Discussants

Samir Kumer Das specializes in International Trade, Development Economics, Agricultural Economics, and Public Finance. In his doctoral dissertation, he focused on ‘Falsified Trade Statistics and Hidden Capital Movement’. His research on trade misinvoicing as a conduit for illegal money transfers and laundering is an excellent example of applied research on trade issues. Samir received his Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. (Hons.) from Visva-Bharati (Central) University in India. He is interested in music, films, and travelling. His research, titled ‘Trade Misreporting and Capital Flight: A Study of Bangladesh with Major OECD Export Partner Countries’ has been awarded the best paper by the IIFT Kolkata at the "7th International Conference on Empirical Issues in International Trade and Finance (EIITF-2021)" out of 294 national & international papers. He is an ICCR Scholar (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) from Bangladesh through the High Commission of India, Dhaka. Dr. Das collaborates with a diverse faculty that includes economists and other social scientists.

Dr. Md. Deen Islam is a Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka , Bangladesh. He also works as a teaching fellow at Baston university , Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He completed his MSS (Master of Social Science) and BSS (Bachelor of Social Science) in Economics from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He also completed his Ph.D. degree from Boston university , USA . His areas of research interest include Urban Economics , Macroeconomics , Development Economics , International Trade and Finance. He also gained experience as a Research Assistant at the Economic Research Group , Dhaka, Bangladesh. He got four international awards including Pre-doctoral research fellowship, Global Development Policy Center, Boston University ( 2019 from USA ) , Conference travel grant, Boston University ( 2018 from USA ), Dean's fellowship, Boston University ( 2015 from USA ) , Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Western Illinois University ( 2013 from USA ) , Fulbright Scholarship , ( 2012 from USA ).

Ms Devika lyer is a Regional Policy Specialist – Employment Inclusive Growth Team Regional Hub for Asia Pacific, UNDP Bangkok, Thailand. . She completed her BA (Bachelor of Arts ) in Psychology from Rutgers University and master degree in International Affairs - Economic & Political Development from Columbia | SIPA.

Dr M. Nahid Sattar is a Professor at Department of Agricultural Economics Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh. He completed his BSc and MS from Bangladesh Agricultural University Bangladesh . His areas of research interest include Sustainable crop, fisheries & aquaculture systems; Water & energy use in agriculture; Adoption & diffusion of agricultural technologies; Food policy. She took training in Overview of Human Research Protection Requirements from Michigan State University as well as Computer Training Course on MS Excel, MS Access and SPSS from Bureau of Socioeconomic Research and Training, BAU, Mymensingh. He got prize titled Commonwealth Scholarship from Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK and NSICT Fellowship from Ministry of Science and Technology in 2010. He also got BHEARD Scholarship from Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development Program and USAID in 2013. He Participated as a speaker for the panel “Feed the Future Forward: The Next Generation” in Feed the Future Global Forum at Arlington, Virginia, USA during 19-21 May, 2014.

Mahtab Uddin is a Lecturer of Economics at the University of Dhaka and a Research Economist (honorary) at SANEM. Mahtab has Bachelor’s and Master’s in Economics from the University of Dhaka where he topped his class in both of the exams.Mahtab has been extensively engaged in academic and policy research over the past couple of years. He has worked with the IOM, IDRC, ILO, UNDP, UNDESA, amongst others, on projects mostly related to labour market, migrations, remittances, poverty and inequality, and social safety net issues. He was a core team member in UNDP commissioned several major studies on social protection such as “Midterm Implementation Review of the National Social Security Strategy”, “Analysis to increase efficiency and effectiveness of Small Social Security Programme Harmonisation in Bangladesh”, “Evaluation of the existing workfare programmes in terms of coverage and skill development and its link to the Job market”, etc. He worked as the National Consultant for the UNDESA on identifying the macroeconomic impacts of China’s Belt and Road Initiative on Bangladesh economy.Mahtab started his career as Programme Associate at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in February 2015 and later moved to SANEM as a Research Associate in July 2015. He joined the University of Dhaka as a lecturer of Economics in July 2016.

Dr. Sayema Haque Bidisha is a professor in the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka. She did her bachelors as well as masters from the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka and MSc. from the University of Bath, UK.She obtained a PhD in Labour Economics from the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research interest lies in labour economics, development economics, population economics and micro econometrics.. In addition, Dr. Bidisha has also worked closely with the Government of Bangladesh in preparing various policy documents and government flagship objects.In particular, she was actively engaged in drafting a number of chapters of the 6 th Five Year Plan of Bangladesh (e.g. Education and Training, Agriculture, Health and Nutrition) and also Perspective Plans of the country. She has worked with several international as well as national organisations e.g. the World Bank, IDRC, ILO, FAO, UNICEF, DFID etc. and has published a number of articles/book chapters in peer reviewed publications both at home and abroad.

Mr K.M Nafiz Ifteakhar Tulon is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Health Economics University of Dhaka , BangladeshHe completed his MSS (Master of Social Science) and BSS (Bachelor of Social Science) in Economics from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His areas of research interest include International Trade, labor Economics, Healthcare Financing, Health Insurance, Family Welfare, Economic Evaluation of Healthcare. He also gained experience as a Research Associate at South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM).

Asif M. Shahan, PhD, joined the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University as a Visiting Research Fellow. He is currently working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka. He completed his PhD in Political Science and MPA from George Mason University, USA. His key areas of research are- the politics-administration relationship, the emergence, evolution, and performance of democratic political institutions especially the institutions of accountability, performance-based accountability, and the politics of policy process.

