India's Economic Outlook: How the Past Will Shape the Future

Myron Scholes Global Markets Forum

April 12, 2007 Noon–2 p.m. University Club

Raghuran G. Rajan, Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance When compared with the experience of other fast-growing Asian economies, India’s economic development has been anything but normal. While the importance of services rather than manufacturing has been widely noted, India has also taken the uncommon strategy of emphasizing skill-intensive rather than labor-intensive manufacturing and focusing on industries with higher-than-average scale. Some of these distinctive patterns existed prior to the beginning of economic reforms in the 1980s and stem from the idiosyncratic policies adopted after independence. Although reforms have removed some policy barriers, India has yet to see any dramatic change in its historic patterns. Professor Raghuram G. Rajan will discuss the implications of India’s uncommon path to economic growth and share his thoughts on how India’s past will shape its economic future.

Speaker Profiles

Raghuram G. Rajan

Raghuram G. Rajan is the Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth. From 2003-06, Professor Rajan was economic counselor and director of research at the International Monetary Fund. His research is broadly on the role of institutions, especially financial institutions, in fostering economic development. In 2003, Rajan was awarded the inaugural Fischer Black Prize by the American Finance Association for contributions to finance by an economist under 40. Rajan is an electrical engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. He earned his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and his PhD from MIT.

Sponsorship

This event is co-sponsored by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The IGM Forum is generously sponsored by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Trust.

Chicago Booth