Jayati Ghosh taught economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi for 35 years, and is currently Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. She has authored and/or edited 21 books and 230 scholarly articles. She also writes regularly for popular media, including newspapers, journals and blogs.

Prizes received include the International Labour Organisation’s Decent Work Research Prize for 2011; the 2023 Galbraith award of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, "in recognition of breakthrough discoveries in economics and outstanding contributions to humanity through leadership, research and service" and the International Economics Association Fellow Award for 2023 for “outstanding work and excellence in economic research, research-driven popular writing, and economic policymaking.” She has advised governments in India and other countries and consulted for various international organizations. From 2002 to 2021, she was the Executive Secretary of International Development Economics Associates (www.networkideas.org). She has been a member of several international boards and commissions, including the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs, the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All, the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, the Club of Rome, and the Jubilee Debt Commission created by Pope Francis.