Prof. Santanu Chatterjee, Ph.D.

Impact of Large-scale Road Infrastructure Projects

Santanu Chaterjee’s recent research investigates how large-scale road infrastructure projects influence labor markets and firm productivity in India’s manufacturing sector (Journal of Development Economics, 2021 and 2025). Using variation in exposure to a major highway construction initiative, the studies examine both labor and output responses across formal and informal firms. On the labor side, improved connectivity raises the skill premium –particularly in large, transportation-intensive firms – while leaving overall employment and skill composition unchanged. The magnitude of this effect is shaped by local labor market frictions, such as skill mismatches and firm monopsony power. On the production side, public capital investments significantly boost productivity in formal sector firms, with effects influenced by proximity to infrastructure, time since completion, and firm size. However, these gains do not extend to informal firms; instead, they face output crowding due to the presence of nearby large formal firms. Together, these findings highlight the uneven distribution of infrastructure benefits and underscore the importance of firm size, sectoral status, and market conditions in shaping the returns to public investment.

Mr. Chatterjee's research interests lie in development economics, focusing specifically on topics such as infrastructure investment, remittances, foreign aid, formal-informal sector dynamics in developing economies, and economic growth and inequality.

At CES, Mr. Chatterjee will work on a research project that uses a new firm and bank transaction level dataset to study the effects of the 2017-2018 NBFC (Non-Bank Financial Corporations) crisis in India to identify the effects on firm level productivity, employment, and delays in large infrastructure projects that were being financed by NBFC loans. The study is co-authored with Areendam Chanda (Louisiana State University) and Abhinav Narayanan (Reserve Bank of India).

Santanu Chatterjee is the Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence, International and Master’s Programs and the Dr. Harold A. Black Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. In his administrative role, Mr. Chatterjee oversees six residential and two online master’s programs in the Terry College of Business. He also serves as the Director of the Full-Time MBA & MS Business Analytics programs. Additionally, he oversees the Office of International Business programs, the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Engagement, and the Ivester Institute for Business Analytics and Insights. He has been a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Hamburg in Germany, and is currently serving as an Associate Editor for Economic Inquiry and on the Board of Directors for the Graduate Business Curriculum Roundtable.