Padma Desai
Padma Desai | |
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Born | Surat, Bombay Presidency, British India | October 12, 1931
Died | April 29, 2023 | (aged 91)
Citizenship |
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Spouse | Jagdish Bhagwati |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Padma Bhushan (2009) |
Academic background | |
Alma mater |
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Influences | |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Development economics |
Institutions | Columbia University (1992–2023) |
Padma Desai (October 12, 1931 – April 29, 2023) was an Indian-American
Early life
Desai was born in
Desai completed her B.A. (Economics) in 1951 from the
Career
Desai started her career at the Department of Economics, Harvard (1957–1959), after which she was associate professor of economics at
Desai's 1968 book India: Planning for Industrialization, which was co-written with her future husband and economist Jagdish Bhagwati was an influential critique of India's industrial planning system.[2] The work influenced subsequent economic liberalisation in India.[2] The book spoke against the licence regime and the command economic policies that were prevalent in India at the time.[2]
Desai joined Columbia University as a professor of economics in 1980.[2] In November 1992, she became Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems at Columbia University and went on to become the director of the Center for Transition Economies at the University.[3][5]
Desai's research included studying the
Desai was president of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies in 2001.[6] She was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, by the Government of India in 2009.[7]
Desai published her memoir, Breaking Out: An Indian Woman's American Journey in 2012.[8] The book spoke about her journey from India to America, breaking out of an emotionally abusive marriage, and establishing herself as an economist studying many shacked economies.[2]
Personal life
Desai was married to Jagdish Bhagwati, also an Indian-American economist and professor of economics and law at Columbia University; the couple had one daughter. She first befriended him in 1956.[2] They were both faculty members at the Delhi School of Economics in the 1960s.[2] The two attempted to get married but restrictive divorce laws in India prevented Desai from divorcing her first husband until 1969 when she converted to Christianity (religious conversion was grounds for divorce in India).[2] Bhagwati and Desai married in Mexico.[2]
Desai died on April 29, 2023, at age 91.[9][10]
Bibliography
- Breaking Out: An Indian Woman's American Journey. Viking, 2012. ISBN 9780670085781.
- From Financial Crisis to Global Recovery. Harper Collins, 2012. ISBN 9789350295823.
- Conversations on Russia: Reform from Yeltsin to Putin. Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780195300611.
- Financial Crisis, Contagion, and Containment: From Asia to Argentina. Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN 9780691113920.
- Work Without Wages: Russia's Non-Payment Crisis, with Todd Idson. MIT Press, 2001. ISBN 9780262041843.
- Going Global: Transition from Plan to Market in the World Economy, Editor. MIT Press, 1997. ISBN 9780262041614.
- The Soviet Economy: Problems and Prospects. Blackwell, 1990. ISBN 9780631171836
- Perestroika in Perspective: The Design and Dilemmas of Soviet Reform. I B Tauris & Co, 1989. ISBN 9781850431411.
- Bokaro Steel Plant: A Study of Soviet Economic Assistance. North-Holland, 1972. ISBN 9780720430653.
- India: Planning for Industrialization (with Jagdish Bhagwati). 1968. ISBN 9780192153340
References
- ISBN 978-0-262-01997-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Padma Desai, economist, 1931–2023". Financial Times. May 6, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Curriculum Vitae of Padma Desai" (PDF). Columbia University. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 25, 2012.
- ^ "Padma Desai (1931–2023): Influential academic, a thinker ahead of her times". The Indian Express. May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
- ^ "Padma Desai". Department of Economics, Columbia University.
- ^ a b "Padma Desai". American Academy. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2009)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2013.
- ^ "Random truths in common things". Business Line. May 4, 2012.
- ^ "In Memoriam: Padma Desai (1931–2023)". The Harriman Institute. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ "Padma Desai (1931–2023): Influential academic, a thinker ahead of her times". The Indian Express. May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
External links
- Padma Desai homepage at Columbia University
- Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee (June 23, 2012). "The Examined Life". Tehelka. Vol. 9, no. 25. Archived from the original on October 29, 2012.