Calcutta School of Economics

Calcutta School of Economics
Name	Calcutta School of Economics
Established	1940
Type	Public
Location	Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Affiliations	University of Calcutta

Calcutta School of Economics is a postgraduate teaching and research institute founded in 1940 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, known for its focus on economic analysis and policy studies. The institute has historically interacted with figures and institutions such as John Maynard Keynes, Amartya Sen, Jagdish Bhagwati, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Reserve Bank of India while contributing to debates linked to Bengal Famine of 1943, Planning Commission (India), Industrial Policy Resolution, 1956, and Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation.

History

The School was established in 1940 amid intellectual currents involving Harvard University, London School of Economics, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and personalities like Piero Sraffa, Sir Alfred Marshall, Knut Wicksell, Vilfredo Pareto; early faculty and visitors engaged with topics related to Bengal Presidency, Calcutta civic institutions, Indian National Congress, and policy responses to the Great Depression. In successive decades the institute interacted with policy forums such as NITI Aayog, Planning Commission (India), United Nations Development Programme, Asian Development Bank, and research networks including Indian Statistical Institute, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Growth, and Centre for Development Studies. Its evolution reflected debates around Mixed economy (postwar India), Import substitution industrialisation, Green Revolution, and later 1991 economic reforms in India influenced by economists associated with Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale University.

Academic Programs

The School offers postgraduate and doctoral programmes drawing candidates who previously studied at University of Calcutta, Presidency College, Kolkata, St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, Jadavpur University, Banaras Hindu University, and international institutions such as Columbia University, University of Chicago, London School of Economics, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford. Curricula have included courses on development linked to works by Amartya Sen, Arthur Lewis, Ragnar Frisch, W. Arthur Lewis, Simon Kuznets, Jan Tinbergen and policy analysis connected to World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank case studies. Programmatic collaborations and student exchanges have been conducted with University of Sussex, University of Manchester, The Hague Academy of International Law, and research partnerships with National Council of Applied Economic Research, Reserve Bank of India, and Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Research and Publications

The institute has produced working papers, monographs, and journals engaging with issues that relate to studies published by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Elsevier, and themes examined by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Its research groups have tackled topics intersecting with case studies on Bengal Famine of 1943, Partition of India, Indus Waters Treaty, Green Revolution, Microfinance Summit, and analyses comparable to those from Centre for Policy Research, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Chatham House. The School's journals and papers have been cited alongside articles in Economic and Political Weekly, Journal of Development Economics, The American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, and Journal of Political Economy.

Faculty and Notable Alumni

Faculty and alumni networks include scholars and policymakers connected to Amartya Sen, Jagdish Bhagwati, Bimal Jalan, Manmohan Singh, Raghuram Rajan, C. Rangarajan, Pranab Bardhan, Kaushik Basu, Bibek Debroy, Partha Dasgupta, T. N. Srinivasan, with career trajectories through Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance (India), United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, Harvard University, London School of Economics, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and research centers such as Indian Statistical Institute and Centre for Development Studies. Other alumni have joined institutions like State Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Tata Group, Aditya Birla Group, Mahindra Group, and international organisations including International Labour Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization.

Influence and Contributions

The School influenced policy debates on industrial policy similar to those considered by Planning Commission (India), fiscal reforms paralleling analyses at International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and macroeconomic planning discussed in forums such as NITI Aayog, Reserve Bank of India panels, and academic symposia at London School of Economics, Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its research contributed to regional studies concerning West Bengal, Bengal Presidency, Hooghly River, Ganges Delta, and urban studies referencing Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Howrah Bridge, Victoria Memorial, and heritage debates linked to Indian Museum and Victoria Memorial Hall. The School's outputs informed policy papers cited by Ministry of Finance (India), Ministry of Rural Development (India), United Nations Development Programme, and state-level planning bodies.

Campus and Facilities

Located in central Kolkata near landmarks such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, University of Calcutta, Presidency University, Kolkata, Victoria Memorial, and Howrah Station, the campus houses libraries, seminar rooms, and archives that hold collections akin to those in National Library of India, Indian Statistical Institute, and Asiatic Society of Bengal. Facilities support collaborations with institutions like Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Jadavpur University, and visiting scholars from University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Harvard University, London School of Economics, and Princeton University.

Category:Universities and colleges in Kolkata