Sanjaya Lall
Encyclopedia
Sanjaya Lall was a development economist, Professor of Economics and Fellow of Green College
, Oxford University. Lall's research interests included the impact of foreign direct investment in developing countries, the economics of multi-national corporations, and the development of technological capability and industrial competitiveness in developing countries. One of the world's pre-eminent development economists, Lall was also one of the founding editors of the journal Oxford Development Studies and a senior economist at the World Bank (1965–68 and 1985–87).
, Bihar
, India
, and graduated from Patna University in 1960 with a BA in economics, receiving the Gold Medal for ranking first in the university. He then took a first-class degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
from St. John's College
, Oxford University in 1963, and a distinction in the MPhil in economics in 1965. Lall is the grandson of the prominent Indian historian K.P. Jayaswal
, and the brother-in-law of Cambridge economist Ajit Singh.
Lall's career began working as an economist at the World Bank
(1965–68). Apart from a two-year return to the bank in the mid-1980s, Oxford remained his home, where he served first as Junior, then as Senior, Research Officer at the Institute of Economics and Statistics for over 30 years; as a University Lecturer in Development Economics at Queen Elizabeth House; as a Fellow of Green College since 1982; and as Professor of Development Economics since 1999. In addition, he was course director of Development Studies at Oxford and one of the founding editors of the journal Oxford Development Studies. He was one of the most productive economists at the university, writing or co-authoring 33 books between 1975 and 2003, publishing 75 listed articles in reputable refereed professional journals, 72 chapters in books, 67 reports for international agencies or governments, and another 27 articles. He also acted as adviser or consultant to a wide spectrum of governments and international development organisations, from the World Bank, Unicef and the OECD to the European Commission
and the Commonwealth Secretariat
; he served as the Principal Consultant to Unctad (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) on its World Investment Report, and to Unido (the United Nations Industrial Development Organization) on its Industrial Development Report.
A second interwoven strand of work was on the development of technological capability in developing countries. Technology has generally mystified economists, and in turn, and true to their profession, economic theorists have tended to mystify technology. Lall stands in a fine line of thinkers who have challenged the black-box, reductionist view of technology in economic theorising. In its place, he attempted to develop over time the notion of the construction of technological capability, whether in an enterprise, in a firm, in an industry, or in an economy. He argued that, far from just "picking" industrial winners, the East Asian tiger economies had carefully and proactively "created" winners through the generation of technological capability and the acquisition of industrial competitiveness.
This feeds directly into a third group of ideas. How should the industrialist, or the policymaker, in a developing country set about generating technological capability and industrial competitiveness? Lall's empirical work carefully scrutinised the validity of the ubiquitous assertions that unrestricted flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) through multinationals would lead to effective technology transfer into the manufacturing sectors of developing economies. Lall tends seriously to question the automaticity of any such benefit transfer; he shows, however, the relevance of an active state policy vis-à-vis the domestic manufacturing and technology sectors.
The importance of the role of the state in generating a successful path of competitive industrialisation was one of the continuous threads running through his work. He did not balk at taking on positions that were unpopular among the neo-liberal unfettered-globalisation school. Very early in his career, he wrote a paper which toyed critically with the notion of dependency. Ever since then, the issue of the viability of autonomous, not autarkic, industrialisation in Third World economies was for him a latent leitmotif. From start to finish, Lall remained a passionate, but scientifically rigorous, advocate of Third World industrial development.
and Green Templeton College
at Oxford University, was successfully launched on 3 June 2011. The inaugural event was a panel discussion involving Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen
, Financial Times commentator Martin Wolf
, and the first holder of the new Chair, Professor Robert Wade of the London School of Economics. The event was opened by the Chancellor of Oxford University, Lord Chris Patten
. Other speakers included Professor Colin Mayer, Dean of the Said Business School, and Professor Frances Stewart of Queen Elizabeth House.
