Subhanil Chowdhury

Professor

B.Sc. Economics (Presidency College, 2000)

M.A. Economics (Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2002)

Ph.D Economics (Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2009)

I did my graduation, B.Sc. in Economics from Presidency College. Thereafter, I completed my MA in Economics from the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning (CESP), Jawaharlal Nehru University. My PhD was on "Technological Progress and Persistence of Labour Reserves in Developing Countries: A Theoretical-Cum-Empirical Study". In the thesis, I tried to understand the relationship between technological progress and high labour reserves in developing countries, particularly focusing on India and China.

After completing my PhD I joined the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) as a Fellow in May 2009. At ICRIER I completed two research projects. The project on India-Nepal Economic Relations was funded by CII and FNCCI. The other project on Human Development in Indian States was sponsored by ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth. 

In 2010, I came back to Kolkata and joined Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK) as an Assistant Professor. At IDSK, I completed a number of research projects; on imperialism (funded by ICSSR), Employment in West Bengal (funded by Institute of Applied Manpower Research), Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining (funded by ICSSR), Health Seeking Behaviour of Workers (funded by ILO and Institute of Human Development), NREGA in West Bengal (funded by Government of West Bengal). Additionally at IDSK I supervised a number of MPhil dissertations and one of my students was awarded the PhD degree. 

In 2021, I joined St. Xavier's University Kolkata (SXUK) as an Associate Professor. I was the Head of the Department of Economics between July 2022 to June 2025. As the Head of the Department, I undertook administrative responsibilities including leading the Department to the transition towards the New Education Policy 2020, in 2023. At SXUK I taught Macroeconomics, Development Economics, Public Economics, Money and Finance, Political Economy, Statistical Analysis with R to BA and MA students. I have also taught Macroeconomics and Development Economics in the PhD coursework. One of my students have submitted her PhD thesis under my supervision at the SXUK. Additionally, I have also supervised a number of MA dissertations at the Department. I was also the Convenor of three successful conferences organized by the Department of Economics, SXUK between 2023 and 2025. Two of these were sponsored by the ICSSR-ERC.

I joined Presidency University as a Professor in April 2026.

My research interests are in the areas of Macroeconomics, Development Economics, Labour Economics, Globalization and Development, Indian Economy and Political Economy. I am also interested in inter-disciplinary research with other areas of social science.

I have undertaken following research projects as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator.

1. Indo-Nepal Economic Cooperation--(Co-PI)--Funded by CII--Amount: Rs 20 lakhs. At ICRIER, 2009-10.
2. Determinants of Growth and Development in Indian States--PI--Funded by ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth--Amount: Rs 20 lakhs. At ICRIER, 2009-10
3. Factors Impacting Non-Agricultural Employment Growth in West Bengal--PI--Funded by Institute of Applied Manpower Rsearch--Amount Rs 13 lakhs. At IDSK 2012-13
4. Imperialism in the Current Era: A Study with Special Reference to South Asia--PI--Funded by ICSSR--Amount Rs 5 lakhs. At IDSK, 2012-13
5. Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining in Urban Labour Markets--Co-PI--Funded by ICSSR--Amount Rs 45 lakhs. At IDSK, 2014-16
6. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in West Bengal--Co-PI--Funded by Government of West Bengal--Amount Rs 13 lakhs. At IDSK, 2016-17
7. Assessment of Informal Economy Workers' and Economic Units' Behaviour Regarding Health Care Insurance in West Bengal--Co-PI--Funded by ILO and IHD--Amount Rs 13 lakhs/ At IDSK, 2020-21.

Administrative Experience:

Seminar Convenor, Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (April 2015 to July 2021)

Head, Department of Economics, St. Xavier's University Kolkata (July 2022 to June 2025)

Coordinator of PG Programme, Department of Economics, St. Xavier's University Kolkata (July 2025 to April 2026)

My teaching interests are in Macroeconomics, Development Economics, Public Economics, Money and Finance, Political Economy, Indian Economy, Statistical Analysis with R for both UG and PG students. 

I am interested in supervising PhD students on the aspects of Macroeconomics in the context of the Indian Economy, Labour Economics, Development Economics, Political Economy, etc. I have also supervised students in inter-disciplinary areas like Development Studies.

PhD Supervision:

Dhiraj Barman.

Title of Thesis: Urban Transformation in Medium Sized Cities in India: A Case Study of Siliguri. 

Degree Awarded: 30th September 2024

University of Calcutta (IDSK)

Chandralekha Mukherjee

Title of Thesis: Trade Openness, Technology and Labour Market: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Industries

Thesis submitted: 14th January 2026

Institute: St. Xavier's University Kolkata

One more student is working under my supervision at the St. Xavier's University Kolkata on the relationship between public policies and household's monthly per-capita consumption expenditure. Two more students are registered with me as joint supervisors at IDSK working on Gendered Negotiations and the other on Financial Inclusion.

In addition, I have successfully supervised 12 MPhil dissertations at IDSK. The topics of these dissertations range from migration in West Bengal, female labour force participation rate in India, Urbanization in West Bengal, Political Economy of Land Acquisition in Kolkata, Agrarian Transformation in Punjab and Impact of Migration and Remittances in Nepalese Economy, among other topics. 

