Economic
Research Foundation
is a registered, not-for-profit trust, engaged in
research, training and the dissemination of information
and analysis in the area of development economics.
It seeks to evolve alternative policies aimed at alleviating
deprivation and to build capacity for formulating
and implementing such policies. A focus of its activities
is the use of information technology to further these
ends. Apart from Macroscan, the Foundation maintains
the website
www.networkideas.org on
behalf of the International Development Economics
Associates. It also used to maintain
another website
www.kisanwatch.org on behalf
of the Mandi Board, Government of
Madhya Pradesh, India.
It also currently host a website called www.atisweb.org
for " Agriculture Trade Initiative from the South".
Research undertaken by ERF is coordinated by Prof.
C.P. Chandrasekhar and Prof. Jayati Ghosh, and is
supported by a team consisting of:
Anilkumar Mani
is a web manager who has worked
extensively in the area of web design and site maintenance.
He has experience working in many areas of India,
including Bangalore and Gujarat. He has a 'Higher
Diploma in Software Engineering' from Aptech, India,
and has also completed a web designing course from
the Icon Academy, Gujarat, India. He holds supervisory
responsibility for all web based work undertaken by
ERF.
Surender Rana
is a web
assistant
who is partially responsible for the web work undertaken
by the team. In addition, he maintains a section of
the database for ERF. He also takes the responsibility
of coordinating the translation work that ERF requires.
He has previously worked as part of the technical
team in Tehelka.com.
Ranja Sengupta
holds an M. Phil degree in economics from Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi. She has previously worked
in the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy
(NIPFP), New Delhi. Her thesis is a cross sectional
study of agricultural production relations, economic
structures and their impact on production and distribution
in the Indian state of West Bengal. Her research areas
cover the study of agrarian structures and production
conditions as well as human development issues including
global as well as country studies of poverty and inequality.
She has written short articles on international trade
and country specific development issues. She has written
papers for the UN, Oxfam International, CEPA (Sri
Lanka) and background papers for the Human Development
Reports, West Bengal, India.
Smitha Francis
holds
a doctoral degree from the Centre for Economic Studies
and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New
Delhi. Her thesis is an analysis of Thailand’s experience
with the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows
in industrial restructuring. She was a recipient of
the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fellowship for her doctoral
fieldwork in Thailand spread over 1998-2000. During
this period, she was a Visiting Fellow at the Chulalongkorn
University Social Research Institute (CUSRI), Bangkok.
Prior to this, she has worked at the Research and
Information System for the Non-aligned and other Developing
Countries (RIS), New Delhi. While she has presented
papers at national and international conferences and
has published papers, most of her work is also available
at www.networkideas.org. Her areas of interest include
development economics, international trade and finance
and the East and Southeast Asian economies.
Narendra Singh
works
as a data assistant in the organisation. He tabulates
and processes data for various research papers and
research projects, published by ERF. This includes
the Human Development report for West Bengal, India.
He is an Arts graduate
from the University of Delhi
and holds an additional diploma
in computer applications from the Delhi Institution
of Computer Technology (DICT). Prior to his present
assignment, he worked as
a computer word processor and office assistant in
several organizations.
Anamitra
Roychowdhury
holds an M.A. degree in economics
from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has
submitted his M. Phil dissertation entitled "On
Some Problems in the estimation of Growth rate of
Output in India: An Analysis with reference to the
Period 1981-82 to 2002-03" to Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi. He is presently a doctoral
student in the same University. He has previously
worked in the National Institute of Public Finance
and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi, and has written articles
on various contemporary issues of the Indian Economy.
His areas of interest include Macroeconomics, Development
Economics, Political Economy and contemporary issues
of Indian Economy.
Vithika Alda
holds
an M.A degree in Economics from the Delhi School of
Economics, University of Delhi. She did her summer
internship in May-June, 2006, with the National Productivity
Council, New Delhi on an UNDP funded project. The
project dealt with the ‘Impact of Globalization and
Trade Liberalization on Gender in India’. Her areas
of interest include macroeconomics, finance, public
economics and contemporary issues related to the Indian
Economy.
Peter Ki
completed his M. Phil degree from JNU. The topic of
his dissertation is “Role of Verification in Arms
Control: A Comparative Study of the Biological and
Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and the Chemical Weapons
Convention (CWC)”. He worked as Research Assistant
at the National Security Research Foundation (NSRF),
Hauz Khas, New Delhi from October 2005 to September
2006. He has been engaged in editing newsletters and
working papers brought out by the institute.
Nancy
Tirkey
holds an M.A degree in Economics
from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has
submitted her M. Phil dissertation entitled “Education
Disparity: A Case Study of Jharkhand”. The dissertation
is an analysis of education disparity, measured in
terms of literacy rates, among gender and social groups
in Jharkhand. She is presently a doctoral student
in the same university at the Centre for Study of
Regional Development. Her areas of interest include
development economics, public finance and the Indian
economy.
Deepanwita
Dutta
holds an MA degree in Economics
from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. She has assisted
in various research projects at the School of Women’s
Studies in Jadavpur University, Kolkata. She has also
taught economics at secondary and higher secondary
levels in various schools in Assam. Her research interests
include development economics and banking and finance.
Arindam Banerjee holds
an M.A. degree in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi and is presently a doctoral
student in the same University. He is working on growth
of capitalist relations, farm profitability and investment
in Indian agriculture. The research concerns the behaviour
of different peasant classes in the labour and land-lease
markets under current condition of production in Indian
agriculture. He has previously worked in the National
Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New
Delhi. His areas of interest include agricultural
economics, rural development, macroeconomics, political
economy and contemporary issues of the Indian economy.
Sanjib
Kumar Jha
holds a M.A in Economics from
the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University. Prior
to his present assignment, he worked as a Research
Associate in a Consultancy firm and has written various
reports on different sectors of the Economy where
he used both primary and secondary data. He has also
written several articles on Indian capital markets.
His area of interest includes macroeconomics, capital
markets and issues of contemporary development of
the Indian Economy.