The panellists began by evoking the memory of Sanjaya both as a friend and a pioneering development economist. Drawing on Sanjaya's intellectual legacy, they debated how emerging economies will shape the future of the global economy and the challenges they are likely to face. Professor Sen highlighted the considerable pressures Western democracies face from powerful banking institutions, and the lessons to be learned from emerging markets with more robust regulatory systems. Mr Wolf illustrated the rapid convergence of a small number of developing countries, led by China, with advanced economies.Professor Wade discussed the problems of global economic governance, arguing for radical reform of bodies such as the IMF and the G-20.
The event attracted over 800 people, the largest ever turnout in the history of the Said Business School. A large number of distinguished academics from Oxford and beyond, as well as representatives from UNIDO, the World Bank, the IMF and other international organisations, attended the event.
Green College, Oxford
Green College was a graduate college of the University of Oxford in England. It was centred around an architecturally appealing 18th century building: the Radcliffe Observatory, which is modelled after the ancient "Tower of the Winds" in Athens....
, Oxford University. Lall's research interests included the impact of foreign direct investment in developing countries, the economics of multi-national corporations, and the development of technological capability and industrial competitiveness in developing countries. One of the world's pre-eminent development economists, Lall was also one of the founding editors of the journal Oxford Development Studies and a senior economist at the World Bank (1965–68 and 1985–87).
Biography
Lall was born in PatnaPatna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and graduated from Patna University in 1960 with a BA in economics, receiving the Gold Medal for ranking first in the university. He then took a first-class degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Philosophy, politics, and economics is a popular interdisciplinary undergraduate/graduate degree which combines study from the three disciplines...
from St. John's College
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
, Oxford University in 1963, and a distinction in the MPhil in economics in 1965. Lall is the grandson of the prominent Indian historian K.P. Jayaswal
K.P. Jayaswal
Kashi Prasad Jayaswal was an Indian historian and lawyer. One of the intellectual forces behind the Indian nationalist movement, Jayaswal's works 'Hindu Polity' and 'History of India, 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.' are classics of ancient Indian historical literature...
, and the brother-in-law of Cambridge economist Ajit Singh.
Lall's career began working as an economist at the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
(1965–68). Apart from a two-year return to the bank in the mid-1980s, Oxford remained his home, where he served first as Junior, then as Senior, Research Officer at the Institute of Economics and Statistics for over 30 years; as a University Lecturer in Development Economics at Queen Elizabeth House; as a Fellow of Green College since 1982; and as Professor of Development Economics since 1999. In addition, he was course director of Development Studies at Oxford and one of the founding editors of the journal Oxford Development Studies. He was one of the most productive economists at the university, writing or co-authoring 33 books between 1975 and 2003, publishing 75 listed articles in reputable refereed professional journals, 72 chapters in books, 67 reports for international agencies or governments, and another 27 articles. He also acted as adviser or consultant to a wide spectrum of governments and international development organisations, from the World Bank, Unicef and the OECD to the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and the Commonwealth Secretariat
Commonwealth Secretariat
The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating cooperation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings ; assisting and advising on policy...
; he served as the Principal Consultant to Unctad (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) on its World Investment Report, and to Unido (the United Nations Industrial Development Organization) on its Industrial Development Report.
Academic contributions
Lall made contributions to development economics in three major areas. The first of these came early in the form of pioneering work on transfer pricing by multinational enterprises, based especially on an empirical investigation of corporations operating in the pharmaceutical industry. It showed basically how multinationals could use intra-firm pricing and accounting mechanisms to siphon out, or invisibly repatriate, profits from their overseas enterprises. This was accompanied by extensive work on the role of foreign investment and multinationals in developing economies, done in part in collaboration with one of his early mentors, Paul Streeten. Lall's fascination with India and the Indian economy led to his opening up a related, highly significant field of work - the phenomenon of Third World multinationals, and developing countries as the exporters of technology.A second interwoven strand of work was on the development of technological capability in developing countries. Technology has generally mystified economists, and in turn, and true to their profession, economic theorists have tended to mystify technology. Lall stands in a fine line of thinkers who have challenged the black-box, reductionist view of technology in economic theorising. In its place, he attempted to develop over time the notion of the construction of technological capability, whether in an enterprise, in a firm, in an industry, or in an economy. He argued that, far from just "picking" industrial winners, the East Asian tiger economies had carefully and proactively "created" winners through the generation of technological capability and the acquisition of industrial competitiveness.