Books

Chakraborty, A., Chowdhury, S., Banerjee, S., Mahmood, Z. Limits of Bargaining: Capital, Labour and State in Contemporary India, Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Articles in Journals

Mukherjee, C. and Chowdhury, S. (2025). "Trade, Technology and Wage Share: An Empirical Study of Indian Manufacturing Industries", IMI Konnect, ISSN: 2321-9378

Barman, D. and Chowdhury, S. (2024). "Land for Urbanizaiton: Shifting Policies and Variegated Accumulation Strategies in a Fast Growing City in India”, Land Use Policy, (online first), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107111, ISSN: 0264-8377

Mitra, S., Sarkar, A., Chowdhury, S. and Basu, R. (2023). “Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Residents of an Urban Field Practice Area: A Cross-sectional Survey”, Journal of Medical Evidence, Vol. 4, Pp.: 109-114, ISSN: 2667-0720

Chowdhury, S. (2023). “Economics and Politics under Modi Government: A Synoptic View”, Human Geography, (online first), https://doi.org/10.1177/19427786221133475 ISSN: 1942- 7786

Chattopadhyay, S. and Chowdhury, S. (2022). “Female Labour Force Participation Rate in India: An Empirical Study”, Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 65(1), Pp. 59-83, ISSN: 0971-7927

Chakraborty, S., Ghosh, S. and Chowdhury, S. (2018). “Urbanization of Muslim Community in India—A Metaphor for Development? Evidence from States of West Bengal and Kerala”, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs,  Vol. 38 (1), Pp. 103-118, ISSN: 1360-2004

Chakraborty, S., Chowdhury, S., Roy, U., and Das, K. (2017). “Declassification of Census Towns in West Bengal”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 52 (25-26), Pp. 25-31, ISSN: 0012-9976

Dasgupta, Z., and Chowdhury, S. (2015). “Growth, Imports and Inequality: Explaining the Persistently High Trade Deficit in India”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 50 (48), Pp. 65-74, ISSN: 0012-9976

Chowdhury, S., and Chakraborty, G. (2014). “Non-agricultural Employment Growth in West Bengal”, Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 57 (4), Pp. 519-537, ISSN: 0971-7927

Chowdhury, S. (2013). ·“The Political Economy of Shadow Finance in West Bengal”, Economic and Political Weekly (online), Vol. 48(18). ISSN: 2349-8846

Chowdhury, S. (2013). “Tripura’s Tryst with Literacy”, Economic and Political Weekly (online), Vol. 48(42). ISSN: 2349-8846

Chowdhury, S., and Dasgupta, Z. (2012). “Fiscal Problem in West Bengal: Towards an Explanation”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 47 (31), Pp. 57-64, ISSN: 0012-9976

Chowdhury, S. (2011). “Employment in India: What does the Latest Data Say?”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 46 (32), Pp. 23-26, ISSN: 0012-9976

Taneja, N., Chowdhury, S., and Prakash, S. (2011). “India-Nepal Economic Cooperation: Towards a New Paradigm”, India Quarterly, Vol. 67 (2), Pp. 129-147, ISSN: 0974-9284

Taneja, N., and Chowdhury, S. (2010). “Role of Trade Treaties in Facilitating Nepal’s Trade with India”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 45 (7), Pp. 27-29, ISSN: 0012-9976

Chowdhury, S., and Bose, P. (2004). “Expenditure on Education in India: A Short Note”, Social Scientist, Vol. 32(7/8), pp. 85-89.

Book Chapters:

Chowdhury, S., and Dasgupta, Z. (2025). “Industrial Impasse in West Bengal: Towards an Explanation”, Deindustrialization and Economic Restructuring in Post-Reform India, Edited by Indranil Chakraborty and Steven High, Routledge India, ISBN: 9781032976938, DOI: 10.4324/9781003594918

Chowdhury, S. (2019). “India: Liberal Economic Development, Inequality and Imperialism”, The Palgrave Encyclopaedia of Imperialism and Anti-imperialism, Edited by Immanuel Ness and Zak Cope, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN: 978-3-319-91206-6, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6

Chowdhury, S., and Banerjee, S. (2019). “Labour, Capital and (Dis)Trust: Case Studies from West Bengal”,  Trust in Transactions, Edited by Prasanta Ray and Rukmini Sen, Orient Blackswan, ISBN: 9789352876259

Chowdhury, S. (2019). “Employment Under the NDA II Regime: A Reality Check”, A Quantum Leap in the Wrong Direction?, Edited by Rohit Azad, Souvik Chakraborty, Srinivasan Ramani, Dipa Sinha, Orient Blackswan, ISBN: 9789352876181

Chowdhury, S. (2018). “Is Imperialism a Relevant Concept in Today’s World?”, The Changing Face of Imperialism: Colonialism to Contemporary Capitalism, Edited by Sunanda Sen, Routledge India, ISBN: 9781351184816

Chowdhury, S. (2016). “Globalization, Growth and Informalization of Labour in India”, Development Process and Social Movements in Contemporary India, Edited by Abhay Prasad Singh, Pinnacle Learning, ISBN: 978-9383848256

Chowdhury, S. (2014). “Employment and Growth in India: A Critical Analysis”, Market, Regulations and Finance: Global Meltdown and the Indian Economy, Edited by Ratan Khasnabis and Indrani Chakraborty, Springer, ISBN: 978-81-322-1794-7