Rabiul Islam Rabi is an economist based in Bangladesh. He received his Master in International Trade and Development from the University of Adelaide, Australia under the Australia Awards Scholarship. Prior to that, he obtained his Bachelors and Masters in Economics from Dhaka University, Bangladesh. Currently, he is working as a Research Analyst at the Asian Development Bank. Prior to that, he served as Associate Director and Research Economist at Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), a think-tank based in Bangladesh. He has been involved in projects supported by ADB, ILO, FCDO (UK), The Asia Foundation, Meta, UNDP, UNICEF, CUTS International, amongst others. He also worked for the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation where he led the development of corporation’s Sustainable Development Goals action Plan. His current work focuses on export diversification, social protection for urban poor and labour market issues. He loves to read non-fiction books and specializes in power-napping.

Towfiqul Islam Khan is an Economist. He is the Coordinator of CPD’s Independent Review of Bangladesh’s Development (IRBD) programme. He has undertaken research and published in a number of areas including macroeconomic policies, fiscal policy and fiscal transparency, governance, financing for development, inclusive development and sustainable development goals (SDGs). Khan is currently a member of the ‘SDG Working Team’ constituted under the Prime Minister’s Office, Government of Bangladesh. He is also a member of the ‘SDGs NGO Sub-Committee’ constituted under the NGO Affairs Bureau of Bangladesh. Khan received Australian Leadership Award (ALA) in 2008 to carry out his postgraduation academic degree at University of Melbourne, Australia. Khan also obtained his Masters and Bachelors in the area of Economics from Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh.

Mahzab is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University. Mahzab received his PhD in economics from University of Virginia in May, 2021. Mahzab's is a development economist concentrating on political economy, environment and public health, whose recent JMP studied how dishonest politicians (tax-evaders) affect public goods provision in constituencies the politicians represent.

I am a development economist. My research interests are economics of education, health economics, political economy, and social network and risk sharing attitude of farmers. I am interested in research that has policy recommendation for Bangladesh.My research particularly focused on female stipend program in Bangladesh and its long-term effects on education, marriage, fertility and the labor market outcomes. I have also looked at how economic development is closely related to political dynamics of Bangladesh. Currently I am involved in experimental research measuring farmers’ attitude towards uncertainty and their group effects in new technology adoption. I am also working on mental health and its socio-economic effects on university students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh.

Dr. Sakib Bin Amin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and the Director of the Accreditation Project Team (APT) at the School of Business and Economics (SBE) at North South University (NSU), Bangladesh. He is also serving as the Assistant General Secretary of the Bangladesh Energy Society (BES), a non-profit voluntary organisation working closely with the Government of Bangladesh to ensure the country’s energy security. Dr. Sakib received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from Dhaka University in 2002 (held in 2004) and 2003 (held in 2005), respectively. He also obtained a Master’s degree in International Economics from the University of Essex, UK, in 2008. In 2015, he completed his Ph.D. in Economics at Durham University, UK. He also had the opportunity to conduct his postdoctoral research at the Durham University Business School (DUBS) as a visiting Commonwealth Rutherford Fellow in 2018 for a year. Based on his research contribution to society, Dr. Sakib was awarded the highly prestigious Study UK Alumni Award Bangladesh 2023 in the Science and Sustainability Category. His contributions also led him to receive the NSU Research Award 2023. Dr. Sakib is also a fellow of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), a member of the IAEE, Durham Centre for Environmental and Energy Economics (CE3), and a life member of the Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA).

Md Jahid Ebn Jalal is working as a ‘Research Fellow" at the Bureau of Socioeconomic research &Training (BSERT), Bangladesh under the research project on "Understanding poverty in China and Bangladesh" funded by The Belt & Road Initiative (RBI) and Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). He is currently pursuing his PhD in World Economy at ZUEL through the same project. He has had a meaningful career in the research sector for the last 05 years. Earlier he was working with WaterAid Bangladesh as a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Officer. He worked with the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) as ‘Senior Research Associate’ and "Research Associate". Jahid has good research experience in collaboration with apex donors such as UNDP, USAID, UNICEF. He gained expertise in writing proposals, reviewing papers, analyzing data, writing reports, providing skills training, and coordinating with different stakeholders. Academically, he has completed B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from Bangladesh Agricultural University. He also did another M.Sc. in Economics from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai, India as an IDRC Fellow.

Md. Abdul Khaleque is an Assistant Professor at Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka. Currently he is on the way to complete his PhD in Development Studies in particular focus on water security with funding support from School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford under the project REACH. Earlier, he was Senior Research Associate at Institute of Microfinance (InM) up to July, 2013. He completed his B.S.S (Honors) and M.S.S in Economics at Department of Economics, University of Dhaka. Since the inception of his career, he did evaluation of various programs in microfinance sector as well as some development areas of Bangladesh. He was associated with several important research projects of InM – PRIME (Programme Initiatives for Monga Eradication), Access to Financial Services; and Assessing risks, resilience, and adaptation strategies in Chittagong Hill Tracts in the lens of Microfinance. He has contributed in the research on social safety nets, role of microfinance on self-employment creation, role of MRA in reducing cost efficiency of microfinance sector in Bangladesh, urban poverty reduction strategies and many more. He has a core team member of various researches for CARE Bangladesh, World Vision, UNICEF, and UNDP. His research interests include various development issues, impact evaluation, enterprise development and their constraints, water security, macroeconomic issues and so on.

Mr. Zubayer Hossen is a Coordinator and Economist at Transformative Economic Policy Programme, UNDP Bangladesh. He also worked as a Research Associate at South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM). He has an academic background of a Masters degree in Economics and Bachelors degree in Economics from Dhaka University. His research interest includes environment and climate change. Mr. Hossen is involved in Work Package 4, where he is working on economic impacts of climate change.