This feeds directly into a third group of ideas. How should the industrialist, or the policymaker, in a developing country set about generating technological capability and industrial competitiveness? Lall's empirical work carefully scrutinised the validity of the ubiquitous assertions that unrestricted flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) through multinationals would lead to effective technology transfer into the manufacturing sectors of developing economies. Lall tends seriously to question the automaticity of any such benefit transfer; he shows, however, the relevance of an active state policy vis-à-vis the domestic manufacturing and technology sectors.
The importance of the role of the state in generating a successful path of competitive industrialisation was one of the continuous threads running through his work. He did not balk at taking on positions that were unpopular among the neo-liberal unfettered-globalisation school. Very early in his career, he wrote a paper which toyed critically with the notion of dependency. Ever since then, the issue of the viability of autonomous, not autarkic, industrialisation in Third World economies was for him a latent leitmotif. From start to finish, Lall remained a passionate, but scientifically rigorous, advocate of Third World industrial development.
The Sanjaya Lall Visiting Professorship in Development and Business
The Sanjaya Lall Visiting Professorship, associated with the Said Business SchoolSaïd Business School
Saïd Business School is the business school of the University of Oxford in England, located on the north side of Frideswide Square on the former site of Oxford Rewley Road railway station. It is the University's centre of learning for graduate and undergraduate students in business, management...
and Green Templeton College
Green Templeton College, Oxford
Green Templeton College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is the university's newest college having come into existence on 1 October 2008 from the merger of Green College and Templeton College...
at Oxford University, was successfully launched on 3 June 2011. The inaugural event was a panel discussion involving Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen
Amartya Sen
Amartya Sen, CH is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members...
, Financial Times commentator Martin Wolf
Martin Wolf
Martin Wolf, CBE is a British journalist, widely considered to be one of the world's most influential writers on economics. He is associate editor and chief economics commentator at the Financial Times.-Early life:...
, and the first holder of the new Chair, Professor Robert Wade of the London School of Economics. The event was opened by the Chancellor of Oxford University, Lord Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
. Other speakers included Professor Colin Mayer, Dean of the Said Business School, and Professor Frances Stewart of Queen Elizabeth House.
The panellists began by evoking the memory of Sanjaya both as a friend and a pioneering development economist. Drawing on Sanjaya's intellectual legacy, they debated how emerging economies will shape the future of the global economy and the challenges they are likely to face. Professor Sen highlighted the considerable pressures Western democracies face from powerful banking institutions, and the lessons to be learned from emerging markets with more robust regulatory systems. Mr Wolf illustrated the rapid convergence of a small number of developing countries, led by China, with advanced economies.Professor Wade discussed the problems of global economic governance, arguing for radical reform of bodies such as the IMF and the G-20.
The event attracted over 800 people, the largest ever turnout in the history of the Said Business School. A large number of distinguished academics from Oxford and beyond, as well as representatives from UNIDO, the World Bank, the IMF and other international organisations, attended the event.
Published books
- Foreign Investment, Transnationals and Developing Countries (with P. P. Streeten), London: Macmillan, 1977. Reprinted 1978 and 1980 and in paperback, 1980, English Language Book Society edition, 1986.
- The Growth of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Developing Countries, Vienna: United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, 1979. French edition, 1980.
- The Multinational Corporation: Nine Essays, London: Macmillan, and New York: Holmes and Meier, 1980. Paperback edition, 1983.
