Dilip Mookherjee
Dilip Mookherjee was the Lead Academic for IGC India and Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for Economic Development at Boston University. He received his PhD from the London School of Economics in 1982, and has previously taught at Stanford University and the Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi. His research interests include development economics, contract and organization theory. Recent projects on South Asian countries include agricultural supply chains; microfinance and financial development, land acquisition laws, land reforms, decentralization, and deforestation. He is Lead Academic of the IGC India Central Program, and has been past-President of BREAD. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, and has been recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Mahalanobis Memorial Medal of the Indian Econometric Society.
Content by Dilip Mookherjee
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Data Item
Data: Potato traders in West Bengal: A survey of contractual relations and market structure
Our study consists of a pilot survey of a random sub-set of phorias (middlemen) and larger traders who operate in 72 villages of West Medinipur and Hugli districts and their corresponding potato markets. Our goal is to understand the nature of contractual relations between farmers and phorias on the one hand, and between phorias and wholesale traders that they sell to on...
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Publication - Project Report
Community origins of industrial entrepreneurship: Theory and historical evidence from India
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Blog post
An economist’s view on recent domestic and world events
Dilip Mookherjee spoke to Hindu Business Line at length on a variety of issues including demonetisation, the upcoming Budget, and the Trump Presidency’s impact on the world economy. Excerpts: What are your views on the recent demonetisation exercise? Yes I’m struck by the audaciousness of the move, I don’t know how well planned it was. In terms of motives one can...
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Project
Community origins of industrial entrepreneurship: Theory and historical evidence from India
The transition from agriculture to trade and the subsequent transition from trade to manufacturing are key stages in the development process. In countries where a substantial manufacturing sector exists, a few small communities often dominate it. Our objective in this project is to examine, theoretically and empirically, the role played by community networks in the...
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Blog post
A new approach to microfinance
Traditional microcredit has had limited success at enabling farmers to expand the cultivation of risky but profitable cash crops. A new approach that uses local intermediaries and aligns their incentives with farmer profits could generate better outcomes for agricultural production and incomes
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Blog post
(Mis)Leading attack on MNREGA
Despite high profile calls for phasing out the India government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), analysis by IGC economists suggests the argument is based on exaggerating the costs of the programme and down-playing the benefits. The case highlights the need for evidence based research to inform public policy
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Blog post
MNREGA: Populist leaky bucket or anti-poverty success?
The world’s largest workfare programme – MNREGA – formed the backbone of the Indian United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s anti-poverty programme, and may well represent its most important legacy. While the programme was far from perfect, it was much more effective than other existing schemes Nine years ago, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)...
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Publication - Working Paper
Why the left front lost West Bengal: Poor Governance or Enhanced Accountability Standards?
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Publication - Policy Brief
Political Clientelism and Government Accountability in West Bengal: Theory and Evidence (Policy Brief)
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Project
Political Clientelism and Government Accountability in West Bengal: Theory and Evidence
Many developing countries are decentralizing delivery of public services to local governments in the hope this will enhance accountability of service providers. To what extent is it actually succeeding? As highlighted by the 2004 World Development Report, this issue has become highly relevant in large parts of the developing world, given widespread evidence of serious...
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Project
Middleman Margins, Credit and Information Constraints: Potato Markets in West Bengal, India
Credit and information constraints are particularly acute for farmers in developing countries, and can have a strong impact on their productivity. This project studies pass-through of fluctuations of retail prices to farm-gate prices in the context potato cultivation in West Bengal, India. The primary focus is on credit and information constraints faced by potato farmers...
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Multimedia Item - Video
Video: South Asia Growth Conference 2014 - Dilip Mookherjee
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Publication - Working Paper
Potato Traders in West Bengal: A Survey of Contractual Relations and Market Structure
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Publication - Policy Brief
Political Clientelism and Government Accountability in West Bengal: Theory and Evidence (Policy Brief)
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Publication - Working Paper
Political Clientelism and Government Accountability in West Bengal: Theory and Evidence (Working Paper)
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Project
Potato Traders in West Bengal: A Survey of Contractual Relations and Market Structure
Credit and information constraints are particularly acute for farmers in developing countries, and can have a strong impact on their productivity. This project studies pass-through of fluctuations of retail prices to farm-gate prices in the context potato cultivation in West Bengal, India. The primary focus is on credit and information constraints faced by potato farmers...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Potato Traders in West Bengal: A Survey of Contractual Relations and Market Structure (Policy Brief)
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Publication - Working Paper
Asymmetric Information and Middleman Margins (Working Paper)
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Publication - Working Paper
Intermediated Loans: A New Approach to Microfinance (Working Paper)
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Publication - Policy Brief
Intermediated loans: A new approach to microfinance (Policy Brief)
Microfinance attempts to be an effective tool for increasing financial inclusion for the world’s poor. However, microfinance programmes often prescribe rigid repayment schedules and a lack of tolerance for risk-taking. Thus, growth and poverty reduction impacts have been limited. This study asks whether it is possible to design a more flexible system of...
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Publication - Working Paper
Land Acquisition for Business and Compensation of Displaced Farmers (Working Paper)
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Publication - Policy Brief
Land Acquisition for Business and Compensation of Displaced Farmers (Policy Brief)
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Project
Case study on successful land acquisitions in Bihar
Over the last few years, large-scale land acquisitions of farmland for business in Africa, Latin America, and Asia have often made headlines because of controversies concerning compensation paid to displaced farmers. This has led to political strife, often leading to the abandonment of profitable projects, thereby dealing a blow to the development process. The issue of...
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Project
Land Acquisition for Business and Compensation of Displaced Farmers
Over the last few years, large-scale land acquisitions of farmland for business in Africa, Latin America, and Asia have often made headlines because of controversies concerning compensation paid to displaced farmers. This has led to political strife, often leading to the abandonment of profitable projects, thereby dealing a blow to the development process. The issue of...