Sanjay Kathuria

former lead economist at the World Bank

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Sanjay Kathuria is a former lead economist at the World Bank, where he worked for 27 years, from 1992 to 2019. He holds a master's degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics and MPhil and PhD degrees in economics from Oxford University. Kathuria is a fellow at the Wilson Center and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

Career

Before joining the World Bank, Kathuria spent a decade as a fellow at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. He is a former lead economist at the World Bank. He worked at the bank for 27 years, from 1992 to 2019. [1]

At the World Bank, Kathuria worked across Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and South Asia. He had field postings in New Delhi and Dhaka. Kathuria has said he worked with Jamaica many years ago. He has said working on South Asia was his most passionate period at the World Bank, and that he used to visit Pakistan often while he was at the bank. [1]

Education

Kathuria earned a master's degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics. He holds MPhil and PhD degrees in economics from Oxford University. [1]

Current positions

Kathuria is a fellow at the Wilson Center. He is a senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in India and a non-resident senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore. He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and visiting faculty at Ashoka University. Kathuria has said he is affiliated with the Center for Social and Economic Progress. [1]

Regional ties

Kathuria has said he is very much an Asian, in fact a South Asian. He has said he lived for three years in Bangladesh and that he has many very good friends in Pakistan. He has said he presented the Bangladesh story in Pakistan. Kathuria has also said he quoted a World Bank study in an essay he wrote. [1]

Views on debt and restructuring

Kathuria has said he wishes he could be more optimistic about Pakistan's current situation. He has said that systematic problems in the economy would not be cured by one-off surges. He has said IMF projections are usually quite optimistic, and that growth projections are also pretty optimistic. [1]

Kathuria has distinguished between several ways of handling debt. He has said a rollover extends debt on the same terms as the current ones, and that it gives a country market access, which countries in a difficult debt situation may not get. He has said a rollover of this kind is called evergreening in banking. Reprofiling, in his description, increases the maturity of existing debt. [1]

Kathuria has said restructuring is basically a reduction of a country's overall debt. He has said a restructuring should cut debt substantially when measured in net present value terms, and that it is popularly called a debt haircut. He has said restructuring also reduces debt servicing over the years. A cut in the present value of debt, he has said, normally requires some cut in principal. [1]

Kathuria has said debt restructuring ultimately comes down to a spreadsheet calculation, and that a restructuring needs an end target for the debt-to-GDP ratio. He has said a default is much worse than a planned restructuring. He has said that without planning, a default will come in a disorderly way, and that in a default all holders of debt would be affected. [1]

Kathuria has said external debt is the bigger problem because a country cannot print dollars to repay it. He has said domestic debt is easier to handle than external debt from a macro point of view. He has said debt that carries a sovereign guarantee is de facto a kind of government debt. He has also said private debt can be renegotiated, though it will be done separately from government debt. [1]

Kathuria has said there is a good cash support programme that can be increased. He has said Pakistan is in a much better position than Sri Lanka on local self-sufficiency, and that Pakistan can look to Jamaica. In his words, if Sri Lanka can do it, so can Pakistan. [1]

Views on reform and economic policy

Kathuria has said economists say that crisis breeds reform. He has said far-thinking economists in India had already been thinking about the reforms for quite a while. He has said a document called the M document formed the basis of many of the reforms, and that the fiscal deficit had skyrocketed, so the pain was already there. [1]

Kathuria has said India holds close to $700 billion in reserves. He has said that as countries began to crisis-proof themselves, one of the biggest things that happened was reserve accumulation. He has said Bangladesh offers an example of a grassroots revolution, and that Bangladesh is now richer per capita than Pakistan, with a larger GDP despite being smaller. [1]

Kathuria has said elite capture manifests itself in different ways, and that competition is the best way to manage cronyism. He has said India is one of the most dynamic venture capital markets in the world. He has said India's most fundamental challenge for the next decade is creating good quality employment, and that India's safety net works well because of its digital infrastructure. He has said one should worry less about inequality than about absolute poverty. [1]

Kathuria has said significantly higher levels of debt have become the norm worldwide since COVID. He has said least developed and poor countries face a very difficult task and need a return to fundamentals. He has said he thinks it is going to be an Asian century. He has said US-China trade wars are creating a fragmented world that is not good for Asia. [1]

