International Trade, Economic Development and National Welfare: Essays in Memory of Sarbajit Chaudhuri

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of contemporary issues in international trade and economic development. Emphasising the significance of economic development within policymaking, the book covers important issues like the provisioning of public goods, its implication in a liberalised regime, crime and corruption, skilled-unskilled wage inequality, income distribution and unemployment, environmental regulation and role of educational capital and informal sector. The volume deals with the impact that different aspects of international trade and investment are likely to have on the above-mentioned areas. The essays, written to honour the memory of Professor Sarbajit Chaudhuri, also examine topics that focus on public policy related to immigration of skilled workforce, political resistance and political compulsions that a democratic government might face in keeping with its commitment to tariff reforms, gender wage gap and issues related to globalisation, income distribution and unemployment.

The book will be of invaluable interest to postgraduate students, scholars and researchers of development economics, international economics and labour economics and to those working on theoretical research on applications of general equilibrium trade models in developing countries.

Kausik Gupta is Professor of Economics at the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India. He was also former Vice-Chancellor of West Bengal State University, Barasat, West Bengal, India. He did his PhD in Economics from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India, and his Post-Doctoral Research as a World Bank Fellow from the University of York, UK. Professor Gupta was one of the closest friends of Professor Sarbajit Chaudhuri since their Master’s Level when they were classmates, did their PhD under the same supervisor, Professor Manash Ranjan Gupta, and had similarities in their research interests like Trade and Development, Labour Economics and Environmental Economics. Professor Gupta also published a large number of research papers in reputed international and national journals and has supervised a large number of PhD students. Professor Gupta’s current research interest is in the field of theoretical modelling related to trade and development.

Jayanta Kumar Dwibedi is Associate Professor of Economics at Brahmananda Keshab Chandra College, Kolkata, India. He did his PhD from the University of Calcutta, India, in 2008, working under the supervision of Professor Sarbajit Chaudhuri. With his specialisation in Trade and Development and Labour Economics, Dwibedi has published a number of research articles in many renowned international and national journals such as The Manchester School, International Journal of Economic Theory, International Review of Economics and Finance, Bulletin of Economic Research, Research in Economics, Review of Development Economics and Economic and Political Weekly. His current research interests include Development Economics, Labour Economics and issues related to Public Finance and Public Policy.