Achin Chakraborty, Professor of Economics
Professor Chakraborty received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Riverside, USA. His dissertation, The Concept and Measurement of the Standard of Living, dealt with some of the conceptual and technical issues emerging out of the capabilities approach. He was awarded the dissertation fellowship for 1994-95 by the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, USA. He is currently on leave from the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala, where he served as a member of the faculty for eight years, engaged in teaching, research, and coordination of the M.Phil. Programme in Applied Economics. He carried out a number of research projects at CDS, which include Economic Analysis of Coastal and Marine Resources Management and Poverty Reduction (IUCN and ADB), Cost-Benefit Analysis of Puyankutty Hydroelectric Project (KSEB), Poverty Impact Assessment of SAL to Kerala (ADB). He also coordinated the preparation of the Kerala Human Development Report (UNDP and Planning Commission). He designed and taught a course on health economics for the MPH Programme at the Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
Professor Chakraborty has published research articles on measurement well-being and deprivation, social cost-benefit analysis, methodology and related themes. His recent papers include: "Making Inter-Country Comparison of Life Expectancy Inequality Sensitive", Social Indicators Research, 2003.[Jointly with U.S. Mishra] ; "Environmental Costs and their Impact on the Net Present Value of a Hydroelectric Project in Kerala, India", Environment and Development Economics, 2003. [Jointly with V. Santhakumar] ; "The Rhetoric of Disagreement in Reform Debates" (forthcoming) in The Politics of Economic Reform in India, Sage. ;"On the Structure of Some Measures of Deprivation", Working Paper, University of California at Riverside, 2003.[Jointly with Prasanta Pattanaik and Yongsheng Xu]
At IDSK he continues his research on themes related to well-being, deprivation and inequality.