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{{short description|Indian economist|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{cleanup|date=February 2020|reason=Too much detail on specific articles, which tends to come across as promotional.}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ashwini Deshpande
| image =
| occupation = [[Economist]], professor, author
| employer = [[Ashoka University]]
| citizenship = Indian
| education = {{Plainlist|
* Bachelors at [[University of Delhi]]
* Masters at [[Delhi School of Economics]]
* Ph.D at Delhi School of Economics
}}
}}

'''Ashwini Deshpande''' is an Indian [[economist]] best known for her papers concerning various topics such as poverty, inequality, regional disparities, and gender discrimination. She is currently working as a professor at [[Ashoka University]]; she has taught at the [[Delhi School of Economics]] in the past as well.<ref name=":1">(nd).(2019).[https://www.ideasforindia.in/profile/ashwini1.html Ideas for India].</ref> She has won many awards for her papers and publications, one of which is called ''Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India''.<ref name=":1" />

==Education and work==
Ashwini Deshpande completed her bachelor's honors in Economics in 1985 from the [[University of Delhi]]. She then proceeded to complete her masters at the [[Delhi School of Economics]] in 1987. Additionally, in 1994 she earned her Ph.D. at the Delhi School of Economics with ''Some Aspects of the International Debt Crisis of Developing Countries''.<ref>(2019). [http://www.wider.unu.edu/expert/ashwini-deshpande Ashwini Deshpande: UNU-WIDER].</ref> After graduating she was a lecturer at different colleges and universities in the Delhi area. From 1998-2000 Ashwini Deshpande Post-doctoral research fellow, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.<ref name=":4">Deshpande, Ashwini (2019). [https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/CV_Ashwini_Deshpande_Sept_2019_f2ede211c6d2fa3c1c003d16077a024d.pdf Curriculum Vitae].</ref>

She also has a lot of major research and organisational experience, which includes being a chairperson at the annual conference for development and change from 2005-2007 and 2010.<ref name=":4" /> In 2007 she was one of four people appointed to be the principal investigators in a project on Urban Labour Market Inequality in India, which was initiated by [[Princeton University]], USA and Indian Institute of [[Dalit studies|Dalit Studies]].<ref name=":4" />
She was also an author in a DFID funded study "Gender-caste growth assessment" designed to bring out the interconnections between growth and gender/caste inequalities in India.<ref name=":4" /> Additionally she was a regional author for the 2010 UN Report written by [[Naila Kabeer]] about inequality and if the MDG would be able to diminish the inequalities which many face.<ref>Kabeer, Naila (2010). [https://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/MDGreportwebsiteu2WC.pdf Can the MDGs provide a pathway to social justice? The challenge of intersecting inequalities]. Page 2. Publisher: Institute of Development Studies</ref> She was also appointed to some official positions including being a member of the [[Ministry of Minority Affairs]] in 2007, the consultative group of external sector in 2004, and in planning commission all for the [[Government of India]].<ref name=":4" /> She has also done some work internationally, she was the deputy director of the Cambridge Advanced Program on [[Development economics|Development Economics]] in 2002.<ref name=":4" /> She also served as a Social Sciences Jury Member for the [[Infosys Prize]] 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Infosys Prize - Jury 2020|url=http://www.infosys-science-foundation.com/prize/jury/jury-2020.asp#Social-Sciences|access-date=2020-12-09|website=www.infosys-science-foundation.com}}</ref>

==Notable works==
Ashwini Deshpande has written several works, including books, journal articles, and papers. The overall theme of her work is the effects of Indian culture on its own society. She has also written some articles about music.

