St. Stephen's Center for Economic Research
Encouraging Research, Innovation and Policy-Oriented Economic Studies
About the Centre
The Department of Economics at St. Stephen's College attracts highly talented, motivated and academically accomplished students. Over the years, many students have demonstrated the ability to move beyond the prescribed University of Delhi curriculum and engage with contemporary economic issues through independent research and analytical thinking.
The introduction of advanced courses such as Econometrics, Game Theory, Economics of Health and Education, and Environmental Economics has strengthened students' analytical capabilities and provided them with the confidence to formulate research questions and undertake meaningful academic investigations.
The primary objective of the St. Stephen's Center for Economic Research (CER) is to nurture this potential by encouraging students to become research-oriented, intellectually independent, and rigorous in developing hypotheses and conducting empirical analysis.
Major Activities
Goutham Krishna Research Fellowships
Introduced during 2014–15, the Goutham Krishna Research Fellowships support student-led research projects under the guidance of faculty members of the Department of Economics. These fellowships have enabled multiple collaborative research projects every year.
The fellowships are supported through a generous endowment from the family of Goutham Krishna, an alumnus of the College who tragically passed away while pursuing higher studies at the University of Bristol.
Research Achievement
In August 2022, one of the Goutham Krishna Fellowship projects titled "Inoculation against the Other Pandemic: A Consumer Side Approach to India's Fake News Problem" was published in the prestigious international journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.
Lectures, Workshops & Courses
The Centre regularly organizes:
- Research Methodology Lecture Series
- Short-term Certificate Courses
- Seminars and Workshops
- Guest Lectures by distinguished economists
- Policy and Governance discussions
Recent initiatives include a 9-day Certificate Course on "The Microeconomic Foundations of Public Policy and Governance" and a 9-lecture Research Methodology Series.
Rural Research Programme (RRP)
Initiated in 2018, the Rural Research Programme enables interdisciplinary student teams to conduct field-based research across rural India on contemporary socio-economic challenges. Students interact with communities, collect primary data, and present their findings to faculty members and domain experts.
Selected Research Projects
Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh
Comparative analysis of farmers' vulnerability to climate change.
Mansa, Punjab
Impact of agrarian suicides on victim families.
Hakrampally, Telangana
Evaluation of the Rythu Bandhu Scheme and the agrarian crisis.
Vidarbha, Maharashtra
Women, Labour and Climate Change.
Vision
The St. Stephen's Center for Economic Research seeks to cultivate intellectual curiosity, promote policy-oriented research, and provide students with opportunities to address real-world economic challenges through rigorous academic inquiry and field-based research.