THE ECONOMICS SOCIETY

The Economics Society, popularly and fondly known as the EcoSoc, is one of the most active societies of our college with a rich legacy and history. It has earned the reputation of being one of the leading societies in the country that is dedicated to the promotion of interest and awareness about matters related to economics. The prime motto of the society has always been to encourage the development of economic thought and ideas beyond the classroom.

Since the inception of the society, they have been able to achieve this through various inter-disciplinary events that include compelling quizzes, engaging debates, and paradigms replicating economies using excel and committee simulations. The events never fail to reach the eager ears of participants all around the country. From time to time, the EcoSoc has hosted eminent speakers and lectures such as Dr. Amartya Sen, Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Dr. Debraj Ray, Ms. Anshula Kant, Mr. Iqbal Dhaliwal, to name a few. The Economics Society also publishes the Towards Equilibrium’, the annual economic journal of the college. They also manage EconAfterHours, an online blog with articles on different topics pertaining to economics.

Every year, they host the National Economics Festival (NEF), which is their flagship event. NEF brings together economics enthusiasts from across the country and has witnessed an increase in footfall year after year. It acts as a platform for participants to explore economics and hone their skills in related fields such as finance and business through events such as lectures, quizzes, debates, excel simulations, and paper presentations. In addition, the society also organises an array of events in the odd semester. These comprise of academically engaging events such as excel-based events, quizzes, lectures, and event X- a surprise event that they build from scratch and work on. These events see participants from all over India and host eminent personalities as judges, panellists, and speakers.

With the pan-india participation of over 5,000 students and close to 9,000 likes on our social med handles, they actively post weekly quizzes, economic terms, and articles across our social media handles to help develop an interest and a deep understanding of the subject.

The Economics Society is an assortment of people brought together by their love for the subject. The members of the society bond over different economic concepts and ideas and strongly believe that economics is in the everyday, that there is something in economics for everyone!

List of Council Members of the current academic year with their contact detailsPresident – Somya Barik- somyabarik07@gmail.com

Vice President – Pratham Chawla- prathampc8910@gmail.com

General Secretary – Rachel Batra- batrarachel@gmail.com

Director Of Research – Rachel Elsa Jude- rachel03ej@gmail.com

NEF Convenor – Mallika Mandal- mallika.mandal1906@gmail.com
Executive Council Members:

Ann Maria Jackson (Treasurer)- jacksonannmaria@gmail.com

Bhavya Agrawal- bhavya.agrawal1010@gmail.com

Divyansh Shah- dcsdcsdcsdcs7070@gmail.com

Namrata Pasricha- Pasricha.namrata@gmail.com

Rudraksh Chawla- rudrakshsushilchawla@gmail.com

Swati Malhotra- malhotraswati2004@gmail.com

Tarun Sunil Malayil- tarunsunilmalayil@gmail.com

Vidhi Narula- vidhinarula2004@gmail.com

Yakov George Pulimood- yakovgeorge04@gmail.com

SCHEDULE FOR THE ECONOMICS SOCIETY FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2023-24

ODD SEMESTER

EVEN SEMESTER

Society Orientation

The Economics Society commenced the 2023-24 academic year with the Society Orientation Programme. The event, which saw a turnout of over 65+ enthusiastic first-year junior members, was held in the AV Room at 1:30 PM on September 29, 2023.

During the event, the audience received a briefing about the society’s functioning, including the events organised in both the odd and even semesters. They were encouraged to actively participate in the society’s activities and sign up for the mentorship initiative to enhance their society experience.

The Vinod Chowdhury Memorial Event 2023

The Vinod Chowdhury Memorial Lecture 2023:

 Date: September 14th, 2023

Time: 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

Venue: Seminar Room, St. Stephen’s College
The Economics Society, St. Stephen’s College hosted Dr. Ashwini Deshpande for a lecture, under the 16th Vinod Chowdhury Memorial Lecture and Debate 2023.
About the Speaker: Dr. Ashwini Deshpande is an eminent Indian economist, who has garnered recognition for her scholarly inquiries into poverty, inequality, regional disparities, and gender prejudice.

Presently a professor at Ashoka University, she has also imparted knowledge at Delhi School of Economics. Notable awards underscore her contributions, including “Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India,” a significant publication amplifying her academic influence.

Topic of the lecture: “Why are so few Indian women in the labour force?”.
Insights from the Lecture:

Dr. Deshpande began her address reminiscing about her college days, lending a warm and relatable tone to the event. She then proceeded to challenge the mainstream theories surrounding women’s historically low workforce participation rates in India. The lecture delved into the multifaceted factors contributing to this issue. Dr. Deshpande highlighted the supply-side explanations, including sexual violence, societal stigmas, and the demands of reproductive labour, such as childcare and household responsibilities.

Notably, she stressed the significance of reproductive labour in restricting women’s participation in the workforce.

