Symposium on Network Economics explores research on networks and its role in shaping economic & social outcomes
Prof. Arun Chandrasekhar of Stanford University delivers keynote address and conducts workshops in seminar hosted by IIMB’s Economics area
29 August, 2025, Bengaluru : Prof. Arun Chandrasekhar of Stanford University delivered the keynote address on, ‘Discovering what belongs in a story’, at the ‘Symposium on Network Economics’, being hosted by the Economics area of IIM Bangalore from 28th to 29th August 2025.
Dr. Arun Chandrasekhar is Professor of Economics at Stanford University. His research focus includes social learning, informal finance, partial market completion, health behavior and redistribution, and more, mostly using experiments. Prof. Chandrasekhar was awarded the Infosys Prize 2024 in Economics for his research on the impact of networks on economic interactions in developing economies. His visit to IIMB for the symposium is part of the Infosys Prize Sabbatical Program, which aims to foster collaboration between Indian institutes and Infosys Prize Laureates.
Storytelling ‘on the fly’
Prof. Chandrasekhar’s talk at IIMB revolved around his research on, ‘Discovering Stories through RAF: Generalizability, Experimental Design, and Rashomon Sets’. His work focuses on addressing the uncertainty faced by researchers arising out of availability of complex datasets which can lead to multiple ‘stories’ or models fitting the data, which in turn, may have a direct impact on policy design. A lot of his work is based on studies from different villages in India, and hence can go a long way in helping map the country’s progress.
Stating that the key reasons of writing models are to predict, calibrate, design and discover, in a routine attempt to “story tell on the fly”, Prof. Chandrasekhar said that his research is about discovery – stories that make sense of the data. “A story should have a starting point, goal and design focus. It is the setting and the object that make a good story. A story is a model that explains outcomes in structured terms.”
He went on to explain the concepts and contexts of Parsimony, Isolability, Varimax, The Rashomon Set, Foundations for Legibility, Robust Recovery Technique, Semantic Labeling, Experimental Design, Generalizability, Normative Reasoning, and more. He explained some of his experiments which he said include unit, treatment and outcome. He interacted briefly with the audience after his speech.
Dr. Arun Chandrasekhar’s keynote address was followed by sessions on ‘Informal Networks and Risk Sharing’, ‘Networks Theory’ and ‘Networks in Macroeconomics’. The event concluded with a discussion on ‘Open Research Ideas’.
Inaugural session
Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Director In-charge, IIM Bangalore, in his welcome address highlighted the significance of Prof. Chandrasekhar’s research adding, “His work can be a good learning for academicians, researchers and emerging scholars – how they can contribute to the Indian economy and society through research.”
Prof. Aditya Shrinivas, faculty of the Economics area of IIMB and one of the key organizers of the conference, anchored the sessions. While introducing the speaker, he said, “During the last couple of days, Prof. Chandrasekhar made the effort of spending quality time with IIMB faculty and students, and helped us think in different ways about our research.”
Ms Bhavna Mehra, General Manager, Infosys Science Foundation, who was present during the session, congratulated Prof. Chandrasekhar for being awarded the Infosys Prize 2024. “It is awarded to researchers and scholars with the objective of encouraging and fostering world-class scientific research connected to India. Prof. Arun Chandrasekhar was awarded the Infosys Prize for his contribution to the study of social and economic networks, with his research having substantial implication on policy design.”
The symposium was jointly organized by Prof. Aranya Chakraborty, Ahmedabad University, Prof. Anindya S. Chakrabarti, IIM Ahmedabad, and Prof. Aditya Shrinivas, IIM Bangalore.
Pre-symposium sessions
Prof. Arun Chandrasekhar conducted two pre-symposium workshop sessions titled, ‘Introduction to Networks and Dependence’ and ‘Fragility and Robustness in What We (Think) Know’, on 28th August. The day also included a panel discussion on, ‘Topics in Network Economics’. A session titled, ‘Discrimination by Teachers: Role of Attitudes, Beliefs and Empathy’ was led by Prof. Devesh Rustagi, Economics area, University of Warwick.
Please click here for photo gallery.
