23rd ANNUAL WINTER CONFERENCE
TOPIC - POLITICAL ECONOMY OF PUBLIC POLICY
The Editorial board of Ramjas Economic Review, in collaboration with Ramjas Economics Society, hosted the 23rd Annual Winter Conference on the theme of "Political Economy of Public Policy." With discussions ongoing, this year's conference presented an avenue to understand the intersection of public policy and social dynamics that shapes economic and social outcomes.
Prof. Rohini Somanathan, Professor of Economics at the Delhi School of Economics, delivered the keynote address at the conference. Having received her doctorate at Boston University in 1996, Professor Somanathan has from time to time held prestigious faculty positions at Emory University, the University of Michigan, and the Indian Statistical Institute; she joined the Delhi School of Economics in 2005. Her work explores the interaction between social institutions and public policies, examining particularly the area of group identity, public goods, gender equality, nutrition, and quality of the environment. Moreover, she has critically examined the ideological and intellectual foundations upon which the policies of the state rest.
Prof. Somanathan framed her discussion within a series of illustrative stories and metaphors. She kicked of the lecture with the role of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in community building. Through the watershed 1991 initiative to facilitate lending to SHGs via innovative linking schemes, Prof. Somanathan noted how SHGs have served to empower communities at the local level; she was, however, quick to point out a very serious limitation: the very poor and the very rich often remain outside the ambit of these groups—not due to deliberate exclusion, but because their occupational commitments make participation challenging.
Prof. Somanathan illustrated this point with a case in point from Jharkhand. During her visit to Jharkhand Pradan, she observed firsthand how SHGs, while pivotal in community development, sometimes failed to capture the full economic spectrum of the community. In a memorable anecdote, she recounted an encounter with a female Bhutta vendor from Deoghar who offered her a discount in anticipation of future purchases.
Another one of the key elements of the talk was about the decentralisation of power. Prof. Somanathan said that well thought out decentralisation could bring about meaningful empowerment of communities. She pointed out that, in homogeneous societies, decentralisation has worked well with little controversy with regard to project selection. In fact, in heterogeneous groups, although conflicts spark lively debate, such discussions could bring about alternative viewpoints and totally innovative solutions which otherwise might have remained unexplored.
​
Following the keynote address was a question-and-answer session. Participants asked insightful questions about the contextual tinge in decentralisation, SHGs' changing role in our contemporary economic setting, and the strategies public policy can employ to deal with the peculiarities of the areas that it serves.
The intellectual momentum was fostered further by the paper presentation competition held on 23rd February 2025. Students from all across India presented their research papers on diverse topics. The competition, judged by a committee of eminent faculty members chaired by Dr. Sonia Goel, witnessed innovative analyses and fresh perspectives while discussing topics such as cryptocurrency, urbanisation, and the realm of digital payments and financial crime. The winning paper "Can Digital Payment Adoption Reduce Crime?: Empirical Evidence from India" won accolades from the judges and audience alike.
​
The 23rd Annual Winter Conference illuminated the multifaceted dynamics at the intersection of political economy and public policy while allowing a vibrant discourse to take shape among academics, practitioners, and students. With the engaging talk by Prof. Somanathan, along with the varied academic discussions during the paper presentation competition, the 23rd Annual Winter Conference was a roaring success.
The interactive format allowed these questions to further enliven the discussion and promulgate the idea that the process of inclusive policy making needs thorough discussions and practical insights.​​