- Developing Countries in the International Economy: Selected Papers, London: Macmillan, and New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1981. Paperback edition, 1985.
- Developing Countries as Exporters of Technology: The Indian Experience, London: Macmillan, 1982, and New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1982.
- The New Multinationals: The Spread of Third World Enterprises (in collaboration with E. Chen, J. Katz, B. Kosacoff and A. Villela) Chichester: J. Wiley, 1983. In French, Les Multionationales Originaires du Tiers Monde, Paris: Press Universitaires de France, 1984; in German, Multionationale Konzerne aus der Dritten Welt, Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 1984.
- Multinationals, Technology and Exports, London: Macmillan, and New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985.
- Learning to Industrialize: The Acquisition of Technological Capability by India, London: Macmillan and New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.
- Building Industrial Competitiveness in Developing Countries, and (in French) Promouvir la Competitivite Industriells dans les Pays en Developpement, Paris: OECD, 1990.
- Current Issues in Development Economics (editor), with V. N. Balasubramanyam, London: Macmillan, 1991.
- Alternative Development Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa (editor), with Frances Stewart and S. Wangwe, London: Macmillan, 1992, paperback edition, 1994.
- Transnational Corporations and Economic Development (editor), London: Routledge, 1993 (Volume 3 of UN Centre on TNCs, Library on Transnational Corporations).
- Third World Transnationals and Their Impact on Home Countries, United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations, New York, 1993.
- World Bank Support for Industrialization in Korea, India and Indonesia (with F. Najmabadi and S. Banerji), Washington, DC: World Bank, Operations Evaluation Department, 1993.
- Technology and Enterprise Development: Ghana Under Structural Adjustment, with G. B. Navaretti, S. Teitel and G. Wignaraja, London: Macmillan and New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994, paperback edition, 1995.
- Developing Industrial Technology: Lessons for Policy and Practice (with F. Najmabadi), World Bank, Operations Evaluation Department Study, 1995.
- Learning from the Asian Tigers: Studies in Technology and Industrial Policy, London: Macmillan, 1996.
- Attracting Foreign Investment: New Trends, Sources and Policies, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, Economic Paper 31, 1997.
- Selective Policies for Export Promotion: Lessons from the Asian Tigers, Helsinki: UN University, World Institute for Development Economics Research, 1998.
- The Technological Response to Import Liberalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, (editor) London: Macmillan, 1999.
- Competing with Labour: Skills and Competitiveness in Developing Countries, Geneva, International Labour Office, Issues in Development Discussion Paper 31, 1999.
- Promoting Industrial Competitiveness in Developing Countries: Lessons from Asia, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, Economic Paper No. 39, 1999.
- Export performance, technological upgrading and FDI strategies in the Asian newly industrializing economies: with special reference to Singapore (in English and Spanish), UN ECLAC, Santiago de Chile, Serie Desarrollo Productivo Number 88, 2000.
- The Competitiveness Challenge: Transnational Corporations and Industrial Restructuring in Developing Countries (with M. Mortimore, H. Romijn and others), United Nations (UNCTAD): Geneva, 2000.
- Competitiveness, Technology and Skills, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2001.
- The Economics of Technology Transfer (editor), in ‘The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics’ series, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2001.
- Reforming the UN System: UNIDO’s Need-Driven Model, The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2001, with Carlos Magariños, G. Assaf, J. Martinussen, R. Ricupero and F. Sercovich.
- Failing to Compete: Technology Development and Technology Systems in Africa (with Carlo Pietrobelli), Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2002.
- Competitiveness, FDI and Technological Activity in East Asia (editor with Shujiro Urata), Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2003, for the World Bank Institute.
External links
- http://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/members/sanjaya.lall/ Oxford University Faculty of Economics Profile
- http://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/research/fdi-conf/Stewart_Tribute_Lall07.pdf Tribute to Sanjaya Lall by colleague
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article541078.ece Obituary in The Times, 7 July 2005