Kathuria has said Pakistan's exports to India would rise by 80% if trade reached its potential. He has said the first thing to do is to introduce competition in the economy, and that high import tariffs act as an anti-export bias. He has said wealthy people should be taxed, including high-value agriculture, and that tax collections of 11% of GDP are simply unsustainable. [1]

Kathuria has said a reform process should be more inclusive and consultative, co-opting wide swaths of the country and going outside the elite. He has said reform blueprints should consult the provinces and reflect what people need. He has said elite will not allow the reforms needed for long-term sustainability. Kathuria has said he has four or five reform ideas that he talks about often. [1]

Timeline

1992
Start of a 27-year period at the World Bank[1]
2019
End of a 27-year period at the World Bank[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2024-10-05 Pakistan is on a knife edge — and a planned default beats a forced one Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Sanjay Kathuria?

Sanjay Kathuria is a former lead economist at the World Bank. He worked there for 27 years, from 1992 to 2019. He is a fellow at the Wilson Center and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.[1]

What does Sanjay Kathuria do?

Sanjay Kathuria is a fellow at the Wilson Center and a senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in India. He is a non-resident senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore. He is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and visiting faculty at Ashoka University.[1]

Where did Sanjay Kathuria study?

Sanjay Kathuria earned a master's degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics. He holds MPhil and PhD degrees in economics from Oxford University.[1]

What is Sanjay Kathuria known for?

Sanjay Kathuria is known as a former lead economist at the World Bank. He worked at the bank from 1992 to 2019. During that time he worked across Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and South Asia.[1]

How long did Sanjay Kathuria work at the World Bank?

Sanjay Kathuria worked at the World Bank for 27 years, from 1992 to 2019. Before joining the World Bank, he spent a decade as a fellow at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.[1]

Where did Sanjay Kathuria work at the World Bank?

At the World Bank, Sanjay Kathuria worked across Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and South Asia. He had field postings in New Delhi and Dhaka.[1]

What does Sanjay Kathuria say about debt restructuring?