Symposium on Network Economics explores research on networks and its role in shaping economic & social outcomes
Prof. Arun Chandrasekhar of Stanford University delivers keynote address and conducts workshops in seminar hosted by IIMB’s Economics area
29 August, 2025, Bengaluru : Prof. Arun Chandrasekhar of Stanford University delivered the keynote address on, ‘Discovering what belongs in a story’, at the ‘Symposium on Network Economics’, being hosted by the Economics area of IIM Bangalore from 28th to 29th August 2025.
Dr. Arun Chandrasekhar is Professor of Economics at Stanford University. His research focus includes social learning, informal finance, partial market completion, health behavior and redistribution, and more, mostly using experiments. Prof. Chandrasekhar was awarded the Infosys Prize 2024 in Economics for his research on the impact of networks on economic interactions in developing economies. His visit to IIMB for the symposium is part of the Infosys Prize Sabbatical Program, which aims to foster collaboration between Indian institutes and Infosys Prize Laureates.
Storytelling ‘on the fly’
Prof. Chandrasekhar’s talk at IIMB revolved around his research on, ‘Discovering Stories through RAF: Generalizability, Experimental Design, and Rashomon Sets’. His work focuses on addressing the uncertainty faced by researchers arising out of availability of complex datasets which can lead to multiple ‘stories’ or models fitting the data, which in turn, may have a direct impact on policy design. A lot of his work is based on studies from different villages in India, and hence can go a long way in helping map the country’s progress.
Stating that the key reasons of writing models are to predict, calibrate, design and discover, in a routine attempt to “story tell on the fly”, Prof. Chandrasekhar said that his research is about discovery – stories that make sense of the data. “A story should have a starting point, goal and design focus. It is the setting and the object that make a good story. A story is a model that explains outcomes in structured terms.”
He went on to explain the concepts and contexts of Parsimony, Isolability, Varimax, The Rashomon Set, Foundations for Legibility, Robust Recovery Technique, Semantic Labeling, Experimental Design, Generalizability, Normative Reasoning, and more. He explained some of his experiments which he said include unit, treatment and outcome. He interacted briefly with the audience after his speech.
Dr. Arun Chandrasekhar’s keynote address was followed by sessions on ‘Informal Networks and Risk Sharing’, ‘Networks Theory’ and ‘Networks in Macroeconomics’. The event concluded with a discussion on ‘Open Research Ideas’.
Inaugural session
Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Director In-charge, IIM Bangalore, in his welcome address highlighted the significance of Prof. Chandrasekhar’s research adding, “His work can be a good learning for academicians, researchers and emerging scholars – how they can contribute to the Indian economy and society through research.”
Prof. Aditya Shrinivas, faculty of the Economics area of IIMB and one of the key organizers of the conference, anchored the sessions. While introducing the speaker, he said, “During the last couple of days, Prof. Chandrasekhar made the effort of spending quality time with IIMB faculty and students, and helped us think in different ways about our research.”
Ms Bhavna Mehra, General Manager, Infosys Science Foundation, who was present during the session, congratulated Prof. Chandrasekhar for being awarded the Infosys Prize 2024. “It is awarded to researchers and scholars with the objective of encouraging and fostering world-class scientific research connected to India. Prof. Arun Chandrasekhar was awarded the Infosys Prize for his contribution to the study of social and economic networks, with his research having substantial implication on policy design.”
The symposium was jointly organized by Prof. Aranya Chakraborty, Ahmedabad University, Prof. Anindya S. Chakrabarti, IIM Ahmedabad, and Prof. Aditya Shrinivas, IIM Bangalore.
Pre-symposium sessions
Prof. Arun Chandrasekhar conducted two pre-symposium workshop sessions titled, ‘Introduction to Networks and Dependence’ and ‘Fragility and Robustness in What We (Think) Know’, on 28th August. The day also included a panel discussion on, ‘Topics in Network Economics’. A session titled, ‘Discrimination by Teachers: Role of Attitudes, Beliefs and Empathy’ was led by Prof. Devesh Rustagi, Economics area, University of Warwick.
Please click here for photo gallery.