Director General
Binayak Sen obtained M.Sc. in Economics from Moscow Lomonosov State University, Moscow (the premier university in Russia) in 1982 with distinction and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow in 1985, with development economics as the chosen area of specialisation. He was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Research Administration Department of the World Bank in Washington, D.C. during June-August 1992, and a Visiting Fellow at the GDI of Manchester University in 2012. He was a Senior Economist at the World Bank in Washington, DC during 2004-2009 as a regular World Bank staff and also served as a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) during 2016-18 in Washington, DC. He joined BIDS as a Research Associate in September 1986; subsequently, he became a Research Director of BIDS in 2010. He has led a number of research projects over the years, especially in the areas of inclusive growth, poverty, income inequality, women’s empowerment and human development.
Binayak has served in various commissions and committees under successive regimes. This includes Economic Consultative Committee to the Ministry of Finance (1997-2001); Task Force Report on Poverty Alleviation by the Planning Commission (1991); Citizen Task Force Report 2001 on Poverty by CPD (2001); Lead Consultant for preparation of I-PRSP (2001-2003); Public Expenditure Review Commission (2002-2004); Pay and Services Commission (2013-2015); and Monetary Policy Committee (November 2023 till date).
Binayak has expertise in the broad area of development economics and has more than 75 published papers in peer-reviewed journals and books. He has published in notable academic journals such as Economic Development and Cultural Change, World Development, Asian Development Review, and Bangladesh Development Studies. He has collaborated with famed researchers; the list includes Martin Ravallion, Rehman Sobhan, Mahabub Hossain, Suresh Tendulkar, Wahiduddin Mahmud, S. R. Osmani, Paul Dorosh, and Abu Abdullah.
To his credit, he has authored 1 book (Bangabandhu and Democratic Socialism: The 1972 Constitution and Aspiration for an Equitable Society (Kathaprakash, forthcoming); co-authored 2 books (Social Dimensions of Adjustment: World Bank Experience, 1980-93 (World Bank, Washington, D.C; e-book, 1996), and Poverty and Vulnerability in Rural Bangladesh (University Press Ltd, Dhaka, 2015); and co-edited 1 book (Microfinance for Entrepreneurial Development: Sustainability and Inclusion in Emerging Markets (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).