She presented data about women in the Indian workforce, noting historically low labour force participation rates. However, variations exist within different social groups. Rural women, especially Dalit and Adivasi women have shown higher participation rates due to less strict social norms. However, since 2004, a prominent downtrend has been observed in the women’s labour force participation rate, especially among Adivasi women. The lecture explored the definition of labour force, which includes those actively seeking work as well as the currently employed. It is often assumed that women aren’t voluntarily looking for work, yet multiple surveys have found that many women are willing to work if suitable opportunities exist close to their homes and are compatible with their domestic responsibilities.

The speaker discussed women’s frequent transitions in and out of the Indian workforce, noting a significant decline from 2014 and 2017. She pointed out that the factors commonly given to explain these transitions were not recurring as frequently as the transitions themselves. She also noted that social groups with historically higher labour force participation displayed more transitions. She also highlighted technology’s impact, which might have been replacing women in agriculture, a primary employer, and potentially contributing to the decline. Increased women in higher education and rising family incomes are suggested explanations in existing literature but these factors alone couldn’t fully explain the decline.

Domestic duties and transportation have emerged as major barriers to women’s workforce participation. Moreover, the measurement of women’s work is complicated by the prevalence of unpaid labour on family enterprises like farms and shops. Dr. Deshpande presented several stylized facts about women, including increased participation in self-help groups, non-marriage-related migration, and higher enrolment in higher education. She challenged the belief that women avoid work due to safety concerns, noting that most incidents of violence against women occur domestically.

In terms of solutions, the lecture emphasized the need to create more labour-intensive employment opportunities, particularly in the rural non-farm sector, to boost women’s workforce participation. Dr. Deshpande stressed the importance of making jobs more accessible for women. Additionally, changing social norms and promoting male participation in household chores are crucial steps towards achieving gender equality.

The lecture was followed by a lively Q&A session, during which Dr. Deshpande emphasized changing social norms and the importance of upskilling women in high-employment sectors. While government recognition of women’s unpaid labour is a positive step, she stressed on the need for more paid opportunities to boost women’s workforce participation. In her closing remarks, Dr. Deshpande appealed to national leaders to promote gender equality and challenge traditional divisions of domestic labour.

Participants: The session saw enthusiastic participation from the students and faculty of St. Stephen’s College, with more than 70 attendees.

The Vinod Chowdhury Memorial Debate 2023:

The Vinod Chowdhury Memorial Debate was held in two rounds – The Prelims on 16th-17th September and the Semi-Finals and Finals on 18th September 2023. The Debate was started in 2008, in the memory of Vinod Chowdhury, Head of the Department of Economics at St. Stephen’s College. Over the years, the debate has seen increasing participation from colleges across Delhi University and has emerged as one of the most prestigious Economics-centric debating competitions in the country.
Preliminary Round

Date:   16-17th September

Time:   5:00 PM- 9:00 PM (on 16th)

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM and 5:00- 9:00 PM (on 17th)

The theme for the preliminary round was Geo- Economics and the society had adopted a conventional debate format, consisting of two sub- rounds: the introduction round and the rebuttal + point of information round. The prelims started off with the introduction speech followed by an explanation of the debate format along with time constraints. The teams were then given their stances on the motions they were allotted 20 minutes prior to the debate. Halfway through the preliminary round, the motions were modified-an extra economic layer was added to them to ensure that the latter contestants do not have an unfair advantage and that the debate remains exciting and competitive. After the completion of all the rounds, a vote of thanks was given. The round went on smoothly and the structure of the debate was much appreciated by the adjudicators.

Logistics: The round was conducted on Google meet. Each day three simultaneous rooms were being run. Cumulatively, there were nine in two days, each with a different adjudicator.

Participants: There was a total turnout of 80+ teams in total. Each breakout room had around 8 teams.

Motions: The following were the motions for each slot:

Slot 1: THR the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the WTO.

Layer: TH, as a developing nation, believes that the International Monetary Fund has failed them.

Slot 2: THW cut off financial aid to nations which harbour terrorists.

Slot 3: THBT multilateral agreements for a global minimum tax rate for MNC’s will adversely affect firm productivity

Layer:THBT multilateral agreements for a global minimum corporate tax rate will adversely affect the development of underdeveloped countries.
Adjudication: For the prelims, we had 1 adjudicator in each room. Each was given a separate scoresheet for their scheduled room and they had to mark the debaters on manner, method, matter, and question and answer for point of information. The weightage for the same was:

– Matter: 0-50

– Manner: 0-20

– Method: 0-30

Point of information:

