About Me

CV

Email: M.Bakhtiar AT cgiar.org

I am a Bangladeshi development economist working as a Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Acting Country Representative of IFPRI-Bangladesh. I use experimental and non-experimental methods to study the impact of interventions related to agricultural finance, social protection and nutrition with a special focus on women’s empowerment and intra-household decision-making. I have carried out research in Bangladesh, Nigeria and Ethiopia. My research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals across disciplines, including the Journal of Development Economics and the Journal of Nutrition.

As Acting Country Representative of IFPRI-Bangladesh (one of the largest country offices of IFPRI), I have helped lead IFPRI’s policy engagements, research outreach and the implementation of national and sub-national surveys in Bangladesh since 2019.

I received my PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from University of Maryland – College Park, where my doctoral research was recognized by the Dr. and Mrs. Bill V. Lessley Dissertation Excellence Award. Earlier, I worked as a Research Analyst at the Africa Gender Innovation Lab at the World Bank. I was also selected in the World Bank’s Young Professionals Program (YPP) in 2019. Before heading to graduate school, I was a Research Coordinator at Innovations for Poverty Action, Bangladesh.

Please feel free to get in touch to discuss empirical/development research in Bangladesh and other developing countries!