Abhijit Banerjee [2019 Nobel Prize Winner in
Economics] and the Bengali Renaissance Movement
Bibek Debroy notes:
“Amongst Bengalis with an intellectual bent of mind
(not just economists), there is (or was) a 19th century Bengali renaissance
kind of tinge. There is an interest in multiple things—philosophy, music,
sports, puzzles, mathematics, science, history. Dipak Banerjee was as much at
home with David Gale’s books on mathematics as he was with classical music or
solving cryptic crosswords. The son is of the same vintage, which is why I have
a problem with equating Abhijit Banerjee’s work with randomised control trials,
as a lot of reportage has done. There are people who plod away with the same
research issue their whole lives. The 19th century Bengal renaissance
stereotype will get bored with that. Amartya Sen moved on, shifting from one
topic to another, continuing with the learning process throughout his life.
Jhima has also done that, following the same intellectual tradition.”
Early Writings of Abhijit Banerjee
Envy, from Essays in Honour of Professor Dipak
Banerjee
A Simple Model of Herd Behavior