Padma Desai facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Padma Desai
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Desai in 2015
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| Born | October 12, 1931 Surat, Bombay Presidency, British India
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| Died | April 29, 2023 (aged 91) |
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| Spouse(s) | Jagdish Bhagwati |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2009) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Columbia University (1992–2023) |
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Padma Desai (born October 12, 1931 – died April 29, 2023) was an important Indian-American economist. She was a professor at Columbia University. She studied how countries like the Soviet Union and India managed their economies. Padma Desai was given the Padma Bhushan award in 2009. This is one of India's highest awards for citizens.
Early Life and Education
Padma Desai was born in Surat, British India, on October 12, 1931. Her parents, Shanta and Kalidas, were both literature professors. They had studied at the University of Cambridge. Padma was one of four children.
She earned her first degree in Economics in 1951 from the University of Mumbai. She then got her master's degree from the same university in 1953. Later, she went to Harvard University in the United States. She completed her Ph.D. there in 1960. While at Harvard, she was inspired by famous economists like Alexander Gerschenkron and Robert Solow.
Career Highlights
Padma Desai began her career at Harvard's Department of Economics from 1957 to 1959. After that, she became an associate professor at the Delhi School of Economics in India. She worked there from 1959 to 1968.
In 1968, she co-wrote an important book called India: Planning for Industrialization. She wrote it with Jagdish Bhagwati, who later became her husband. This book looked closely at India's system for planning its industries. It argued against the "Licence Raj," which was a system of strict government rules for businesses. The book also spoke against "command economic policies," where the government controlled almost everything. Their ideas helped lead to more economic freedom in India later on.
Desai joined Columbia University as an economics professor in 1980. In 1992, she became the Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems. She also became the director of the Center for Transition Economies at the university.
Her research often focused on the Soviet economy. She studied "command economies," which are systems where the government makes all the economic decisions. She looked at how resources were not used well in these systems. She built on the work of her former teachers, Alexander Gerschenkron and Robert Solow. Her book Perestroika in Progress (1989) showed the problems caused by mismanaged resources in these economies. Even after the Soviet dissolution, she continued to study the Russian economy. She also advised U.S. policymakers on Russian economic policies. In 1995, she was an advisor to the Russian Finance Ministry.
In 2001, Padma Desai became the president of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies. In 2009, she received the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India.
In 2012, Desai published her memoir, Breaking Out: An Indian Woman's American Journey. This book shared her personal story of moving from India to America. It also talked about her journey to become a successful economist and how she overcame personal challenges.
Personal Life
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Padma Desai was married to Jagdish Bhagwati, who was also a well-known economist and professor at Columbia University. They had one daughter together. They first became friends in 1956. Both were professors at the Delhi School of Economics in the 1960s. They faced challenges getting married due to old divorce laws in India. However, they eventually married in Mexico in 1969.
Padma Desai passed away on April 29, 2023, at the age of 91.
