Publications Opinions and Essays
This website summarizes our research and teaching on labour and development from a macroeconomic perspective. I am a Professor of Economics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, where I have been employed since 2010. Through our research, my colleagues and I have been trying to address issues related to labour and employment, industrial and economic growth, and political economy. Indian economy, issues in international development, and macroeconomic theory have been among my core research and teaching interests over the years.
Research , TEACHING, AND MORE
Teaching this semester (July-December 2025):
Distribution and Growth (HUL312). Read details here.
Macro Development Economics (HSL711 or HSL 7111). Read details here.
Macroeconomics I for MSc Economics students. Read details here.
‘How India’s Youth Can Challenge U.S. Tariffs?, The Hindu, August 20, 2025.
‘Will Trump’s Tariffs Bring in a Recession?’, The Hindu, April 14, 2025.
‘Is consumption enough to drive growth?’, The Hindu, February 21, 2025.
‘Indian Industry Needs Innovation, not Mindless Toil’, The Hindu, February 24, 2025.
Johny, Chinju and Thomas, Jayan Jose (2024), ‘The Limits to Growth of India’s Garment Industry’ Economic and Political Weekly, August 24, Vol. 59, No. 34, pp. 107-113.
Based on our research in Bengaluru and Delhi–NCR, Chinju and I argue that the fragmented nature of India’s garment industry has been shaped by the strategic choices made by the capitalists who focus on the limited growth possibilities arising from the cheapness of labour. Read the paper here.
‘Propelling India’s development the right way’, The Hindu, 22 September 2023
In a matter of a few days, India became the first nation to land a rover on the south pole of the moon, followed up with a mission to study the sun. Yet, this is also the moment to revisit a nagging concern. How do such stellar achievements stand alongside the persistence of poverty and destitution for millions of Indians? Read more
‘India needs a Budget for its young’, The Hindu, 22 February 2023
Public expenditures on the social sectors constitute an investment for the future — more so for a country with a predominantly young population.If the government is borrowing to build resources that help generate new jobs and incomes, it is in fact setting off a virtuous cycle. Read the full article here.
‘Covid-19 and the Indian Economy: The Debate about a Wage-led Recovery’, Chapter in Andres Lazzarini and Denis Melnik (eds.) (2022)
The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered multiple crises – of health, economy, and livelihoods — in India.The restoration of at least a part of the incomes lost by India’s informal workers — who account for close to 90 per cent of all workers — during the lockdown should have been a priority for the government. Read the full article here.
‘Employment Growth and Industrial Policy: The Challenge for Indian States’, Indian Journal of Labour Economics, January 2023.
The nature of and the future potential for economic growth will vary across Indian States because of their differences in the rates of demographic transitions.For reviving employment growth, India requires a mix of social, employment and industrial policies. The States should have greater financial and functional autonomy to implement these policies in a way that suit their specific stages of development. Read the full article here.
‘Labour Market Changes in India, 2005-2018: Missing the Demographic Window of Opportunity?’, Economic and Political Weekly, 22 August 2020
The gap between potential labour supply and actual labour absorption deepened in India after 2012. While only women suffered due to the labour supply-demand mismatch during 2005-2012, young men too were affected after 2012. Unemployed men aged 15 to 29 years has been at the core of the unprecedentedly large increase in unemployment in India in recent years. Read the full article here.
Labour Economy Development 
