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Kaushik Basu

Kaushik Basu

Writing for PS since 2002
100 commentaries

Kaushik Basu, a former chief economist of the World Bank and chief economic adviser to the Government of India, is Professor of Economics at Cornell University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

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  1. The Economic Consequences of Legal Behavior
    basu100_David Dee DelgadoGetty Images_newyork David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Legal Behavior

    Mar 15, 2024 Kaushik Basu highlights the potential benefits of emphasizing adherence to the spirit of laws, if not their letter.

  2. Economic Possibilities for Our Overworked Grandchildren
    basu99_Spencer PlattGetty Images_tax wealth Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Economic Possibilities for Our Overworked Grandchildren

    Feb 21, 2024 Kaushik Basu shows how it is possible to redistribute income from the rich to the poor without undermining individual incentives.

  3. Remembering Robert Solow
    basu98_David L. RyanThe Boston Globe via Getty Images_robertsolow David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    Remembering Robert Solow

    Jan 15, 2024 Kaushik Basu honors the life and work of the pioneering scholar, who died in late 2023.

  4. The Biggest Threats to Global Economic Stability
    basu97_robertsrobGetty Images_worldeconomy robertsrob/Getty Images

    The Biggest Threats to Global Economic Stability

    Dec 27, 2023 Kaushik Basu highlights the urgency of re-thinking some core assumptions amid debt distress and rapid technological change.

  5. To Save Democracy, Fight Inequality
    ghosh57_ FABRICE COFFRINIAFP via Getty Images_WEFprotest Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

    To Save Democracy, Fight Inequality

    Oct 26, 2023 Kaushik Basu argues that efforts to mitigate income and wealth disparities need not weaken economic incentives.

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  1. stiglitz331_serggnGetty Images_techregulation serggn/Getty Images

    A Big Defeat for Big Tech

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Tech companies know that if there is an open, democratic debate about data security, consumers’ concerns about digital safeguards will win out. And while the industry's lobbyists tried to ensure that no such debate could ever occur, one of their more cynical moves has now been exposed and thwarted.

    details how the industry tried to slip extraordinary protections against regulation into US trade agreements.
  2. zizek27_Giles ClarkeGetty Images_jimmycherizier Giles Clarke/Getty Images

    Haiti’s Proud Boys

    Slavoj Žižek

    If we measure a failed state by the cracks in the edifice of its power, reflected in brewing ideological civil wars, deadlocked assemblies, and increasingly insecure public spaces, we must recognize that the United States is not so unlike Haiti. Both have given rise to violent gangs with political ambitions.

    warns that rich Western democracies are not immune to politically motivated gang violence.
  3. hedegaard11_y Dursun AydemirAnadolu via Getty Images_parliament elections Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Unity Is Europe’s Greatest Asset

    Connie Hedegaard emphasizes the importance of stability amid persistent economic and geopolitical crises.
  4. qian34_PEDRO PARDOAFP via Getty Images_immigration PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

    The Truth About US Immigration

    Nancy Qian warns that overheated campaign-season rhetoric is dangerously polarizing and ultimately self-defeating.
  5. mueller51_ David McNewGetty Images_gop trump David McNew/Getty Images

    The Zombification of Political Parties

    Jan-Werner Mueller argues that Donald Trump’s capture of the GOP’s organizational machinery recalls authoritarian tactics elsewhere.
  6. basu100_David Dee DelgadoGetty Images_newyork David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Legal Behavior

    Kaushik Basu highlights the potential benefits of emphasizing adherence to the spirit of laws, if not their letter.
  7. brown106_KOLA SULAIMONAFP via Getty Images_nigeriaschool Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images

    For Nigeria’s Schools, Safety Must Come First

    Gordon Brown writes that the latest mass abduction of students underscores the dilemma facing parents throughout the country.
  8. owoo1_disabled iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Give Women with Disabilities a Chance

    Nkechi S. Owoo explains what is needed to protect and empower one of the world’s most vulnerable demographic groups.
  9. op_mkurz3_Spencer PlattGetty Images_rustbelt Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    How Capitalism Became a Threat to Democracy

    Mordecai Kurz examines the economic policies and market dynamics that have ushered in America's Second Gilded Age.

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