Sanjay Kathuria has said restructuring is basically a reduction of a country's overall debt, and that it is popularly called a debt haircut. He has said a default is much worse than a planned restructuring. He has also said that without planning, a default will come in a disorderly way.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan is on a knife edge — and a planned default beats a forced one . Thought Behind Things , 2024-10-05.
Show the source passages (77 statements)
  1. Kathuria is a former lead economist at the World Bank. a former lead economist at the World Bank
  2. Kathuria worked at the World Bank for 27 years, from 1992 to 2019. Over his 27-year tenure at the World Bank (1992–2019)
  3. At the World Bank, Kathuria worked across Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and South Asia. Kathuria worked across Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and South Asia
  4. At the World Bank, Kathuria had field postings in New Delhi and Dhaka. with field postings in New Delhi and Dhaka
  5. Before joining the World Bank, Kathuria spent a decade as a fellow at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. Before joining the World Bank, he spent a decade as a fellow at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
  6. Kathuria earned a master's degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics. Kathuria earned his master’s degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics
  7. Kathuria holds MPhil and PhD degrees in economics from Oxford University. holds both MPhil and PhD degrees in economics from Oxford University
  8. Kathuria is a fellow at the Wilson Center. He currently holds several prestigious positions, including fellow at the Wilson Center
  9. Kathuria is a senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in India. senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in India
  10. Kathuria is a non-resident senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore. non-resident senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore
  11. Kathuria is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. he is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and visiting faculty at Ashoka University
  12. Kathuria is visiting faculty at Ashoka University. he is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and visiting faculty at Ashoka University
  13. Kathuria has said he is affiliated with the Center for Social and Economic Progress. So I am also affiliated with the Center for Social and Economic Progress
  14. Kathuria has said he is very much an Asian, in fact a South Asian. I'm very much an Asian, in fact a South Asian.
  15. Kathuria has said he lived for three years in Bangladesh. And I lived for three years in Bangladesh
  16. Kathuria has said working on South Asia was his most passionate period at the World Bank. my most passionate, my most fruitful and fun period of my time at the World Bank was working on South Asia
  17. Kathuria has said he used to visit Pakistan often while he was at the World Bank. when I was in the World Bank, I used to come often to Pakistan
  18. Kathuria has said he has many very good friends in Pakistan. I have many very good friends there
  19. Kathuria has said he worked with Jamaica many years ago. one of the countries that I worked with, Jamaica many years ago
  20. Kathuria has said he presented the Bangladesh story in Pakistan. when I presented the Bangladesh story uh to uh you know, in Pakistan
  21. Kathuria has said he quoted a World Bank study in an essay he wrote. There is a World Bank study uh which I have quoted in my in my essay
  22. Kathuria has said he wishes he could be more optimistic about Pakistan's current situation. I wish I could be more optimistic about Pakistan in the current situation
  23. Kathuria has said that systematic problems in the economy would not be cured by one-off surges. there are such systematic problems in the economy that even such if we could have one-off surges like this, they are not going to cure
  24. Kathuria has said IMF projections are usually quite optimistic. So normally the IMF projections are quite optimistic
  25. Kathuria has said growth projections are also pretty optimistic. the growth projections are also pretty optimistic
  26. Kathuria has said a rollover extends debt on the same terms as the current ones. Basically you extend your debt on the same terms as is current
  27. Kathuria has said a rollover gives a country market access, which countries in a difficult debt situation may not get. The good thing of course in rollover is that you actually get market access because sometimes countries in a difficult debt situation, they won't get even a rollover
  28. Kathuria has said a rollover of this kind is called evergreening in banking. It's evergreening. It's another way in the banking system you would call that evergreening
  29. Kathuria has said reprofiling increases the maturity of existing debt. The so there's the next level where you basically increase the maturity of the existing debt
  30. Kathuria has said restructuring is basically a reduction of a country's overall debt. restructuring, which is basically a reduction of your debt, of your overall debt
  31. Kathuria has said a restructuring should cut debt substantially when measured in net present value terms. If you if you compute it in net present value terms, then usme debt mein kaafi uh reduction honi chahiye
  32. Kathuria has said restructuring is popularly called a debt haircut. isko hum haircut bhi bolte hain popularly in the uh parlance, in the economic parlance, debt haircut
  33. Kathuria has said restructuring also reduces debt servicing over the years. Because and it also reduces debt servicing uh over the years
  34. Kathuria has said a cut in the present value of debt normally requires some cut in principal. Usually, it does require if you're going to achieve a reduction in the present value of debt, right? Uh it normally requires some reduction in the principal as well
  35. Kathuria has said debt restructuring ultimately comes down to a spreadsheet calculation. So ultimately, this is a spreadsheet calculation.
  36. Kathuria has said a restructuring needs an end target for the debt-to-GDP ratio. So you have to have a end target, key what do I want my debt to GDP to ratio to look like
  37. Kathuria has said a default is much worse than a planned restructuring. A default is much worse than a planned restructure, right?
  38. Kathuria has said that without planning, a default will come in a disorderly way. if you actually don't plan for it, then the eventuality will take place but in a disorderly way
  39. Kathuria has said that in a default, all holders of debt would be affected. the event of a default, all holders will get affected
  40. Kathuria has said there is a good cash support programme that can be increased. Pakistan has a good uh cash support, Benazir Income Support Program and all of that. That that is that can be increased
