Obituary Dr. Omar Haider Chowdhury who had been the Research Director of the Institute, has left us for his permanent abode today, the 22 January 2010 at night 10.15 PM (Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un). He was 65.

BOOK LAUNCHING CEREMONY

The institute organized a ceremony to release the book titled

Development, Equity and Poverty: Essays in Honour of Azizur Rahman Khan

The book is published jointly by Macmillan India Ltd and the UNDP. The ceremony was held on 7 January 2010 at 2.30 PM at the BRAC Centre Inn, 75 Mohakhali, Dhaka. Later on, Prof. Rehman Sobhan, Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud and Dr. Mahbub Hossain participated in the Panel Discussion on Development, Equity and Poverty.

PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES

BIDS has recently introduced the Public Lecture Series with the aim to acquaint the larger public with the understanding of social realities of contemporary Bangladesh and the broader developing world. The lectures will be given by teachers, researchers, policy makers, and other distinguished personalities who have made wide ranging and fundamental contributions to development and provided credible responses to problems faced by Bangladesh and the developing countries in general. This is expected to contribute to shaping up research and new ideas in the service of better development policies and practices.    

Professor Azizur Rahman Khan, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Riverside, USA gave the first Public Lecture under the series  on ‘Growth, Inequality and Poverty in Our Times: A Personal Reflection’ on 7 January 2010 at a ceremony organized by BIDS  at BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka. 

SEMINAR

Determinants of Interest Rate Spread in Bangladesh

A seminar on “Determinants of Interest Rate Spread in Bangladesh” was held on 6 January 2010 at BIDS Conference Room.

Special Guest Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Former Governor, Bangladesh Bank (2nd from the right); Seminar Chair Dr. Mustafa K. Mujeri, DG, BIDS (middle); BIDS-PRP Director Dr. KAS Murshid (left); Panelist Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Chairman, PKSF and Chairman, Bangladesh Economic Association (2nd from the left); Panelist Dr. Muhammad A. Rumee Ali, Chairman, BRAC Bank (right).

The keynote paper was presented by Dr. Monzur Hossain, Research Fellow, BIDS. The seminar was organized by the Policy Resource Programme of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) with support from Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF).

Click here to download the powerpoint presentation file.

‘South Asian Regional Economic Cooperation: Constraints and Way Forward’

Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Director and Chief Executive of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, presented a paper on ‘South Asian Regional Economic Cooperation: Constraints and Way Forward’ at the BIDS Conference Room on 27 December 2009.

Click here to download the powerpoint presentation file.