What is your area of academic interest and which courses were you involved in?
My academic interest is in Economics and I teach courses in Business Context and Microeconomic Theory and Applications. Business context is based on problem based learning where the students learn how to apply economic theory into the real world practical problem and they engage themselves in group research. Microeconomic Theory focusses on the economics of individual units and Consumer Behaviour, Firm Theory, Factor Pricing, Welfare economics etc.
What was your first job? What did you learn from it?
My first job was in Calcutta, India where I worked as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Bethune College, Government of West Bengal in India. I learned how to teach and deliver lectures to undergraduate BA Honours Economics students.
What did you do in your career before coming to Westminster Business School?
I achieved a BA (Honours) degree in Economics from Presidency College, Calcutta, India. An MA in Economics (with First Class and a silver medal winner) from Calcutta University, India. Also, I have a Master’s degree in MA Economics from Birkbeck College, University of London.
What advice would you give to the students during their studies and after graduation so that they make the right decisions for their career?
I advise the students to study regularly, attend their lectures and utilise their time well. They need to search for a job that suits their interests or they can go in for further research in higher education after graduation.
If you were asked to give one piece of advice to students who are considering going into Post Graduate study what would that be?
They should always keep in touch with the modern academic world and surf through the Internet, read journals, newspaper and watch the current TV news.
How do you relax out of work? What are your interests/leisure activities?
I am a poet and write a lot in Bengali. I have published three books of poems in Bengali and they have gone to the Calcutta book fair. I was invited twice by the North American Bengali Conference (NABC) to their conference in the USA and Canada, and gave a speech at the Literary Seminar. I publish stories and poems in many journals in the USA and in India. I gave two television performance in Calcutta, India.
The Diamond-Water Paradox
by Bharati ChowdhuryWe are ready to pay more price
For a usable good we can dream
The higher the utility it can breed
The more we hold it in higher esteem.
Water being so useful in daily life
Bears in the market a throw away price
But diamond has only snob appeal
Still so expensive what a surprise!
Economists could not explain to that
Remained as a paradox in the classical world
The mystery was unravelled in later days
When marginal utility was fully discovered.
Scarcity and abundance are the two main factors
Explain the value of utility at the margin
Diamond is rare and sold at a high price
Because it is scarce and mostly unseen.
Water is a dire necessity in human life
It is an item of great renown
But because it is so much fully available
This easy abundance pushes the price down.
The message the paradox throws light on
The concept of utility has two sides
Nobody cares for the total utility
As marginal utility dictates the price.
What is your favourite memory of school?
My favourite memory in school is when I was first in every recitation competition held in my school days and brought back a prize in an interschool music competition. Also, my school rewarded me with a special prize for recitation when I left the school.
Who are your business influences?
I am not business minded at all but an academic in the true sense of the term.
What inspires you?
I like to teach very much and it is my teaching acumen and the camaraderie with my University colleagues that inspire me.
Bharati Chowdhury – Lecturer in Economics at Westminster Business School
She previously worked as an Assistant Professor in Economics at Bethune College, Calcutta, India for twenty years.
Bharati is also a poet and published a book of poems in Bengali entitled Kabita Amar Preyashee (“Poem Is My Favourite“) in 2002 and which was displayed at the Kolkata book fair in 200
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