Jagdish Bhagwati

Jagdish Bhagwati (born July 26, 1934) is an Indian-born naturalized American economist.[1][2]

[3]
 He is a University Professor of economics and law at Columbia University.[6] Bhagwati is
notable for his research in international trade and for his advocacy of free trade.

Jagdish Bhagwati is an early enthusiast for free trade and globalization. As a response to the
charges and criticism which is often  levied on the various facets of globalization, he argues in his
book ‘in defence of globalization’ published in 2004, “this process [of globalization] has a human
face, but we need to make that face more agreeable.”  He demonstrates clinically, but with oodles
of wit  that globalisation has brought development and unprecedented rates of growth to poor
countries.

As opposed to Amartya Sen who is often pitted against him , he argues that it is rapid growth that
has made redistribution feasible and not the other way round. He denounces large  entitlement-
based programmes such as subsidies which distorts markets and are detrimental to the growth
process. He was recently in news for criticising the  Congress-led United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) since 2004 for adopting policies which are according to him, “a sophisticated retread of the
failed socialist policies that led us to the very brink of economic ruin in 1991”

Jagdish Bhagwati is a strong critic of Amartya Sen and views the Human Development Index
formulated by him as “a nonsensical index which reduces, without scientifically plausible
weights”. Thus on one side we have Dr Amartya sen who believes that economic growth must be
accompanied with development of human capital and social improvement through government
expenditure on education, healthcare and food subsidy programs.While over in the free market
corner is Dr Bhagwati, who argues that India should focus entirely on economic growth through
market deregulation, which he says will automatically address poverty and social development

Jagdish bhagwati has always been a strong partron of globalization and liberalization and his
assertations are an attack, especially to those who argue about the need for a “human face” to
economic reforms. This has led Paul Samuelson to remark  “Jagdish Bhagwati has been a tireless
partisan of that globalization which elevates global total-factor – productivities both of richest
America and poorest regions of Asia and Africa”