Discussants

Dr Huque joined University of Dhaka in 2000 as a lecturer. Currently, she is employed as a Professor in Department of Economics, University of Dhaka. She teaches Health Economics at the department of Economics. She conducted two modules- Health Services Management and Health Policy and Planning- at the Institute of Health Economics (IHE), University of Dhaka during 2000 – 2009. She specialises in health system and health economics with special focus on health care financing, resource allocation and budgeting, and economic evaluation. She is the Project Director of the Communicable Disease - Health Service Delivery (COMDIS-HSD) research programme consortium in Bangladesh. She got her PhD in Health Economics from University of Leeds, UK, in 2010. After completing BSS (Honours) and MSS in Economics from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, she did MA in Health Economics from University of Leeds, UK in 2002. She has wide experience in working with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh, local NGOs and international donor agencies since 2002. She was the member in the Technical Working Group of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh on ‘Equity’ to develop a Health care Financing strategy for Bangladesh. Dr Huque has been involved in a number of studies in Bangladesh in the field of health system, health care financing and communicable diseases programs/ service delivery. A number of her papers/articles have been published in peer reviewed national and international journals. She has presented papers in national and international conferences including the Union, SRNT, Geneva Forum, AHES Conference, iHEA congress, Global Health System Research Symposium.

Dr Balwant Singh Mehta is a Fellow at the Institute for Human Development (IHD), India. Dr Mehta completed his PhD in Development Economics from Jamia Millia Islamia. He has worked extensively in the areas of information and communication technology for development, labour, employment, and child wellbeing. He has contributed several papers on these themes to various reputed national and international journals and books. His contributions to social research is acknowledged by several international organizations through fellowships and other awards such as the International Amy Mahan Fellowship in ICT4D (2010-11), by University of PompeuFabra, Barcelona; South Asian ICT4D Research Fellowship (2009-10) from Singapore Internet Research Centre, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; and the International Development Research Centre India Social Science Young Research Award (IDRC-SSRA) in 2009.

Dr Arpita Mukherjee is a Professor at ICRIER. She has several years of experience in policy-oriented research, working closely with the government in India and policymakers in the EU, US, ASEAN and in East Asian countries. She has conducted studies for international organizations such as ADB, ADBI, ASEAN Secretariat, FCO (UK), Italian Trade Commission, Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), OECD, Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC), UNCTAD and the WTO and Indian industry associations such as NASSCOM, FICCI, IBA, IDSA and EICI. Her research is a key contributor to India’s negotiating strategies in the WTO and bilateral agreements. She has authored chapters in joint study group reports set up by Indian government and has led research teams contributing to India’s domestic policy reforms in areas such as logistics, retail and special economic zones. Her research interest includes trade and domestic reforms; WTO; bilateral/regional agreements; retail; infrastructure; FDI; special economic zones; economic corridors and production networks; and migration. Dr Mukherjee has a PhD in Economics from the University of Portsmouth, UK. She has published widely and presented her research in various international and national forums.

Dr Sher Singh Verick is Head of the Employment Strategies Unit in the Employment, Labour Market and Youth Branch in the ILO, Geneva. Prior to this position, he was Manager of the Employment Policy and Analysis Programme (EPAP) of the International Training Centre of the ILO and Deputy Director of the ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia and Country Office for India. He has also worked for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and various research institutions in Europe and Australia. He holds a master’s degree in development economics from the Australian National University and a doctorate in economics from the University of Bonn. Since December 2004, he is a Research Fellow of the Institute for Labor Economics (IZA). Through various roles, he has led and undertaken policy-oriented research and training to promote the formulation and implementation of more effective employment policies. He has published in a range of journals and has authored or edited a number of volumes including, Transformation of Women at Work in Asia: An Unfinished Development Agenda (2016), Perspectives on Labour Economics for Development (2013), and the Labour Markets of Emerging Economies (2013).