The Making of A Catastrophe: Covid-19 And The Indian Economy (Book by Jayati Ghosh)

In this episode, our producer, Anotida Chikumbu sits with Jayati Ghosh, an Indian development economist and professor. Ghosh taught economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi for nearly 35 years, and since January 2021 she has been Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. She has authored and/or edited 20 books and more than 200 scholarly articles. Her most recent book, “The making of a catastrophe: Covid-19 and the Indian economy,” was published by Aleph Books. A copy of this book can be accessed on https://www.alephbookcompany.com/book... Ghosh has received several prizes, including the 2015 Adisheshaiah Award for distinguished contributions to the social sciences in India; the International Labour Organisation’s Decent Work Research Prize for 2011; and the NordSud Prize for Social Sciences 2010, Italy. She has advised governments in India and other countries, including as Chairperson of the Andhra Pradesh Commission on Farmers’ Welfare in 2004, and Member of the National Knowledge Commission of India (2005-09). She was the Executive Secretary of International Development Economics Associates (www.networkideas.org), an international network of heterodox development economists, from 2002 to 2021. In 2023, she was awarded the John Kenneth Galbraith award by the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, "in recognition of breakthrough discoveries in economics and outstanding contributions to humanity through leadership, research and service." She has consulted for international organizations including ILO, UNDP, UNCTAD, UN-DESA, UNRISD and UN Women and is member of several international boards and commissions, including the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs, the Commission on Global Economic Transformation of INET, the International Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT). In 2021 she was appointed to the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All, chaired by Mariana Mazzucato. In March 2022, she was appointed to the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, mandated to provide a vision for international cooperation to deal with current and future challenges. She also writes regularly for popular media, including newspapers, journals and blogs.