Ajay Chhibber
Ajay Chhibber
IIEP Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council
Visiting Scholars
Contact:
Dr. Ajay Chhibber is Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP), George Washington University, Washington D.C., Senior Visiting Professor at the Indian Council for Research on India’s Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.
He was the first Director General, Independent Evaluation Office, India (Minister of State) and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. He also was Chief Economic Advisor to FICCI and now serves on CII’s Economic Advisory Council. He served earlier as Assistant Secretary General, UN and Assistant Administrator, UNDP where he was responsible for work on Asia and the Pacific. At the World Bank he served in senior positions as Country Director in Turkey and Vietnam, and Division Chief for Indonesia and the Pacific as well as the Director and Lead Author of the seminal 1997 World Development Report on the Role of the State.
He has a Ph. D from Stanford University, an MA from the Delhi School of Economics and was awarded the David Rajaram Prize for best all rounder at St Stephen’s College, Delhi University where he received BA Hons in Economics. He has also done advanced management courses at Harvard University and at INSEAD, France.
He has written six books on Economic Development and numerous published articles in major journals. He writes regularly for newspapers and business magazines. His latest book co-authored with Salman Soz “Unshackling India: Hard Truths and Clear Choices for Economic Revival” (Harper-Collins) has just been declared the Best New Book in Economics for 2022 in the Financial Times and won the India Economic Forum Literary Award for 2022.
Economic Development, Poverty, Climate change, Fiscal Policy, Public Enterprises, Trade and Global Development
MA, Delhi School of Economics
Ph.D. from Stanford University
Global Economic Governance, International Finance, International Economic Policy
Featured Work
Measuring Human Development for the Anthropocene
India’s Interventionist State: Reduce Its Scope and Improve Its Capability
Talk at LUMS Mahbub Al Haq Center
“India’s Public Sector Enterprises: Why the Business of Government is Not Business”, Monograph of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. New Delhi, India, February 2018.
Asia Rebounds But Lasting Recovery Needs New Paradigm, November 2009, United Nations Development Program, New York, USA.
1997 World Development Report on the Role of the State
Assessing and Evaluating the Addis Ababa Action Agenda(AAAA), India National Institute of Public Finance and Policy
China’s belt and road initiative and India’s options: Competitive cooperation
Featured Books
Economic Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa, World Bank, with S. Fischer, 1990.
Reform and Growth, edited with R. Peters and B. Yale, Transactions Press, 2005
The Atlantic Council
“Can India make an opportunity out of crisis?” May 2020
“War in peacetime: The state comes roaring back,” April 2020
Anadolu Ajansi
“There is information about the rocket hit of oil plants,” September 2019
Bloomberg
“We Need a New Way to Measure Human Progress,” October 2019
Brookings
“Global solutions to global ‘bads’: 2 practical proposals to help developing countries deal with the COVID-19 pandemic,” April 2020
“Festering global problems require more globalized financing,” January 2016
Business Standard
“Ease vs cost of doing business in India,” July 2021
“India’s Interventionist State: Bolster govt capability, reform management ,” March 2021
“India’s interventionist state: Reduce its scope, increase capability,” March 2021
“How to make in India,” January 2017
“It’s the economy, stupid,” September 2017
“Five game-changers in the Budget,” March 2015
“Opportunity to make up for lost time,” September 2015
“Laying the foundation for take-off,” December 2014
Business World
“Ajay Chhibber on Growth, Healthcare and Privatisation – Union Budget 2022,”January 2022
“Needed: Bold Economic Life Support To Ride Out The Pandemic,” March 2020
“The Return of Stagflation? Seven Things to Fix the Economy,” December 2019
“SDG’s: A Sumptuous Banquet On Development,” April 2016
“Is India Sliding Into A Banking Crisis?,” March 2016
The Economic Times
“Why a law to perpetuate minimum support price would be a huge mistake,” December 2021
“Litmus test passed, how the government can ‘Air India’ the rest,” October 2021
“View: If India has to take on China, it must understand China and its future intentions,” September 2021
“75 years of independence: What India needs to do to fulfill its tryst with destiny,” June 2021
“The way out of farm protests: How to make it a win-win for both farmers and Modi govt,” July 2021
”View: The Finance Minister’s 2021 budget has thrown a huge lifeline, but will it work?,” February 2021
“PLI signals the recognition that laissez-faire won’t work in a fiercely competitive market,” December 2020
“The virus has seriously exposed the limits of populism. But will the pandemic push it against the wall?,” August 2020
“View: The time couldn’t be more ripe for Narendra Modi to cement a strategic India-US alliance,” July 2020
“Hindi- Chini Bye-Bye : China’s Belligerence will Push India Closer to the USA,” July 2020
“View: Dear PM, India needs sahyog more than atmanirbharta,” June 2020
“View: India has been forced a reset by Covid-19, especially its political economy of reform,” May 2020
“View: India needs coordinated fiscal action and monetary stimulus to overcome Coronavirus crisis,” March 2020
“Corona Pandemic 2020: How to Minimize the Damage in a Dangerous Year?,” March
“View: Growth, and not inflation is India’s real problem,” March 2020
“View: With food and fuel consumer price index surges, it’s time to rethink the inflation target regime,” January 2020
“Reforms in 2020: Enough of Snakes & Ladders for economy,” January 2020
“View: As Growth Tapers, Here’s What Can Be Done to Revive the Economy,” November 2019
“Why the bottom-up approach to eradicating poverty might not work,” November 2019
“View: Short term measures to pull economy out of crisis,” August 2019
“Time to Fix India-US Trade Tensions,” August 2019
“Does India need to wait for another crisis to trigger reforms necessary after the recent booster shots?” October 2019
“Driving Out of nowhere,” October 2017
“India and China need some kind of competitive cooperation rather than an open conflict,” August 2017
“NPA crisis: Banking ordinance skirts real solutions to the ongoing crisis,” May 2017
“Demonetisation: Black wealth, the real deal,” November 2016
“And now, back to the Bank,” June 2016
The Financial Express
“Time has come for 5-year plan to privatise PSUs & a separate ministry reporting to the PM to ensure it happens,” February 2021
“Coordinating Covid-Response: Global coordination needed to tackle Covid-19 crisis,” May 2020
“New Asian Drama: Inequality hurts anti-poverty efforts,” March 2020
“With GST coming here’s what’s a must-do on Fiscal Policy,” August 2016
“Budget Cafe 2016: Fiscal responsibility key to cooperative federalism,” February 2016
“A bold disinvestment strategy needed,” January 2016
The Financial Times
“Letter: For US, fiscal boost was no cure in past recessions,” November 2020
“View: Growth, and not inflation is India’s real problem” March 2020
“View: RBI does its bit, the ball is back in govt’s court to revive growth” February 2020
The Institute For New Economic Thinking
“Unshackling India for Economic Revival” February 2022
India Express
“To 2016, uncertainly,” December 2015
“Out of business,” October 2015
“Risk and opportunity,” August 2015
“Two birds, one cut,” June 2015
“New world bank order,” April 2015
“A new menu,” February 2015
“Bharat’s other ratnas,” November 2014
The Print
“Uday Bhakshar and Alok Bansal welcome new CDS post, Ajay Chhibber on ecnoomic revival,“August 2019