Panelists: Stephane Hallegatte, Senior Climate Change Advisor, The World Bank, Washington DC; E. Somanathan, Professor of Economics, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi; Radhika Chopra, Associate Professor, Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, Oxford University, UK; and Ashwini Deshpande, Professor of Economics, Ashoka University, Sonipat 

Chair: Bina Agarwal, Professor of Development Economics and Environment, University of Manchester, UK and former Director, Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi

Economic resilience is essential for sustainability.  A resilient economy is one that can recover (even emerge stronger) from shocks, be they economic, climatic, technological, or health-related. The impact of these shocks and recovery from them, however, tends to be unequal for individuals, households, firms and communities; formal and informal sector workers; village and city dwellers; and spatially, due to pre-existing socio-economic inequalities. The policy challenge is to build an economy that is resilient in diverse contexts, and where shocks do not exacerbate inequalities but provide an opportunity to ‘build back better’? A distinguished panel of experts will discuss these key issues, drawing on Indian and global experience. 

(Collaboration: Institute of Economic Growth)