  41. Kathuria has said Pakistan is in a much better position than Sri Lanka on local self-sufficiency. I think Pakistan is in a much better situation compared to Sri Lanka when it comes to local sufficiency, self-sufficiency
  42. Kathuria has said external debt is the bigger problem because a country cannot print dollars to repay it. external debt is always the the bigger problem because you can't print dollars to pay back
  43. Kathuria has said domestic debt is easier to handle than external debt from a macro point of view. domestic debt is easier in many ways from a macro point of view
  44. Kathuria has said Pakistan can look to Jamaica. I believe Pakistan can look to to Jamaica
  45. Kathuria has said debt that carries a sovereign guarantee is de facto a kind of government debt. This is de facto kind of government debt because it has a sovereign guarantee
  46. Kathuria has said private debt can be renegotiated, though it will be done separately from government debt. there is no reason why you can't renegotiate private debt, but it will be done separately
  47. Kathuria has said that if Sri Lanka can do it, so can Pakistan. if Sri Lanka can do it, so can so can Pakistan
  48. Kathuria has said economists say that crisis breeds reform. So we as economists, we say that crisis breeds reform
  49. Kathuria has said far-thinking economists in India had already been thinking about the reforms for quite a while. Actually, the truth is different. That India had uh been seeing there were far thinking economists in India who had already been thinking about these these reforms for quite a while
  50. Kathuria has said a document called the M document formed the basis of many of the reforms. he wrote up something called the M document and which was formed the basis of many of the many of the reforms
  51. Kathuria has said the fiscal deficit had skyrocketed, so the pain was already there. So the fiscal deficit had skyrocketed. So the pain was already there
  52. Kathuria has said India holds close to $700 billion in reserves. So India today has close to $700 billion of of reserves
  53. Kathuria has said that as countries began to crisis-proof themselves, one of the biggest things that happened was reserve accumulation. they began to crisis proof their countries, right? So what are the biggest things that happened is is reserve accumulation
  54. Kathuria has said Bangladesh offers an example of a grassroots revolution. I think Bangladesh is a is a fantastic example of of of of a grassroots revolution
  55. Kathuria has said Bangladesh is now richer per capita than Pakistan, with a larger GDP despite being smaller. Bangladesh is a richer country today, both per capita and despite being a much smaller country, its GDP is now larger than uh than Pakistan's
  56. Kathuria has said elite capture manifests itself in different ways. So the elite capture is there. It takes manifests itself in different ways
  57. Kathuria has said competition is the best way to manage cronyism. The I would say that you the the you you manage cronyism, the best way to do it is through competition
  58. Kathuria has said India is one of the most dynamic venture capital markets in the world. India is one of the most dynamic venture capital markets in the world
  59. Kathuria has said India's most fundamental challenge for the next decade is creating good quality employment. India's most fundamental challenge for the next decade is creating good quality employment
  60. Kathuria has said India's safety net works well because of its digital infrastructure. creating the safety net which India is doing actually brilliantly because of its mastery of the digital infrastructure
  61. Kathuria has said one should worry less about inequality than about absolute poverty. worry less about the inequality than about absolute poverty
  62. Kathuria has said significantly higher levels of debt have become the norm worldwide since COVID. the post-COVID in a sense almost a consensus is that significantly higher levels of debt have become the norm uh for for the world
  63. Kathuria has said least developed and poor countries face a very difficult task and need a return to fundamentals. the least developed and poor countries uh have a very difficult task ahead of them and therefore it requires more than ever a reversion to fundamentals
  64. Kathuria has said he thinks it is going to be an Asian century. So I think it is going to be an Asian century
  65. Kathuria has said US-China trade wars are creating a fragmented world that is not good for Asia. These US-China wars, trade wars, which are, you know, creating a geoeconomic uh fragmented world, which is not good for for the people of the world and for Asia
  66. Kathuria has said Pakistan's exports to India would rise by 80% if trade reached its potential. If you just exporting to potential, Pakistan's exports would go up by 80% uh to India
  67. Kathuria has said the first thing to do is to introduce competition in the economy. the the first and uh first thing is that introduce competition in the economy
  68. Kathuria has said high import tariffs act as an anti-export bias. Basically, import tariff is nothing but a what we call an anti-export bias
  69. Kathuria has said wealthy people should be taxed, including high-value agriculture. Uh tax people who who are wealthy, tax them, right? So, uh high value agriculture should be taxed
  70. Kathuria has said tax collections of 11% of GDP are simply unsustainable. because tax uh collections are 11% of GDP. That's simply unsustainable
  71. Kathuria has said economic policy should be run by economists rather than by others with less understanding of the economy. I think economists understand the economy and they should be they should be running the economy
  72. Kathuria has said the army is entrenched in economics, including real estate and logistics. there is a lot of the army is entrenched in in economics. Uh they are uh Fauji Foundation, real estate, in logistics and so on
  73. Kathuria has said fixing public expenditure management is very important throughout the region. the fourth thing is fixing public expenditure management, right? Very important throughout the region
  74. Kathuria has said a reform process should be more inclusive and consultative, co-opting wide swaths of the country and going outside the elite. this has to be a more, let's say, inclusive, uh more consultative reform process, uh co-opting wide swaths of the country, going outside the elite
  75. Kathuria has said reform blueprints should consult the provinces and reflect what people need. Going to the provinces and saying, you know, consulting and then preparing a blueprint for reforms which takes into account what people need
  76. Kathuria has said elite will not allow the reforms needed for long-term sustainability. elite will not allow uh the reforms that are needed from a long-term sustainability perspective
  77. Kathuria has said he has four or five reform ideas that he talks about often. So, I have four or five things that I talk about a lot