Maitreesh Ghatak
Encyclopedia
Maitreesh Ghatak is a Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics
. He is an applied microeconomic theorist with research interests in economic development, public economics, and the economics of organizations.
His research interests include microfinance
, property rights, occupational choice, collective action
, and the economics of NGOs and non-profits. He did his schooling in Patha Bhavan, Kolkata
and went on to do his undergraduate studies at Presidency College, Kolkata
. He has a M.A. in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics
and a PhD in Economics from the Harvard University
under the supervision of Eric Maskin
and Abhijit Banerjee
. He taught at the department of economics of University of Chicago
before moving to the London School of Economics
where he has taught since 2002. He has held visiting positions at the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton
, Yale University
, Northwestern University
, and the Indian Statistical Institute
, Kolkata. He is a former managing editor of the Review of Economic Studies
, the current Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Development Economics
, and a former co-editor of the Economics of Transition. He directs the research group Economic Organization and Public Policy (EOPP) at the LSE
. He is the Lead Economist of the DFID
-funded International Growth Centre
's India (Bihar) programme. He is a Board Member of the Bureau for Research in the Economic Analysis of Development, also known as the BREAD. He writes occasional essays in various newspapers and magazines on economic and political issues, in English as well as in Bengali.
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. He is an applied microeconomic theorist with research interests in economic development, public economics, and the economics of organizations.
His research interests include microfinance
Microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
, property rights, occupational choice, collective action
Collective action
Collective action is the pursuit of a goal or set of goals by more than one person. It is a term which has formulations and theories in many areas of the social sciences.-In sociology:...
, and the economics of NGOs and non-profits. He did his schooling in Patha Bhavan, Kolkata
Patha Bhavan, Kolkata
Patha Bhavan ' is a private co-educational school in Kolkata, India. The school was established on June 28th, 1965.-History:The school was named after the university school of Visva-Bharati University . It was inspired by the education system started by the poet Rabindranath Tagore as well as the...
and went on to do his undergraduate studies at Presidency College, Kolkata
Presidency College, Kolkata
Presidency University, Kolkata, formerly Hindu College and Presidency College, is a unitary, state aided university, located in Kolkata, West Bengal. and one of the premier institutes of learning of liberal arts and sciences in India. In 2002 it was ranked number one by the weekly news magazine...
. He has a M.A. in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics
Delhi School of Economics
Delhi School of Economics , commonly referred to as DSE or D School, is a centre of post graduate learning of the University of Delhi. The centre is situated in the university's North Campus in Maurice Nagar, and is surrounded by a host of other prestigious academic institutions of the country...
and a PhD in Economics from the Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
under the supervision of Eric Maskin
Eric Maskin
Eric Stark Maskin is an American economist and Nobel laureate recognized with Leonid Hurwicz and Roger Myerson "for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory." He is the Albert O...
and Abhijit Banerjee
Abhijit Banerjee
Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee is an Indian economist. He is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
. He taught at the department of economics of University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
before moving to the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
where he has taught since 2002. He has held visiting positions at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, and the Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute is a public research institute and university in Kolkata's northern outskirt of Baranagar, India founded by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1931...
, Kolkata. He is a former managing editor of the Review of Economic Studies
Review of Economic Studies
The Review of Economic Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal in economics. It was established in 1933 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It is the eighth-ranked economics journal in overall impact according to the ranking of Kalaitzidakis et al...
, the current Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Development Economics
Journal of Development Economics
The Journal of Development Economics is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier. It was established in 1974 and is considered the top field journal in development economics....
, and a former co-editor of the Economics of Transition. He directs the research group Economic Organization and Public Policy (EOPP) at the LSE
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. He is the Lead Economist of the DFID
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
-funded International Growth Centre
International Growth Centre
The International Growth Centre is a research institute based jointly at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Oxford University that provides advice on economic growth to governments of developing countries...
's India (Bihar) programme. He is a Board Member of the Bureau for Research in the Economic Analysis of Development, also known as the BREAD. He writes occasional essays in various newspapers and magazines on economic and political issues, in English as well as in Bengali.
Select bibliography
- Group Lending, Local Information and Peer Selection. Journal of Development EconomicsJournal of Development EconomicsThe Journal of Development Economics is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier. It was established in 1974 and is considered the top field journal in development economics....
, Vol.60, No.1, October 1999. - The Economics of Lending with Joint Liability: Theory and Practice, (with Timothy W. Guinnane). Journal of Development EconomicsJournal of Development EconomicsThe Journal of Development Economics is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier. It was established in 1974 and is considered the top field journal in development economics....
, Vol.60, No.1, October 1999(See also erratum in Volume 69, Issue 1, October 2002). (Reprinted in Readings in the Theory of Economic Development (ed.s) D. Mookherjee and D. Ray, London: Blackwell (2000).) - Occupational Choice and Dynamic Incentives (with Massimo Morelli and Tomas Sjostrom). Review of Economic StudiesReview of Economic StudiesThe Review of Economic Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal in economics. It was established in 1933 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It is the eighth-ranked economics journal in overall impact according to the ranking of Kalaitzidakis et al...
, Vol. 68, No. 4, October 2001, p. 781-810. - Government versus Private Ownership of Public Goods, (with Tim Besley). Quarterly Journal of EconomicsQuarterly Journal of EconomicsThe Quarterly Journal of Economics, or QJE, is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Oxford University Press and edited at Harvard University's Department of Economics. Its current editors are Robert J. Barro, Elhanan Helpman and Lawrence F. Katz...
, Vol. 116, No. 4, p. 1343–1372, November 2001. - Empowerment and Efficiency: Tenancy Reform in West Bengal, (with Abhijit V. Banerjee and Paul J. Gertler). Journal of Political EconomyJournal of Political EconomyThe Journal of Political Economy is an academic journal run by economists at the University of Chicago and published every two months by the University of Chicago Press. The journal publishes articles in both theoretical economics and empirical economics...
, Vol. 110, No. 2, April 2002, p. 239-280. - Competition and Incentives with Motivated Agents (with Tim Besley). American Economic ReviewAmerican Economic ReviewThe American Economic Review is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics publishing seven issues annually by the American Economic Association. First published in 1911, it is considered one of the most prestigious journals in the field. The current editor-in-chief is Penny Goldberg . The...
, Vol. 95, No. 3, pp. 616–636, June 2005. - Retailing Public Goods: The Economics of Corporate Social Responsibility (with Tim Besley). Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 91, No. 9, p. 1645–1663, September 2007.
- Property Rights and Economic Development (with T. Besley) in D. Rodrik and M. Rosenzweig (ed.s) Handbook of Development Economics, North HollandNorth HollandNorth Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
, 2009. - Thanks for Nothing? Not-for-Profits and Motivated Agents (with H Mueller), Journal of Public Economics, 2010.