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Franziska Ohnsorge is the World Bank Chief Economist for South Asia. In this role, she is responsible for leading the research program on key economic issues in South Asia to inform the policy debate and World Bank lending. Before starting this position, she was the Manager at the Development Economics Vice Presidency where she spearheaded the flagship Global Economic Prospects report. Prior to joining the World Bank, Franziska Ohnsorge worked in the Office of the Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and at the International Monetary Fund. Her research has been featured in peer-reviewed journals as well as policy publications and has covered a wide range of topics in international macroeconomics and finance, including debt and financial crises, inflation and monetary policy, as well as growth and informal labor markets. Her work has been widely cited, including in the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.

Most tax rates are higher in South Asian countries than in the average EMDE, but most tax revenues are lower. On average during 2019-23, South Asian countries collected government revenues that totaled about 17 percent of GDP—well below the 25 percent of GDP average in EMDEs. Controlling for tax rates and the size of potential tax bases, the region’s tax revenues are 1-7 percentage points of GDP below their potential, with the shortfall in five of the region’s eight countries higher than in the average EMDE. Shortfalls are particularly pronounced in consumption tax revenues but are also sizable in personal income tax revenue and, in the larger economies, corporate income tax revenue. Weak revenue collection has only in part reflected country characteristics, such as widespread informal economic activity outside the tax net, large agricultural sectors, and lack of financial development. Even taking into account these features of South Asian economies, sizable tax gaps remain, suggesting the need for more robust tax policy and administration. There is scope to improve tax revenues by eliminating loopholes, streamlining tax codes, making greater use of presumptive and withholding taxation, and tightening enforcement. The introduction of pollution pricing could also both boost revenues and help address the region’s high pollution.

Two-day conference on “Tax Expenditures and Tax Incentives for Investment: Challenges and Opportunities in India and Beyond” and “Economic Policies for Affordable, Secure and Clean Energy, Insights from India" jointly organized with Council on Economic Policies, Switzerland at National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi on 10-11 February 2025. (Dr. Suranajali Tandon)

Author's Profile:

R. Mohan worked as an officer in the Reserve Bank of India (1988-1993) and later in the Indian Revenue Service till 2016. He voluntarily retired from service, while serving as a Commissioner of Income Tax. Is a co-author of ‘Challenges to Indian Fiscal Federalism’ with Dr.T.M.Thomas Isaac and Dr. Lekha Chakraborthy. The work ‘Story of Schisms and Isms, Kerala from the Twilight of Monarchy to the Present’ is coming out shortly.(Aakar Books, Delhi).

Discussant: Pinaki Chakraborty, Visiting Distinguished Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi

About the Book:

The book titled ‘India’s Federal Setup, A Journey through Seven Decades’ traces the trends in Union-State relations in the last seven decades. A brief overview of the late pre-independence period is given at the beginning. The post-independence period is divided into the following -1952-67 - the period of one party dominance and the Union-State issues were settled mostly between the State leadership and the Congress High Command; 1967-71- the period when 8 States  had governments by parties other than the Congress, which was ruling at the Centre; 1971-77, the period of high centralisation including internal Emergency;1977-79, the Janata interlude; 1980s- period of assertiveness by the States; 1989-2014, the era of coalitions at the Union; post-2014 situation. Political and fiscal relations are discussed in detail.

Vivek is an Assistant Professor in ITOM, NTU Singapore. He studies behavioral operations problems on service platforms. His research examines various platforms including Last mile delivery, Health Tech, and Insurtech platforms. Vivek employs techniques such as Field Experiments, Machine Learning, and Econometrics in his work. He holds a PhD from INSEAD. Prior to that he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. He is the coordinator for the OM PhD program. His papers have been published in Management Science and Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. His research has been covered in Harvard Business Review and INSEAD knowledge. He has published several case studies. He serves as the advisor for many startups.ax

The future of work is rapidly evolving with the integration of artificial intelligence across various professional domains. This research explores the transformative impact of AI on two critical areas: managerial tasks and gig work. The presentation delves into the intricate dynamics of human-AI collaboration, emphasizing the pivotal role of human behavior in designing and implementing effective collaborative systems. By examining current research and emerging trends, the talk highlights the nuanced interactions between human workers and AI technologies. The first segment critically analyzes how AI is reshaping managerial processes, focusing on decision-making, workflow optimization, and organizational adaptation. The second half shifts attention to the gig economy, investigating how AI technologies are being leveraged to enhance worker performance, productivity, and platform efficiency. Moreover, the discussion will explore the broader policy implications of AI integration, addressing potential challenges, and ethical considerations in an increasingly AI-driven workplace.

