, everyone gets what they need. And they give what they can. In his book, Beyond the Invisible Hand, Basu argues something important. He says that Marx's goal was good. But the way people tried to reach it was often wrong. He believes that some big mistakes in history happened because people tried to create this ideal society without a clear plan. For example, he points out that movements like the one in the USSR started with good intentions. They wanted to build a fair, socialist society. But they ended up with a system where a few people had too much power and wealth.
More recently, Basu has focused on our shared moral responsibility. He looks at the role each person plays in meeting these responsibilities.
Personal Life
Basu is married to Alaka Malwade Basu. They have two children.
Awards and Honours
- Padma Bhushan, Government of India, 2008
- Doctorate of Humane Letters, Fordham University, 2013
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Award, 2021