Questions:0-5

Answers: 0-10
Winners: We had 8 finalists

Team 1: Adhiraj Singh & Rijul Kumar Mishra

Team 2: Snehal Thakur & Advit Upadhyay

Team 3: Anasab Atiq & Somedutta Chakraborty

Team 4: Yatharth Surana & Vedang Choudhary

Team 5: Khayati Aggarwal & Srishti Singh

Team 6: Aryan Chopra & Svasti Kholia

Team 7: Simone Singh & Varun Manda

Team 8: Advaith Sai Nair & Aneesha Ahuja
Final Round (Consisting of Semi-Finals and Finals)

Date: 18th September 2023

Time: 1:30 PM
The theme for the final round was “India and the rest of the world” and the society had adopted a British Parliamentary Debate (BPD) format. Conducted offline, the four finalists were given stances of Opening Government, Opening Opposition, Closing Government, and Closing Opposition. The semi-finals started off with the introduction speech followed by an explanation of the debate format along with the time constraints. The motion was then released, followed by a 15 minutes preparation time. After the completion of all the speeches, a vote of thanks was given. The speeches were competitive and well-researched. The final round proceeded the same way as the semi-finals with the top 2 teams from each semi-final room competing in the finals.

Logistics: The semi-finals were conducted in the AV Room and the OPLT. The final round took place in the college hall.

Motions:

Semi-finals: THBT India should prevent brain drain by controlling and reducing the number of people from centrally-funded universities who are allowed to immigrate.

Finals: THBT India’s economic growth is more dependent on its regional relationships than its global partnerships.
Results: The results of the Finals were as follows –

– Best Team:

Moggie and Margaret

(Varun Manda and Simone Singh)

– Best Speaker:

Member of Government

Varun Manda
Guesstimate-solving Workshop

On the 12th of September 2023, The Economics Society organised a Guesstimate-solving workshop at 3 PM in Room R. The workshop began with a brief introduction to guesstimates and their importance and then moved on to different approaches to solving them. The participants were then divided into groups of 4 and solved 3 more guesstimate problems, with each group presenting its solutions and receiving feedback. The session was a great success, and all the First Years enjoyed it.
ECQUIZZITE 2023

Ecquizzite 2023 was held in two rounds on the 27th of September 2023. Ecquizzite, from its inception, has been one of the most challenging, excruciating yet exciting Economics and Business-based quizzes in the circuit of Delhi University; witnessing a 101% increase in the overall registrations with 620+ teams participating this year.
Preliminary RoundDate: 27th September 2023

Timings: 2:00-3:00 PM
The major themes around which this round revolved were Economic Theory, Business, Pop Culture, and Current Affairs. There were 20 questions in totality, which included Fill in the Blanks, One-word Answer, and Identify X/Y type questions. The participants were given 25 minutes to attempt the questions and submit their answers. All the instructions were emailed to the participants in the form of a rulebook in the morning on the same day.

Logistics: The round took place in the college hall on campus, via pen and paper.

Participation: The round saw a turnout of 480+ teams.

Qualifiers: We had 6 teams that qualified for the final round which were as follows:

• Abhik Basu and Abhishek Sushil
• Bhavya Rana and Prateet Jain
• Saarthak Chhabra and Asmit Kumar
• Anaamika S. and Shivam Pareek
• Shreyansh Krishna and Mayank Agrawal
• Aryan Arora and Aryan Pratap Singh

Final RoundDate: 27th September 2023

Timings: 3:00-6:00 PM
With 4 rounds and 44 questions, the final round’s main themes included Economic Theory, Business, Pop Culture, and Current Affairs. The types of questions included Identify X/Y, Fill in the Blanks, Audio/Video Type, Logo Type, and One Word Answer Type. There were 4 main rounds which were as follows:

• Pound and Bounce
• Connect
• Hangman
• Freeze

The instructions regarding the round were shared during the finals itself.
Logistics: The round was conducted in the seminar room on the campus. The questions were dictated as well as projected by the Quizmasters. Timekeepers informed the teams when the time for attempting a question was over and also as soon as the time for attempting a question began. The scorekeepers kept track of the scoring and the leaderboard was revealed to the participants after every round.
Results: The results were as follows:

• Winners: Abhik Basu and Abhishek Sushil
• First Runner-Up: Bhavya Rana and Prateet Jain
• Second Runner-Up: Saarthak Chhabra and Asmit Kumar

Terra Wars 2.0: An Excel Simulation Workshop Date: 16th October 2023

No. of participants : 35

On the 16th of October 2023, The Economics Society organised Terra Wars 2.0, an excel simulation workshop at 4 PM in the AV Room. The event began with a brief explanation of the rules and the basic structure. In total, the participants had 5 different commodities available to them for trade along with an initial endowment. The teams had to critically analyse the potential effect of different news and rumours regarding the prices of the commodities and accordingly trade. At the end, the participant with the highest net worth was declared the winner. The event was a great success, and all the first years enjoyed it.
Links to latest journalhttps://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/67607082/towards-equilibrium-2023