===Books===
Ashwini Deshpande has currently published several books of her own, including ''The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India'', published in 2011,<ref name=":5">Deshpande, Ashwani (2011). [http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/economicsfinance/9780198072034/toc.html]. Publisher: Oxford University press</ref> ''Globalization and Development: A Handbook of New Perspectives'', published in 2010,<ref name=":6">Deshpande, Ashwini (2010). [http://ideas.repec.org/b/oxp/obooks/9780198069102.html]. Publisher: Oxford University Press</ref> and ''The Global Economic Crisis and the Developing World''.<ref name=":7">Deshpande, Ashwini & Nurse, Keith (2012). [http://www.routledge.com/The-Global-Economic-Crisis-and-the-Developing-World-Implications-and-Prospects/Deshpande-Nurse/p/book/9780415671286]. Publisher: Routledge</ref>

''The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India'' is about the discrimination there is within Indian society because of the [[caste system in India]] and how it has changed in recent years. Data from the Indian Railways for 23 years was examined. Research from various other writers suggests that there are patterns in the labour market which show that in many jobs people are discriminated against just because of their caste.<ref name=":5" />

''Globalization and Development: A Handbook of New Perspectives'' is a book written about the alternatives of globalization. Taking specific countries as case studies, the book explores alternative policies which could be implemented outside of the mainstream discourse.<ref name=":6" /> In the book, decomposition method was used to measure the discrimination people face because of the caste system, and she discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using this methodology as well.<ref name=":6" />

''The Global Economic Crisis and the Developing World'' is a book about how wealth inequality can be effected by an economic crisis.<ref name=":7" /> In addition, it analyzes how unemployment is affected in a country due to a financial crisis by comparing separate countries unemployment and inequality levels.<ref name=":7" /> In the book, the main countries which are discussed are South Africa and Brazil. There was a correlation between inequality and unemployment with a coefficient of 80% based on data from 2001, 2002, and 2007.<ref name=":7" /> But, South Africa was a bit of an outlier as the data from the middle-class did not have a correlation with unemployment compared to the other classes and Brazil. The results showed that for a country to face the least amount of loss during a crisis, policies to maximize employment should be implemented.<ref name=":7" />

===Journals===
Ashwini Deshpande has written, co-written, and edited hundreds of papers, below are some specifically concerning the effects of the caste system in India.

===="Local Social Inequality, Economic Inequality, and Disparities in Child Height in India" (2019)====
In this study, child height is analyzed as a marker of population health levels.<ref name=":9">Coffey, Diane; Deshpande, Ashwini; Hammer, Jeffrey; Spears, Dean (2019). [http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13524-019-00794-2 Publisher: Population Association of America]</ref> The study took these height differences and compared them to the socioeconomic status of each child, as it would be assumed that a child with higher socioeconomic status would have a higher chance of being healthier and therefore taller.<ref name=":9" /> In the study they also looked at the relationship between the caste system in the particular area and how it affected the children's heights.<ref name=":9" /> The conclusion of the study was not clear as there seemed to be no direct trend which also associated with the caste system. Also the results contrasted with results from similar studies, who could actually find a correlation between the two variables.<ref name=":9" />

===="Who Is the Identifiable Victim? Caste and Charitable Giving in Modern India" (2016)====
India has a very high [[wealth gap]], and there are millions of charities worldwide asking for donations for poor kids in India. This study examines the markets in term of behaviour as people donate more and more
.<ref name=":10">Deshpande, Ashwini Spears, Dean (2016). [http://Uideas.repec.org/a/ucp/ecdecc/doi10.1086-684000.html]. Pages 299-321. Publisher: University of Chicago Press</ref> The study identifies an "[[identifiable victim effect]]"<ref name=":10" /> which can be seen in specific individuals. Data was collected for three different experiments.<ref name=":10" /> The first experiment consisted of a survey to receive detailed information about the person, so variables such as caste, age, and gender can be factored into the results.<ref name=":10" /> The second experiment ran around 56,000 advertisements of charities which were shown online in India to see if there were any common trends in the marketing of the charities.<ref name=":10" /> Thirdly the participants from the first survey would need to allocate real money to their preferred charity, this would show how each advertisement has an effect of the consumer and how it impacts their decision and how much they donate.<ref name=":10" /> The results of this paper concluded that the victim effect for high-caste individuals was more identifiable than the other participants. In lower-caste individuals this effect was minimal or even reversed, this would mean that when a person from a low-caste sees advertisements about people in need they are less likely to donate compared to high-caste individuals.<ref name=":10" /> The results of the study show how the caste-system still has an impact of an individual's choice in India.<ref name=":10" />

