Professor Sendhil Mullainathan.

The research department at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR), may soon have answers to questions like what factors make people take loans? Or whether an adjustment in the loan repayment period will affect the number of loans taken by farmers who grow seasonal crops?

These are just a few topics that acclaimed economist Sendhil Mullainathan; professor of economics, Harvard University is studying currently in India. IFMR, a small business school in Chennai with a focus on finance has named the Harvard professor its first Distinguished Fellow under the recently launched "IFMR Distinguished Fellowship Programme." He is well known for his research on "behavioral economics." Forbes magazine has called him "one of the perhaps four or five of his generation leading the overhaul of the traditional economic model". He was awarded the MacArthur Foundation `Genius' award in 2003.

Mullainathan, born in Tamil Nadu migrated to the US as a young boy. He has a PhD in Economics from Harvard University along with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Cornell University. He was a faculty member in the Economics Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining Harvard as a Professor of Economics.

During his two-month stay at IFMR, he will play a key role in developing the course structure and content of subjects like behavioral and development finance at both Masters and Doctoral levels. He will also be carrying out an extensive research programme in collaboration with IFMR faculty and research associates.

The IFMR Distinguished Fellowship Programme is a way of building research and teaching collaborations with faculty who are thought leaders in their respective fields. Fellowships would be limited to senior faculty who are actively involved in research. During their period of residence, the Fellows would carry out research, present seminars on their research, and teach and work with the IFMR faculty on course development.

Says R Chandrasekar, dean, academic affairs, IFMR, "Professor Sendhil Mullainathan has already been working actively in India. Making him a member (of the Fellowship Programme) is a way of formalizing our relationship with him. We are also looking at making at least three senior professors from another renowned business school in USA a part of this programme too."