Dr. Mahabub Hossain, immediate past Executive Director of BRAC has joined BRAC University as a Distinguished Professor and Chairperson of Department of Economics & Social Sciences (ESS) effective from today, 1 June 2015.
Dr. Hossain joined as Executive Director of BRAC in June 2007. Prior to joining BRAC, he was head of the Social Sciences Division at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, and coordinator of the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) in Asia. Dr. Hossain, trained in development economics in the University of Cambridge, UK has made substantial contributions to research on development economics and agricultural policy in South and Southeast Asia. Dr. Hossain began his career in 1970, as a staff economist at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS, former PIDE) and rose through the ranks to become its Director General during 1988-91. He also worked as a visiting scientist at the Institute of Developing Economies in Tokyo (1981), the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC (1985-87), and the Overseas Development Institute, London (1990).
Dr. Hossain has authored and co-authored 13 books and research monographs and contributed to more than 150 papers in refereed journals and edited books. Throughout his long career as an active researcher and research manager, he has contributed to advancement of knowledge in many fields such as agrarian structure and land reforms; rural non-farm activities; technology, credit and infrastructure policies; income distribution and poverty; and Asian rice economy. His research based on detailed analysis of primary data collected from household level sample surveys has been instrumental in developing a deeper understanding of the operation of rural economy in general and the rice sector in particular. His early work on the evaluation of the Grameen Bank micro-credit program in Bangladesh published by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC is still widely cited in the literature on micro-credit. The in-depth knowledge on the operation of agriculture and rural economy in Bangladesh that he has advanced with analysis of primary data has made substantial impact in the formulation of agricultural development policy in Bangladesh. For this contribution, he was awarded the first Gold Medal by the Bangladesh Agricultural Economist Association in 1984. His studies on the development of Asian rice economy, and constraints to technology adoption and impact of agricultural technology on income distribution and poverty has similarly influenced the formulation and priority setting of research programs at IRRI and in several national agricultural research systems.
Dr. Hossain did his Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Economics, from University of Calcutta, India, in 1966. He did his Masters of Arts in Economics, from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 1969. He obtained Ph.D. in Economics from University of Cambridge, UK in 1977.