Aditya Goenka

Aditya Goenka

The Department of Economics
Chair in Economics
Deputy Head of Department

Contact details

Address
Department of Economics
University House
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Aditya Goenka is an economic theorist. He is a pioneer in the field of economic epidemiology. His research interest is in the wider area dynamic general equilibrium modelling of real-world problems. The methods are at the intersection of general equilibrium theory, economic fluctuations, and non-linear dynamics. The problems studied include evolution and control of infectious diseases such as Covid-19, economic growth and development, pollution and climate change, macroeconomic fluctuations and stabilisation policy, and money lending and microfinance.

He is the leader of the Economic Theory group in the Department. He is an Associate Editor of Economic Modelling and International Journal of Economic Theory, and recently co-edited a special issue of Journal of Mathematical Economics on economics of pandemics and emerging disease.

Professor Goenka advised the UK Government on Covid policy and was a core member of the International Best Practices Advisory Group. He advised the Government of Singapore on the revision of the Money Lending Act, and also the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Qualifications

  • PhD Cornell University (1991)
  • MS Cornell University (1989)
  • BA St. Xavier’s College, University of Bombay (1985)

Biography

Professor Aditya Goenka did his undergraduate studies in India, and his graduate studies at Cornell University, USA.

His first position was at London School of Economics. Prior to joining University of Birmingham in 2015, he spent most of his academic career at University of Essex and the National University of Singapore. 

He has taught microeconomics (undergraduate to PhD levels), macroeconomics (undergraduate to PhD levels), mathematical economics (undergraduate to PhD levels), monetary economics (undergraduate to PhD levels), corporate finance (masters), market microstructure (masters), asset pricing (masters), industrial organization (undergraduate). 

Aditya led the reform of the PhD programmes in Economics at University of Essex and National University of Singapore to 4-year integrated PhDs. He initiated two new MSc programmes at University of Essex, and has served as External Examiner to London Guildhall University, London School of Economics, University of East Anglia University of Essex, University of London (External Studies), and University Manchester, 

He has taught internationally in USA (Carnegie-Mellon University), Singapore (NUS), Mexico (ITAM), and Vietnam (VCREME).  He has been a research visitor to CEPREMAP, Cornell University, INET (Cambridge University), Kyoto Institute of Economic Research, Syracuse University, University of Cagliari, University of Paris I, and University of Rochester. 

Professor Goenka has been on the programme committees of major international conferences (Royal Economic Society, Society for Advancement of Economic Theory, Workshop on General Equilibrium Theory, Frontiers in Economics 4 Ukraine) and has organised over 20 conferences and workshops. 

Teaching

  • Advanced Microeconomic Theory, Third Year BSc
  • PhD Microeconomics

Postgraduate supervision

  • Currently supervising one PhD student and second supervisor to one student.
  • Primary supervisor of 12 PhD’s in the past, and supervisory committee for 11 PhDs.

Research

Professor Goenka current main research is in the area of economic epidemiology which is the interaction of infectious diseases with the economy. Motivated by the effect of new pandemics like SARS and endemic diseases such as malaria, TB, and HIV/AIDS,along with his co-authors, he was one of the first to model this key problem in a dynamic general equilibrium approach well before the Covid-19 pandemic. This expertise has led him to the only academic economist advising the UK Government on a permanent basis of Covid containment policies. 

The focus of his doctoral thesis and subsequent research was on the possibility of self-fulfilling economic fluctuations (also known as sunspot equilibrium and extrinsic uncertainty) and their stabilization. This is at the intersection of general equilibrium theory and non-linear dynamics. 

He has published on issues such as existence of competitive equilibrium, incomplete markets, indeterminacy and chaos in dynamic general equilibrium models, and strategic use of information. 

The motivation of his research is to solve real-world problems whether they be stabilization of business cycles, growth and poverty, credit market imperfections, pollution and climate change, and the effect of infectious diseases on welfare.

Other activities

  • Advisory committee on moneylending, Ministry of Law, Singapore, 2015.

 Please see CV for more details.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Goenka, A, Liu, L & Nguyen, M-H 2022, 'Modelling optimal lockdowns with waning immunity', Economic Theory, vol. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00199-022-01468-8

Goenka, A, Liu, L & Nguyen, M-H 2021, 'Covid-19 and a green recovery?', Economic Modelling, vol. 104, 105639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2021.105639

Goenka, A, Liu, L & Nguyen, M-H 2021, 'SIR economic epidemiological models with disease induced mortality', Journal of Mathematical Economics, vol. 93, 102476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmateco.2021.102476

Goenka, A & Nguyen, M-H 2020, 'General existence of competitive equilibrium in the growth model with an endogenous labor–leisure choice', Journal of Mathematical Economics, vol. 91, pp. 90-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmateco.2020.08.004

Goenka, A, Jafarey, S & Pouliot, W 2020, 'Pollution, mortality and time consistent abatement taxes', Journal of Mathematical Economics, vol. 88, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmateco.2020.01.004

Goenka, A & Liu, L 2019, 'Infectious diseases, human capital and economic growth', Economic Theory, vol. 70, pp. 1-47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00199-019-01214-7

Goenka, A, Liu, L & Nguyen, M-H 2014, 'Infectious diseases and economic growth', Journal of Mathematical Economics, vol. 50, pp. 34-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmateco.2013.10.004

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Cozzi, G, Goenka, A, Kang , M & Karl, S 2017, Winners and Losers from Price-Level Volatility: Money Taxation and Information Frictions. in K Nishimura, A Venditti & NC Yannelis (eds), Sunspots and Non-Linear Dynamics: Essays in honor of Jean-Michel Grandmont. 1 edn, vol. 31, Studies in Economic Theory, Springer, pp. 387-402.

Chapter

Nguyen, M-H, Nguyen, VC, Nguyen, LA, Nguyen, T & Goenka, A 2021, Climate change impacts on health in Vietnam. in E Espagne (ed.), Climate change in Viet Nam, Impacts and adaptation: A COP26 assessment report of the GEMMES Viet Nam project. Agence France de Developpment, Paris, pp. 157-190. <https://www.afd.fr/en/ressources/gemmes-vietnam-climate-change-impacts-and-adaptation>

Comment/debate

Goenka, A & Liu, L 2022, 'Smart lockdowns to control COVID-19', Nature Computational Science, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 217-218. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43588-022-00239-8

Discussion paper

Goenka, A, Jafarey, S & Pouliot, W 2012 'Pollution, mortality and optimal environmental policy: Discussion Paper 12-05' Department of Economics, University of Birmingham, pp. 1-46. <http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/business/departments/economics/research/discussion-papers/2012-discussion-papers.aspx>

Editorial

Boucekkine, R, Caravajal, A, Chakraborty, S & Goenka, A 2021, 'The economics of epidemics and contagious diseases: an introduction', Journal of Mathematical Economics, vol. 93, 102498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmateco.2021.102498, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmateco.2021.102498

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