Book Description

This book was written in honour of Professor Kalyan K. Sanyal, who was an excellent educator and renowned scholar in the field of international economics. One of his research papers co-authored with Ronald Jones, entitled “The Theory of Trade in Middle Products” and published in American Economic Review in 1982, was a seminal work in the field of international trade theory. This paper would go on to inspire many subsequent significant works by researchers across the globe on trade in intermediate goods. The larger impact of any paper, beyond the number of citations, lies in terms of the passion it sparks among younger researchers to pursue new questions. Measured by this yardstick, Sanyal’s contribution in trade theory will undoubtedly be regarded as historic. After completing his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester he joined the Department of Economics at Calcutta University in the early 1980s and taught trade theory there for almost three decades. His insights, articulation and brilliance in teaching international economics have influenced and shaped the intellectual development of many of his students. After his sudden passing in February 2012, his students and colleagues organized a symposium in his honour at the Department of Economics, Jadavpur University from April 19 to 20, 2012. This book, a small tribute to his intellect and contribution, has been a follow-up on that endeavour, and a collective effort of many people including his teachers, friends, colleagues and students. In a nutshell it discusses intermediation of various kinds with significant implications for market integration through trade and finance. That trade can generate many non-trade-service sector links has recently emerged as a topic of growing concern and can trace its lineage back to the idea of the middle product, a recurring concept in Prof. Sanyal’s work.