Abhirup Sarkar obtained his bachelor's degree in economics from Presidency College, Calcutta and a Masters from the University of Calcutta. He did his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester and has spent most of his academic career at the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta. He has also taught at various other places in India and abroad including the University of Florida, USA, Brigham Young University, USA, Concordia University, Canada, International Centre for Economic Research, Italy and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. The primary areas of his research interests are international trade and economic development. Apart from contributing to scholarly journals he regularly writes popular pieces in dailies and periodicals. He is the Chairman of WBIDFC, Vice Chairman of WBIDC, a member of the Group of Advisors to the Union Finance Minister on G20 matters, a member of the West Bengal State Planning Board and the Chairman of the Expert Committee on Higher Education of West Bengal.
