Nagesh Kumar

Nagesh Kumar is the Director and Chief Executive of the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID). Before this role, which he assumed in May 2021, Dr. Kumar held senior positions at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) from 2009 to 2021. These included Chief Economist, Director of Macroeconomic Policy, and Head of the South and South-West Asia Office, which he established.

From 2002 to 2009, Dr. Kumar was Director-General of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), a think tank of the Indian government. He also worked as an Economist at UNU/INTECH in the Netherlands from 1993 to 1998. Dr. Kumar has served on various boards, including the EXIM Bank of India, and consulted for organizations like the World Bank and UN agencies. He has published 18 books and over 120 peer-reviewed papers.

He holds a PhD in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics and has received awards such as the Exim Bank’s International Trade Research Award and GDN’s Research Medal.

As a UNU-WIDER Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow, he is involved in the Patterns and drivers of global inequality project.