Centre for Development Economics

Centre for Development Economics is a research institute affiliated with the Delhi School of Economics and the University of Delhi focused on applied research, postgraduate training, and policy analysis in development-related fields. The Centre engages with national and international institutions, collaborates with agencies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Development Programme, and publishes work that informs policymakers across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Its activities intersect with major figures and institutions including Amartya Sen, Mahatma Gandhi–era rural movements, and programmes inspired by the Green Revolution and Nehruvian economic policies.

History

Founded during a period shaped by the Green Revolution, the Nehru-era planning legacy and global debates at the Bretton Woods Conference-influenced institutions, the Centre emerged amid efforts by scholars associated with the Delhi School of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the Indian Statistical Institute to create a dedicated hub for development research. Early interactions linked the Centre with scholars from the London School of Economics, Harvard University, University of Oxford, and University of Chicago, and it hosted visiting fellows from the Institute of Development Studies, Centre for Economic Policy Research, and the International Food Policy Research Institute. The Centre’s formative decades involved collaborations on projects funded by the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Asian Development Bank, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, positioning it within networks that included R. N. Tagore-era intellectual exchange, policy dialogues connected to the Planning Commission of India, and comparative studies alongside the World Bank and International Labour Organization.

Research and Publications

The Centre produces working papers, monographs, and policy briefs that address themes prominent in journals like the Economic and Political Weekly, Journal of Development Economics, and World Development. Research spans topics historically investigated by scholars from the University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and Stanford University including poverty measurement inspired by Amartya Sen and Abhijit Banerjee-type randomized evaluations, trade policy analyses linked to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and World Trade Organization, and agricultural studies connected to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. The Centre’s publication series has featured comparative studies referencing the Green Revolution, Asian Development Bank project evaluations, and cross-national assessments alongside researchers from the Brookings Institution, National Bureau of Economic Research, and Oxford University Press.

Academic Programs and Training

The Centre administers postgraduate programmes and doctoral supervision drawing on pedagogical traditions of the Delhi School of Economics, with coursework that echoes syllabi from the London School of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, and Yale University. Training programmes and executive courses have been run for participants from the Reserve Bank of India, NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance (India), as well as international cohorts from the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization. The curriculum integrates quantitative methods taught with tools popular at the Indian Statistical Institute and case studies similar to those used at the Harvard Kennedy School, incorporating fieldwork in regions associated with studies by M. S. Swaminathan, V. K. R. V. Rao, and others.

Policy Engagement and Outreach

The Centre maintains policy dialogues with agencies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Development Programme, and Asian Development Bank, and organizes seminars featuring speakers from the Reserve Bank of India, NITI Aayog, Ministry of Rural Development (India), and international think tanks including the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Chatham House, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Outreach includes partnerships with the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Institute of Economic Growth, and regional bodies like the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Conferences have engaged topics tied to agreements such as the Paris Agreement and institutions like the World Trade Organization and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Organization and Governance

Governance structures reflect affiliations with the University of Delhi and oversight practices similar to research centers at the Delhi School of Economics, the Indian Council of Social Science Research, and the Indian Statistical Institute. Advisory boards have included scholars from the London School of Economics, University of Oxford, Harvard University, Princeton University, and representatives from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (India), and the Planning Commission of India historical archives. Collaborations span departments and institutes such as the Centre for Policy Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, and the Institute for Human Development.

Notable Faculty and Alumni

Faculty and alumni networks connect to eminent scholars and policymakers associated with institutions like the Delhi School of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indian Statistical Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of Cambridge, Oxford University, London School of Economics, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Reserve Bank of India, NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance (India), Asian Development Bank, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Amartya Sen, Abhijit Banerjee, M. S. Swaminathan, V. K. R. V. Rao, C. Rangarajan, Jagdish Bhagwati, Kaushik Basu, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Arvind Panagariya, Raghuram Rajan, R. H. Tawney, P. S. Appu, T. N. Srinivasan, K. N. Raj, P. C. Mahalanobis, G. S. Bhalla, K. N. Raj, Dilip M. Nachane, S. K. Thorat, Meera Sanyal, Pranab Mukherjee, Manmohan Singh, Nitin Desai, Raghavendra Rau, Jean Drèze, Amrita Narlikar, B. R. Ambedkar