===="Disadvantage and discrimination in self-employment: caste gaps in earnings in Indian small businesses" (2016)====
This study looks at data from the 2004–2005 [[India Human Development Survey]], and compares the earnings from a business to an individual's caste.<ref name=":11">Deshpande, Ashwini; Sharma, Smriti (2016). [http://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v46y2016i2p325-346.html]. Page 325-346. Publisher: Springer</ref> One uncertainty from this study is that some aspects of earning may be unexplained, if one company earns more than the other it may not be case the answer is because their caste is different, it may just be that their product is poor. In the results around 55% of the gap was unexplained,<ref name=":11" /> which may render the results to not be as factual. But from the data comparison it was concluded that business owners that are from a lower or middle-case face greater discrimination in their earnings compared to higher-caste owners.<ref name=":11" />

===="Overlapping Identities under Liberalization: Gender and Caste in India" (2007)====
This study specifically looks at the gender-caste overlap by compating data from the National Family and Health Survey and the Gender-Caste Development Index
.<ref name=":12">Deshpande, Ashwini (2007). [http://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/ecdecc/v55y2007p735-760.html]. Page 735-760. Publisher: University of Chicago Press</ref> There was no conclusion for this particular study as the data was not able to be compared due to differences in years in which the data was presented.<ref name=":12" /> But, the author did make a comment that there could be possible links between early liberalization and intergroup disparity based on evidence.<ref name=":12" /> The research for this study was to quantify the aspects of the gender-caste overlap in India, but collecting data which could come up with clear results proved to be difficult.<ref name=":12" /> In an earlier paper Deshpande wrote in 2002 she has mentioned that the subgroup which is the worst off in India by about having double the burder is the group of low-caste women.<ref name=":12" />

====Double jeopardy? Caste, affirmative action, and stigma====
This study looks at what the consequences are in university because of the caste system.<ref name=":13">Deshpande, Ashwini (2016). [http://ideas.repec.org/p/unu/wpaper/wp2016-071.html]. Publisher: UNU-WIDER</ref> A survey was given to university students, where they were asking questions regarding the admission process regarding non-reserved or open seats, which are seen as beneficiary programs that the university implements to give a fair chance to everyone applying, especially because in India there is sometimes corruption involved for admissions.<ref name=":13" /> In the results it was clear that students from a higher-caste did not take the beneficiary programs as well as the lower-caste students.<ref name=":13" /> Meaning higher-caste students were more judging and were looking at the programs prejudicially, which stems from the caste-system in India.<ref name=":12" /> The results point out that anti-discriminatory rules and policies should be put in action by educational institutions in India to decrease the amount of stigma revolving around low-caste individuals.<ref name=":12" />

==Awards and grants==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Grant/Award
!Reason
|-
|1989
|University Grant Commission
|Grant for research<ref name=":4" />
|-
|1989
|Junior Research Fellowship
|Grant for Research<ref name=":4" />
|-
|1994
|EXIM Bank Awards
|outstanding dissertation in the area of international trade and related issues<ref name=":4" />
|-
|2007
|V.K.R.V. Rao Award
|Economist under 45 for original and significant contribution to Indian economics<ref name=":4" />
|-
|2012-2017
|Grant from European Commission
|For India's participation in "Enhancing Knowledge for Renewed Knowledge against Poverty"<ref name=":4" />
|-
|2016
|Grant from Economic and Social Research Council
|Research for Choice constraint and the gender dynamics of labour markets in West Bengal"<ref name=":4" />
|-
|2019
|Grant from EU-India Platform for the Social Sciences and Humanities
|For "Challenging Inequalities: A Indo-European perspective"<ref name=":4" />
|-
|2019
|Grant from Wellcome Trust, UK
|For "Economic and Social Dimensions of Health and Morbidity"<ref name=":4" />
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://ideas.repec.org/f/pde323.html List of works] at [[Research Papers in Economics]]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshpande, Ashwini}}
[[Category:20th-century Indian economists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian economists]]
[[Category:Delhi School of Economics alumni]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Ashoka University]]

Ashwini Deshpande - Revision history

Username123 at 22:12, 20 March 2026