Smitha Francis

Biography

Currently a Consultant at the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), New Delhi, Dr. Smitha Francis is looking at the impact of horizontal industrial policy on the Indian electronics industry’s value chain participation and the impact of digital technologies on the manufacturing sector, while continuing her work on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

Previously, she worked at Economic Research Foundation (ERF), New Delhi, the Secretariat for International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs; www.networkideas.org), and prior to that at the Research and Information Systems (RIS), New Delhi. She has also been a Visiting Faculty at the South Asian University and Ambedkar University, New Delhi. In addition, she has been a consultant in projects sponsored by the Department of Commerce, Government of India; Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR); Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Brussels; Centre for WTO Studies, New Delhi; Frederick S. Pardee Centre for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, Boston University; UN OHCHR; etc.

Education

Madras University and Jawaharlal Nehru University

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

industrial policy, trade, FDI and industrial restructuring,  free trade agreements (FTAs), digital transformations and the role of the state in digital development trajectories

Personal Interests

interface between trade, investment and technology policies; macroeconomic policy interactions under globalisation; policy analysis related to digital economy

Websites

• Economic and Political Weekly (EPW)

• International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs)

• Researchgate

• The hindu BusinessLine

Books