Himanshu
(Researcher, January 2006 – present)
Biography:
Himanshu is Associate Professor in Economics at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is also visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi. He has held visiting fellowships at London School of Economics, (British Academy Senior Visiting Fellow and C R Parekh Fellow). UNU-WIDER (Finland) and GREQAM (France). His primary area of research is development economics with focus on issues related to poverty, inequality, employment, food security, rural development and agrarian change. His current research interests revolve around poverty and inequality in India, structural change and changing pattern of employment and livelihood in rural India.
He has been involved with various government committees including Expert Group on Measurement of Poverty (Tendulkar committee), National Statistical Commission, Reserve Bank of India, National Human Rights Commission, Ministry of Rural Development and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
His recent publications include “How Lives Change: Palanpur, India and Development Economics” with Nicholas Stern and Peter Lanjouw, published by Oxford University Press, London (2018). The book is based on the longest longitudinal survey of a village Palanpur, a village in western Uttar Pradesh which has been surveyed intensively seven times starting from the first survey in 1957-58. He has been the principal investigator for the sixth and seventh round of Palanpur surveys along with Nicholas Stern and Peter Lanjouw. Palanpur.
Himanshu is a regular contributor to various media publications including television. He writes a fortnightly column on issues related to development in MINT newspaper. He has received the Sanjay Thakur Young Economist Award of the Indian Society of Labour Economics and Personnalité d’ Avenir of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Himanshu received his PhD in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Recent publications:
- Himanshu, Peter Lanjouw and Philipp Schirmer. 2025. ”Prices, Poverty Lines, and Poverty in 2022–23”, Economic and Political Weekly, PP 34-42, Vol. 60 no. 10
- Himanshu, Peter Lanjouw and Philipp Schirmer. 2025. “Poverty Decline in India after 2011–12: Bigger Picture Evidence”, Economic and Political Weekly, PP 36-46, Vol. 60 no. 15.
- Himanshu. 2025, “What Lies Behind the World Bank’s Estimates of Low Poverty and Inequality in India?”, The India Forum, https://www.theindiaforum.in/economy/what-lies-behind-world-banks-estimates-low-poverty-and-inequality-india.
- Himanshu, Peter Lanjouw and Philipp Schirmer (2025), “Has Poverty Decline in India Faltered Since 2011/12?”, Tinbergen Institute Discussion paper 25-069/V, Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam.https://tinbergen.nl/discussion-paper/6456/25-069-v-has-poverty-decline-in-india-faltered-since-2011-12
- Himanshu, 2024. “Dynamics of Change in Rural India”, Economic and Political Weekly, 59(43):30-32
