Economics

  • From rules-based negotiation to alpha male tactics: In US-China trade war, norms take a back seat

    From rules-based negotiation to alpha male tactics: In US-China trade war, norms take a back seat

    Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh wrote an opinion article about changes in U.S. trade tactics, arguing that bilateral negotiations are no longer conducted with rules in mind that require equal treatment of countries not included in the negotiations.

  • An opportunity to chew on

    An opportunity to chew on

    Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh wrote an opinion article about how increased iPhone production could prove to be an inflection point for India in manufacturing.

  • Impact of Trump’s tariffs on India will be lower than for other countries, including China

    Impact of Trump’s tariffs on India will be lower than for other countries, including China

    Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh wrote about the potential impacts of new U.S. tariffs on India. Singh suspects that the tariffs are mainly an aggressive starting point for a negotiation process that will proceed bilaterally. But he says the Trump approach undermines institutions and trust.

  • A major reset of higher education

    A major reset of higher education

    Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh wrote an op-ed discussing how the Trump administration’s war on universities may be a harbinger of long-run structural changes in the world order when it comes to higher education leadership and opportunity. 

  • As investors fret over a coming recession, a UC Santa Cruz economist says it has already begun

    As investors fret over a coming recession, a UC Santa Cruz economist says it has already begun

    U.S. financial markets have been in turmoil for weeks, as investors debate whether President Trump's trade war and falling consumer confidence could trigger a full-blown recession. But a UC Santa Cruz economist says that a model he helped develop, which is attracting growing attention, shows that the economy is already in a recession and has been for nearly a…

  • Beyond staying the course

    Beyond staying the course

    In this op-ed, Nirvikar Singh, a distinguished professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, argues that many policies available to the Centre (and potentially states), none radical, can even lead to faster growth in the short run while India’s demographics are still favorable.

  • AI and jobs in India

    AI and jobs in India

    Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh wrote an opinion article about how acceleration of advances in AI demonstrates that the range of productive jobs and the skills needed for them in the future is much broader than what has fueled India’s growth so far.

  • Up to $150bn damage in LA fires unleashes wave of anger at cancelled insurance

    Up to $150bn damage in LA fires unleashes wave of anger at cancelled insurance

    Galina Hale, a professor of economics at the University of California Santa Cruz, told The i Paper that insurance companies use models to determine what is termed “actuarily fair” insurance policy pricing. “Some areas have such high risks that insurance companies would have to charge insurance premia above what people might be willing to pay,"…

  • A haze of institutional weakness

    A haze of institutional weakness

    In an opinion article, Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh argues that the standard approach of localized and reactive policies will not India’s air pollution problems.

  • India and the US elections

    India and the US elections

    Nirvikar Singh, distinguished professor of economics at UC Santa Cruz, argues in this op-ed that the importance of the recent U.S. elections for India cannot be overstated. The political landscape in the U.S. has shifted dramatically.

  • Growth, jobs and manufacturing

    Growth, jobs and manufacturing

    Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh argues that increases in productivity and wages that come from investment in human capital are going to benefit a larger slice of the population than investment in physical capital that substitutes for workers, though both kinds of investment matter.

  • Deficits, debt and India’s growth prospects

    Deficits, debt and India’s growth prospects

    Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh wrote an opinion article for Financial Express about the fiscal architecture necessary to managing public debt and deficits in India. 

Last modified: May 27, 2025