Editorial Team

Policy Insights has a professional and experienced editorial team. The editorial team includes international acclaimed economists and social scientists. The editorial team provides its readers with quality content that will enrich their knowledge on policy issues of Bangladesh. The editorial team’s highest priority is to disseminate authors’ commentaries as widely as possible.

Editor-In-Chief

Mohammad A. Razzaque

Mohammad Abdur Razzaque is Research Director at the Policy Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is an economist specialising in applied international trade and development issues. During 2012-17, he was Head of International Trade Policy at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London. He has led and managed numerous multi-country (involving sub-Saharan African, South Asian, Caribbean and Pacific economies) and Bangladesh-specific policy research and capacity-building projects. He holds a Ph D from the University of Sussex and was a faculty member in the Economics Department of Dhaka University.

Co-Editor

Bazlul H. Khondker

Bazlul H. Khondker is a Director at Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh. He is also a professor at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka and the Chairman of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM). He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Warwick, UK. His areas of expertise include social policy, development economics and economic modeling.

Assistant Editors

Ishrat Jahan Ishita

Ishrat Jahan Ishita is working as a research associate at PRI. She is keenly interested in learning issues related to policy analysis and aspires to acquire extensive knowledge and skill in this particular field. Prior to joining PRI, she worked as a research associate at YY Ventures, where she gained experience in different aspects of research design and implementation through working on several projects led by UNHCR and FAO. She has earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from North South University and is currently pursuing her master’s at the same institution.

Md. Salay Mostofa

Md. Salay Mostofa is a research enthusiast working as a PRI Research Associate. Prior to joining PRI, he worked as a Programme Associate at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and as a Research Assistant at Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID). During his working tenure, he has worked on multiple projects related to industrial safety and labour rights, migration with the collaboration of ILO, FES Bangladesh, and Christian Aid. He has keen interest in the field of Labour Economics, International Economics, Macroeconomic Policy and Fiscal Framework, and Econometric Modeling and Empirical Analysis. He has completed BSS and MSS in Economics from Bangladesh University of Professionals.

Ahmed Farah Ulfat

Ahmed Farah Ulfat is a research enthusiast working as a PRI Research Associate. Prior to joining PRI, she worked as a Research Associate at SANEM (South Asian Network on Economic Modeling). She did her masters in Economics from York University, Canada and was a Graduate Fellow & Teaching Assistant of the Department of Economics, York University. Prior to that, she did her undergrad from North South University in BS in Economics. She has one publication in the International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy and presented that paper in the 16th Asian Business Research Conference 2019, Global Research Institution for Business Academics. Her area of research interest includes macroeconomic policy, poverty, inequality, fiscal policy and education.

Editorial Advisory Board

Sadiq Ahmed

Sadiq Ahmed is the Vice Chairman of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh. He was previously at the World Bank, serving as country director for Pakistan and Afghanistan and chief economist for the South Asia region. He also led key missions to Egypt, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. He completed his PhD in Economics from Boston University. He has worked on topics of poverty reduction, governance, private sector, trade and macroeconomic. He has authored more than 30 books, policy research papers and articles on various development issues.

Nihad Kabir

Nihad Kabir is an advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. She is the Senior Partner of Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed & Associates, a prominent consultancy firm in Bangladesh. She is the legal advisor of several leading national, multinational and foreign organizations in various sectors in Bangladesh. She is a member of the Company Law Reform Committee formed by the Government of Bangladesh, and also a life member of the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs. She was the first Legal Counsel to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission of Bangladesh from 1993-1996.

S. R. Osmani

S. R. Osmani is a Visiting Professor at BRAC University, Dhaka and Professor of Development Economics at Ulster University in the United Kingdom. Prior to joining Ulster University, he worked at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Dhaka and the World Institute for Development Economics Research, Helsinki. He has been an Economic Adviser to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and has worked in an advisory capacity for various international organizations. He obtained his PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics. He has published widely on issues related to poverty, inequality, hunger, famine, nutrition, and rights-based approach to development. He is currently the editor of the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities.

Zaidi Sattar

Zaidi Sattar is Chairman, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI). He did his PhD in Economics from Boston University, and taught economics at Boston University, University of Massachusetts, and Catholic University of America, before returning to Bangladesh. He is recognized as a leading expert on trade, tariffs and industrial policy issues in Bangladesh. As Team Leader or Co-Team Leader for several PRI studies for the Bangladesh Government he made substantial contribution in the preparation of the 6th (2011-2015), and 7th (2016-2020) Five Year Plans, Perspective Plan (2010-2021), Perspective Plan (2021-2041), and Delta Plan 2100. His latest 2019 publication is the book, Bangladesh Trade Policy for Growth and Employment.

A.B.M. Mirza Azizul Islam

Mirza Azizul Islam is currently a Visiting Professor at BRAC University. He was the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Bangladesh. He was also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonali Bank and an Advisor to the Ministries of Finance and Planning. Dr Islam completed his PhD in Economics from Boston University. He has written and published extensively on a wide range of development issues such as globalization, international trade, fiscal policy, human resources development, financing development, and growth with equity.

Ahsan H. Mansur

Ahsan H. Mansur is the Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh. In his long career, he served the International Monetary Fund (IMF), working in important functional departments (Fiscal Affairs and Policy Review and Development departments) and area departments (Middle East and Central Asia and Asian departments) of the IMF. He also served as the IMF Senior Resident Representative to Pakistan during 1998-01 and as the Fiscal Advisor to the Minister of Finance, Government of Bangladesh (1989-91). He completed his PhD in Economics from University of Western Ontario. He has published extensively in various prestigious journals (including Econometrica, Journal of Economic Theory, and IMF Staff Papers), edited books on special economic topics and in the IMF Occasional Paper and Working Paper series.

Garry Pursell

Garry Pursell is a Visiting Fellow at the South Asia Research Centre at the Australian National University. He completed his PhD in Economics from the Australian National University. He worked at the World Bank and served in various capacities in the Research Department. Dr. Pursell is an internationally reputed trade economist and has published extensively on various aspects of trade issues. His current research interests are international trade with special emphasis on protection and related policies in developing countries; trade policies in South Asian countries; industrial organization policies; and export policies of developing countries.

Creative Director

Md. Tafsirul Alam

Tafsirul Alam is the CEO and Creative Director at Brand Dimension. He has over 11 years of industry experience with advertising, visual communication, and design. He started his career with Channel I as a graphic designer and subsequently went on to found his own firm. Tafsirul has been involved with Policy Insights from its inception. Notably, he is the designer of the print version of the publication as well as the online version.

Visual Content Support

Mahmud Hossain Opu

Mahmud Hossain Opu is Staff Photographer at Dhaka Tribune. His additional responsibilities include being photographer for Al Jazeera- Bangladesh base. He is also Contract Photographer at Associated Press. His work has been published in esteemed publications such as National Geographic, WHO, VSO, New York Times, Washington Post, Times of India, The Guardian, MSNBC, CNN, BBC and Sydney Post.

Graphic Artist

Junaid Deep

Junaid Deep is a Partner and Creative Director at Dhaka based creative studio, Glitch. He completed his undergraduate studies in Computer Science Engineering from North South University. He has been working in the digital marketing and creative content industry since 2013. Junaid started as a graphic designer for WebAble Digital and later worked as a freelance graphic designer for the Daily Star before he started his own studio. He has also worked for event branding of international music producers, Diplo and Edward Maya. He is the key designer of branding at Dhaka Lit Fest.