"The Commercial Negotiation & Mediation course offers a specialized platform to address the increasing demand for skilled mediators in India's dynamic commercial landscape. Focusing on mediation as an efficient and cost-effective dispute resolution mechanism, the program equips participants with strategic tools to navigate complex financial and business conflicts. Designed for professionals such as CEOs, judges, lawyers, and investment bankers, the course combines interdisciplinary pedagogy with practical training, including mock mediations and case studies. Participants will gain expertise in negotiation strategies, dispute psychology, and effective communication, fostering capabilities to resolve disputes efficiently and confidentially. This course intends to bridge a critical gap in India's dispute resolution ecosystem by providing actionable knowledge aligned with regulatory frameworks like the Companies Act, SARFAESI, and the Commercial Courts Act."

The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi, in partnership with the Wold Bank is organising the second edition State Forum 2024: The NIPFP institutionalised the forum for discussing challenges faced by states and for states to share their experience in innovations in revenue generation and experiments undertaken for public financial management.  

Mark Skousen, Ph. D., is known as “America’s Economist.” He is a university professor, investment expert, and author of over 25 books.  He earned his doctorate in 1977 in economics from George Washington University. In 2022, he was appointed the first Doti-Spogli Endowed Chair of Free Enterprise at Chapman University after receiving “My Favorite Professor Award.” In 2018, he was awarded the Triple Crown in Economics in 2018 for his work in theory, history and education. He has the unique distinction of having worked for the government (CIA), non-profits (president of FEE), and several for-profit companies. In 2004-05, he taught economics and finance at Columbia Business School and Columbia University. He has also taught economics, finance and business at Barnard, Mercy and Rollins colleges, and Chapman University. Since 1980, Skousen has been editor in chief of Forecasts & Strategies, a popular award-winning investment newsletter.  He was analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a columnist to Forbes magazine, chairman of Investment U, and past president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in New York. He is the editor of his own website, www.mskousen.com, and is the producer of FreedomFest, “the world‘s largest gathering of free minds,” which meets every July in Las Vegas (www.freedomfest.com). He has written for the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Journal of Economic Perspectives, and has made regular appearances on CNBC and C-SPAN Book TV. His economics works include The Structure of Production (NYU Press), The Making of Modern Economics (Routledge), Economic Logic (Capital Press), and EconoPower (Wiley & Sons). His investment books include Investing in One Lesson (Capital Press), and The Maxims of Wall Street (Eagle Publishing). Based on his work The Structure of Production, the federal government began publishing in Spring 2014 a broader, more accurate measure of the economy, Gross Output (GO), every quarter along with GDP.

Vivek Sharma is a Visiting Researcher at the Department of Economics, University of Lancaster Management School. He is also a Research Associate at the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA), Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University (ANU), Canberra and a Fellow at Arcelli Centre for Monetary and Financial Studies (CASMEF), Rome. He was previously a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Economics, University of Melbourne. He got a PhD in Economics from LUISS, Rome and a Master’s in Economics from University of Rome Tor Vergata. His primary research interests are in macroeconomics, macro-finance and macro-banking. Most of his research agenda concerns understanding the impact of various macroeconomic shocks and their transmission in imperfect banking environments featuring borrower-lender relationships. In a series of papers, for instance, he examines the implications of these credit relationships for collateral shocks, credit shocks and shocks to loan repayments. He has also done work on understanding state-dependence in effects of loan-to-value (LTV) changes.

The Seminar on 'Entropy Law, Economic Processes and the Current Existential Crisis in India: Policy Implications for Sustainability', by Dr. Ramprasad Sengupta scheduled to be held on 28.06.2024 has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances.

Inconvenience caused is regretted.

The revised date and time will be intimated in due course.