The\n2008 financial meltdown started a conversation among mainstream economists\nabout what\u2019s ailing the free market system. It sent ripples within economic\ndepartments in many universities. As a \u2018first of its kind\u2019 initiative in India,\nthe Jindal School of Government and Public Policy announced today the launch of\na new B.A Honors in Economics programme with the professed goal to \u201cExplore\nParadigms and Possibilities in Economics\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At\na gathering of distinguished academic economists and policymakers, the\nVice-Chancellor of Jindal Global University, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar\nreflected on the question of why the world needs another undergraduate\nprogramme in a discipline that has been variously described as the \u2018dismal\nscience\u2019 or an imperialist among the social sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nsaid, \u201cAt a time when recessions and financial crises and energy price\nfluctuations have become commonplace occurrences, it is obviously imperative to\nhave the skills and tools to understand and participate meaningfully in various\nforums and on difference dimensions of policy making, either to advance human\nwelfare or to confront challenges and risks to security and well-being of\npeople. The curriculum of B.A Honors programme is being thoughtfully designed\nto enhance understanding of modern economic theory while instilling in students\na capacity for independent thinking on diverse economic issues at the local,\nnational and global level.\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delivering\nthe keynote address, Dr. Amitabh Kundu, Senior Fellow, Delhi Policy Group and\nformer Dean, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said, \u201cThe\ncrash of Lehmann Brothers that snowballed into a major global crisis challenged\nthe fundamental paradigm and ideological framework of economic theory. The\nsituation also highlighted the failure of economists to anticipate a crisis of\nmonumental proportions, pointing to a certain complacency and even arrogance\nabout their knowledge on the part of economists who could foresee and possibly\navert similar situations.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prof.\nKundu welcomed the effort to devise a new curriculum for teaching economics\nwith a greater awareness of economic history, better understanding of the real\nworld, social context, more capacity to communicate with people from other\ndisciplines, administrators, policy makers accompanied with using more simple\nmodels with transparent and verifiable assumptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nhis view, a curriculum design that enables students to imbibe both historical\nand new age concepts related to mainstream economics addresses some of these\nchallenges would be a welcome change, He further urged more modesty about\napplicability of results, predictions, sensitivity analysis with alternate\nparameters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dean\nProfessor R. Sudarshan emphasized that the new B. A. Hons Programme offers a\nunique ecosystem for students. This means, firstly, the opportunity to learn\nabout key insights and foundations of economics as a long and well-established\ndiscipline from outstanding teachers. Beyond benefitting from first-rate\npedagogy in economics, students will also have the opportunity to interact with\npractitioners of public policy and with experts in other disciplines whose\ninsights are imperative to understand human behaviour. Prof. Sudarshan\nunderlined that among the skills that students enrolled in the economics\nhonours programme can acquire will be the ability to think critically and ask\nthe right questions and make good judgements about applicability of models and\ntheories in different contexts. The course will equip graduates to advance the\nfrontiers of the discipline, uncover fresh paradigms and open up new\npossibilities, by building on accomplishments and received wisdom already\nencapsulated in mainstream economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One\nof the strengths of JSGP, part of the O.P. Jindal Global University, is the\nexcellent combination of policy professionals and practitioners and world class\nmultidisciplinary and interdisciplinary scholars. JSGP faculty include\neconomists of international repute in different branches of the subject,\nbesides outstanding scholars in the fields of law and governance, social and\ncultural theory, urban politics and policy, political movements, environment\nand climate change policy, and strategic policymaking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nfaculty has the advantage of having been trained in some of the world\u2019s best\nuniversities, well equipped to inspire and challenge young minds to think\ndeeply and widely about various aspects of policy making with a solid grasp of\neconomics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At\nthe B. A Economics launch event, Prof. Parkash Chander, currently at JSGP\n(formerly Head of Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi), began his remarks with\na humorous quip “Economists are interesting people both because of their\nskills and because they can talk of many things: Of shoes- and ships- and\nsealing wax – Of cabbage and kings– And why the sea is boiling hot — And\nwhether pigs have wings”. And indeed, what makes the subject matter of\neconomics so compelling is perhaps the diversity of issues that it addresses\nand engages with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prof.\nChander, who is also a fellow of the Econometric Society, spoke about the\nnecessity of developing a strong quantitative tool kit in order to make sound\neconomic policy judgements. With a comprehensive skill set, which the new B. A.\nEconomics honours curriculum intends to impart, students are not only ready to\npursue a career as professional economists in industry, government, or\nmanagement consultancy, but also in other financial occupations and managerial\noccupations. The programme keeps in mind the possibility of students taking up\nalternative career paths after studying economics, and as a result engages in a\ndiverse set of intellectual pursuits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prof.\nRajeev Malhotra in the JSGP faculty, an eminent applied economist, who has authored\na pioneering India Public Policy Report, which contextualizes policy making\nthrough analytical and empirical lenses, said, \u201cThe B.A. Economics honors\nprogramme is aimed at a new problem-solving generation, a generation of young\nprofessionals who can reconcile the imperatives of ethics and philosophy with\nchallenges of ecology and management.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Highlights of the programme:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nprogramme lays emphasis on acquiring knowledge and skills sets to undertake;\nquantitative as well as qualitative research; familiarity with basic data sets\nand under-standing of the Indian economy and its developmental challenges. The\nprogramme is taught by accomplished scholars and academics at the university\nlevel in an interdisciplinary learning environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nprogramme is a blend of core courses and electives that provide options to\nspecialize in new and emerging areas of study within the mainstream economics\nand beyond, including development economics, political economy, finance,\nurbanization, environmental economics and informal economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nJindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP) aims to promote research\nthat facilitates better understanding of issues relating to governance and\npublic policy. The programmes that the Jindal School of Government and Public\nPolicy offers bear in mind the contribution that the faculty and the students\nof the school can make towards meeting the challenges of governance and\nimproving the efficiency of government in India, while drawing upon comparative\nand international perspectives. JSG intends to promote inter-disciplinary\nstudies and joint teaching and research programmes in partnership with the\nschools of law, business and international affairs, Liberal Arts &\nHumanities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About the O.P. Jindal Global University <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n JGU\nis a non-profit global university established by the Haryana Private\nUniversities (Second Amendment) Act, 2009. JGU is established in memory of Mr.\nO.P. Jindal as a philanthropic initiative of Mr. Naveen Jindal, the Founding\nChancellor. The University Grants Commission has accorded its recognition to\nO.P. Jindal Global University. The vision of JGU is to promote global courses,\nglobal programmes, global curriculum, global research, global collaborations,\nand global interaction through a global faculty. JGU is situated on an 80-acre\nstate-of-the art residential campus in the National Capital Region of Delhi.\nJGU is one of the few universities in Asia that maintains a 1:15\nfaculty-student ratio and appoints faculty members from different parts of the\nworld with outstanding academic qualifications and experience. JGU has\nestablished five schools: Jindal Global Law School, Jindal Global Business\nSchool, Jindal School of International Affairs, Jindal School of Government and\nPublic Policy and Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 2008 financial meltdown started a conversation among mainstream economists about what\u2019s ailing the free market system. It sent ripples within economic departments in many universities. As a \u2018first of its kind\u2019 initiative in India, the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy announced today the launch of a new Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsroom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1012"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1013,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012\/revisions\/1013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}