The Department of Economics became a truly full-fledged department in 1914, with the appointment of Herbert Stanley Jevons (son of the marginalist, W.S. Jevons) as the first Professor of Economics and Head. A post-graduate course was also introduced the same year, so that the fledgling department offered both undergraduate and post-graduate courses. Origins are like riddles that may never be completely solved, and the Department of Economics is no exception. However, some sources also point to the year 1908, when the teaching of Economics as a subject commenced at the undergraduate level, though it remained under the Head of the then History Department. In view of the above, 2014 is taken to be its Centenary Year of the Department. Prof. Jevons also founded the Indian Journal of Economics in the year 1916, the first economics journal ever to be published in India. This is the oldest existing journal of Economics and is regularly published, even today. In an article published in its first volume in 1916 and available even today in the Department, Prof. Jevons wrote that his academic purpose was “teaching to think and to do, rather than of teaching only to know”.
This legacy of his was faithfully adhered to by stalwarts like Professors C.D. Thompson, A.R. Burnett-Hurst and S.K. Rudra, Mr B.P. Adarkar, and later by Professors J. K. Mehta, P.C. Jain, S.L. Parmar, Mahesh Chand and many others. Faculty members such as Prof. H.S. Jevons, Prof. C.D. Thompson, Prof. S. K. Rudra and Prof. J. K. Mehta became Presidents of the Indian Economic Association Conferences of 1922, 1934, 1946, and 1968, respectively. Former faculty of the Department who became Presidents were Dr M. V. Mathur (1967), Prof. Gautam Mathur (1978) and Prof. P. D. Hajela (1980). Allahabad had the proud privilege of hosting I.E.A. conferences in the years 1920, 1929 and 1940.
The Department at present has thirty-three faculty positions, of which 12 are currently in place, consisting of 01 Professor, 01 Associate Professor and 10 Assistant Professors. It also has a Planning and Development Unit, created through an endowment by the Planning Commission, Government of India, with the renowned development economist, Jean Dreze, as the Honorary Chair Professor. The UGC also selected the Department under the Special Assistance Programme (SAP) in 2004-05, DRS-I level. It was further renewed in 2009-10 at, DRS-II level. The Department looks forward to converting it into a Centre for Advanced Study.
The Department also has a professor. Mahesh Chand Statistical/Computer laboratory for the research scholars. Prof. P. C. Jain and alumni of the Department contributed significantly to the establishment of the Departmental library in the present form, named after him. The Departmental library has more than seventeen thousand books, and it subscribes to 35 national and international journals, along with about 40 journals received under an exchange basis through the Indian Journal of Economics. It is in the process of modernisation through digital cataloguing. The department has Prof. S. K. Rudra Conference Hall and well well-facilitated Auditorium, which has witnessed many seminars, conferences, lectures and other events.
The Department recently formed an Alumni Association, and the first Alumni Meet was organised on February 14, 2014 and many thereafter. Prof. Kiran has been Head of the Department since 2022.