DEBAPRIYA BHATTACHARYA
Executive Director
Debapriya Bhattacharya (born 1956) is the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh. Prior to joining CPD he worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). He is a macro-economist and public policy analyst.
He studied at St. Gregory's High School, Dhaka and Dhaka College, Dhaka. Did his
M.Sc. (Economics) with distinction and Ph.D. (Economics) from the Plekhanov
Institute of National Economy, Moscow. Dr. Bhattacharya was a Post-doctoral
Fellow at the Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
He was a Senior Fulbright Fellow at the Centre for Global Development (CGD),
Washington D.C. in 2004-2005. He was also a Visiting Fellow at the United
Nations University-Institute of New Technology (UNU-INTECH), Maastricht and
Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He has conducted
joint research with the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), Tokyo and
Institute of Development Planning and Management (IDPM), Manchester.
Dr Bhattacharya regularly participates in high-level consultative bodies of the
Government of Bangladesh. He was a member of the Consultative Committee on
Macro-economic Policy Advisory Committee, Ministry of Finance; Banking Sector
Reform Committee; Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission;
Panel of Economists, Fifth Five Year Plan (1997-2002), Ministry of Planning;
Member, National Committee on Utilisation of Gas Resources, Ministry of Energy
and Mineral Resources. Dr Bhattacharya prepared the draft of the Industrial
Policy (1999) for the Ministry of Industries as well as a number of position
papers for the Ministry of Commerce. He was a Director of Janata Bank
(1996-2000), the second largest commercial bank of the country. He was a member
of the Task Force on “Foreign Aid” constituted under the Adviser for Planning in
the Interim Government of 1991.
Dr. Bhattacharya prepared the “Trade-related Technical Assistance Need
Assessment of Bangladesh”, the first such country report prepared for support
under the Integrated Framework of the WTO. He was a member of the
official Bangladesh delegation to the WTO Fourth Ministerial Meeting held in
Doha (November, 2001) and the Second Meeting of the LDC Trade Ministers held in
Dhaka (June 2003). He provided leadership in conceiving and organising the
Pre-Cancun LDC Civil Society Conference held in Dhaka (May 2003). He also played
a critical role in the national preparatory process for the WTO Ministerial held
in Cancun (September 2003). Currently he is a member of the Advisory Committee
on WTO Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh.
Most recently, Dr. Bhattacharya has played a guiding role in organisation of the
International Civil Society Forum 2005: For Advancing LDC Interests in the
Sixth WTO held in Dhaka on 3-5 October 2005.
Dr. Bhattacharya undertook assignments for a number of international organisations including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, UNCTAD, ILO as well as bilateral development agencies from the USA, Japan, UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden.
He undertook short-term overseas assignments in Costa Rica for CARE International, in India for the World Bank, in Nepal for the UNDP, in Sri Lanka for the British ODA, in Malaysia for the EDI, World Bank, Mongolia for the APO, and Bulgaria and Moscow for the UN-DESA.
Dr. Bhattacharya is associated with a number of national, regional and
international professional organisations. He was the General Secretary of the
Bangladesh Economic Association for three consecutive terms. He was a member of
the Panel of Advisory Board of the International Centre for Trade and
Development (ICTSD), Geneva. He is currently the Regional Editor of the
Oxford Development Studies, Member of the Editorial Board, South Asian
Studies, Colombo and Chairperson of the EU-LDC Network. He was a member
of the "Investment" and "WTO" Task Forces set up by the South Asia Centre for
Policy Studies (SACEPS).
He was the Study Director of the Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initiative (SAPRI) in Bangladesh, a multi-country exercise of the Governments, the World Bank and a global network of civil society organisations. He was also the Study Director for the CPD’s Pre-Election Policy Brief Programme (2001) and Policy Review Programme (2003).
He is a member of the governing body of BRAC - the largest NGO of the world. He
also sits in the Academic Council of the BRAC University.
Dr. Bhattacharya has more than one hundred publications to his credit including
chapters in books, monographs, journals, articles and research reports. He has
contributed to the UN LDC Report 2000, UNCTAD-ICC Investment
Guidelines, and Global Competitiveness Report 2001, 2002 and 2003 of
the World Economic Forum.
He participates regularly in the national and international media as a
commentator on contemporary economic issues. He used to moderate a prime time
talk show on Bangladesh Television on development debates.
Dr Bhattacharya's current interest relates to reform economics and strategic
policy issues. His major works relate to foreign aid and global trade regime,
investment and finance, industry and technology. He has also worked in the areas
of regional cooperation, environment, human development, micro-credit and
enterprise development.
Most Recent Publications
Books/Monographs
* Bhattacharya, D. and et. al. (2004). Globalisation and the LDCs: Perspectives from the Asia-Pacific Region, CPD-Pathak Shamabesh, Dhaka.
* Bhattacharya, D. (2004). “Globalization and the State: Human Development and Capacity Building Needs – A Review of Asian Country Experiences” in Globalization and the State: Challenges for Economic Growth and Human Development. United Nations, New York.
* Bhattacharya, D. and et. al. (2005). Bangladesh in the Global Trade Regime: Labour, Environment, Agriculture, Export and Trade Negotiations. Pathak Samabesh, Dhaka.
Articles/Policy Briefs/Reviews
* Bhattacharya, D. (2005). “The Doha Round and Poverty: An LDC Perspective”. Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 13-14, May 2005, Geneva: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).
* Bhattacharya, D. and K. Elliot. (2005). “Adjusting to the MFA Phase-Out: Policy Priorities”. CGD Brief, Washington, D.C.: Centre for Global Development.
* Bhattacharya, D. (2005). “Least Developed Countries in Trade Negotiations: Planning Process and Information Needs”. Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 51-68, New York: ESCAP.
* Bhattacharya, D. and et. al. (2005). “Road to Hong Kong Ministerial of the WTO: Anticipating the “First Approximations” from Bangladesh Perspective”. Occasional Paper Series, No. 49, Dhaka: Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
* Bhattacharya, D. (2005). “Bangladesh’s Experience with Foreign Direct Investment”, in Foreign Direct Investment: High Risk, Low Reward for Development, pp. 51-66, Bonn: Church Development Service (EED).
CONTACT
Debapriya Bhattacharya, PhD
Executive Director
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
House 40/C Road 11(New), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209, Bangladesh
Phone: (+880-2) 9141655 (work), (+880-2) 9886020 (home)
Fax: (880-2) 8130951
E-mail:
debpriya@bdonline.com