Note: Head, Department of Economics, is Director (Part-Time) of Centre for Research in Economic Change.

The faculty members, besides undertaking teaching work in the Department of Economics on an honorary basis are exclusively conducting socially useful research studies and have already done a considerable amount of research work across the different fields of theoretical and applied economics.

Impact Assesment of Research Studies

The faculty members are often consulted by the state authorities on almost all important economic and social policy issues concerning the Punjab Economy. The research done in the centre has made many significant impacts on state policy formulations, particularly in the areas of educational financing, agricultural diversification and human resource development.

• Specifically, two research studies on the low proportion of rural students in universities of Punjab as well as in the professional education in the state have contributed a lot in making the inclusive growth strategy; one of the main objectives of the 11th Five Year Plan of the country.
• In the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh on 20th April, 2010 (CWP No. 6801 of 2008, Sudesh Rani ... Petitioner Vs. State of Punjab and others), Hon'ble Chief Justice, Mr Mukul Mudgal, and Hon'ble Justice Jasbir Singh extensively quoted the study titled 'Rural Students in Universities of Punjab'.
• The 81st Conference of Vice-Chancellors organized at Mumbai by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New Delhi called other universities to replicate such studies in their respective jurisdictions.
• The study entitled Extent of Unemployment in Border Districts of Punjab was used by the state authorities to make special budgetary allocations in the State Budget for the development and employment generation schemes in the border districts since 2008-09.
• Punjab Technical University (PTU), Jalandhar established a Go Rural Mission with an initial allocation of Rs. 25 lakhs.
• Punjab Agricultural University, (PAU), Ludhiana also started a six-year B.Sc. Agriculture course exclusively for rural students after passing Plus Two level of examination.
• Punjabi University also established several neighborhood campuses in the remote rural and backward districts under its jurisdiction to increase easy access to quality higher professional and technical courses at the doorsteps of rural students.