Economics

University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University or CU) is a collegiate public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.&nbsp;Within India it is recognized as a &quot;Five-Star University&quot; and accredited &quot;A&quot; Grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

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The University of Calcutta has secured the Fifth position among the Universities of India in the prestigious &quot;Indian University Ranking 2019&quot; list, released by the NIRF of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

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It was established on 24 January 1857, and was one of the first institutions in Asia to be established as a multidisciplinary and Western-style university. Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state, heads of government, social reformers, prominent artists, only academy award winner and Dirac medal winner in India, many Fellows of the Royal Society and five Nobel laureates as of 2019 which is highest in South Asia.

University Of Calcutta

Econometrics in Theory and Practice

Panel Unit Root Test

World University root node

Global Competitiveness: Business Transformation in the Digital Era

Can cryptocurrency help business to be more competitive?

Knowledge, Class and Economics

Primitive accumulation and historical inevitability

The rural nonfarm sector has been increasingly becoming a key determinant of the economic development of a developing economy. It is supposed that with process economic development of the nonfarm sector would expand and employ a greater proportion of the workforce previously engaged in the farm sector. We have built up a three-sector Harris–Todaro type dual economy model for a small open economy to investigate the consequences of the liberalized investment policy resulting in higher foreign direct investment (FDI) on the competitive rural sector wage and the urban unemployment problem taking into consideration the “consumption linkage” between the rural farm and nonfarm sectors. We have found that FDI unambiguously raises the rural wage and leads to a contraction of the farm sector. However, the consequence on the urban unemployment problem crucially hinges on the elasticities of demand for the nonfarm product and the proportion of the workforce employed in the urban sector. We have then extended the basic model to consider the “production linkage” between the two sectors in lieu of the “consumption linkage”. The results of the basic model are found to be approximately valid even in this case. Finally, we have advocated a few policies that should be adhered to assist both the farm and the nonfarm sectors to grow simultaneously which would not only make the common workers better off and mitigate the unemployment problem but would also lessen the degree of income inequality existing among the different groups of the working population.

Journal of Quantitative Economics

Foreign Direct Investment and Rural Farm and Nonfarm Sectors in a Developing Economy

Purpose: Some recent empirical studies have found that developing countries are more prone to external terms-of-trade shocks compared to developed nations. With this background, the purpose of this paper is to the question of whether developing countries possess any built-in mechanism that can cope with external terms-of-trade (TOT) shocks both theoretically and empirically. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses a two-sector, full-employment general equilibrium model with endogenous labour market distortion to conduct its theoretical analysis and then uses an annual panel dataset of 13 small developing countries over the recent time period of 2000-2012 to substantiate its theoretical findings. Findings: Theoretically, this study finds that developing countries possess an inherent shock-absorbing mechanism that stems from their peculiar institutional characteristics and can lessen the gravity of detrimental welfare consequence of exogenous TOT movements. This analytical result has been found to be empirically valid based on a panel dataset of 13 countries from 2000-2012. Originality/value: The authors’ analyses suggest that that the developing countries should take utmost caution before adopting the policy of labour market reform because these might impair the effectiveness of their in-built shock-absorbing mechanism against adverse international price movements. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.

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Indian Growth and Development Review

External terms-of-trade and labour market imperfections in developing countries: Theory and evidence

Economic Affairs

A dynamic model of forestry for the dryland areas of West Bengal

As per the conventional wisdom there should be provision for public assistance for skills acquirement for improving relative wage inequality in the future. Empirical observations on some prominent small OECD countries, however, indicate that the relationship between wage inequality and public spending on education is not necessarily unambiguous. A theoretical underpinning of this empirical observation has been provided in this study in terms of a 2 × 3 general equilibrium model for a small open economy. Later, the correctness of the theoretical framework and its result have been empirically examined with the help of an unbalanced panel dataset of 13 small developed countries from 2000 to 2011. This empirical analysis supports the main theoretical result that the relationship between wage inequality and public expenditure could indeed be ambiguous. This finding questions the desirability of providing subsidy on education at least from the perspective of reduction in earnings inequality among the different sections of the working population.

Skill Formation, Public Expenditure on Education and Wage Inequality: Theory and Evidence

Across the world, microfinance (MF) has been recognized as an effective instrument for simultaneous reduction of poverty and long-term growth through creation of entrepreneurship. Available research does suggest that MF experiment in most cases was successful to reduce poverty, especially among poor women. However, evidence-based research on impact of MF initiatives on nature of entrepreneurial activities and on the psychological capital or potential of the entrepreneurs remains under-studied. This paper attempts to bridge the gap and seeks to diagnose the entrepreneurial behaviour of MF users in comparison to a comparative set of non-users in the same socio-economic climate in an emerging economy and the haven of MF, Bangladesh. The outcome variables considered are not just participation in income generating process, but specific qualitative attributes of entrepreneurship, including ability to innovative, bricolage, risk taking, marshalling etc. and also some quantitative indicators in the form of frequency of repeated loans and income generated there from that may offer proxy measures of scaled up and sustainable entrepreneurship. Data exploration posits that transformative entrepreneurship, which indicates sustainability of the venture to usher in prosperity, is rare among MF users. Small loan sizes, quick repayment cycles and repeated loans of MF institutions constrict the borrowers to opt for low-risk ventures, with women borrowers facing additional barriers as their gendered role force them to be less risky and follow traditionally accepted business modes, rather than making big headway. Using propensity score matching technique, the paper finds that easy access to credit through MF initiatives could not inculcate the psychological potential to bear risk and bricolage among the borrowers. Self-employment in micro enterprises, without much innovation and risk taking, has been the characteristics of overall income generating process of the model. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

Business Management

Journal of Rural Studies

Does microfinance impede sustainable entrepreneurial initiatives among women borrowers? Evidence from rural Bangladesh

The Changing Face of Imperialism: Colonialism to Contemporary Capitalism

The particularity of imperialism in the stage of neoliberal globalisation and global capitalism: A dialogue between Nikolai Bukharin and AimÃ© CÃ©saire