About the Author:

Selim Raihan is a Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the Executive Director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM). Holding a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, UK, Dr. Raihan has considerable expertise in empirical research on international trade, economic growth, poverty, labor markets, macroeconomic policies, political economies, and climate change issues. He has extensive teaching experience in international trade, economic modeling, quantitative economics, econometrics, development economics, and poverty dynamics. Moreover, he has 12 years of experience in conducting national and international training programs on economic modeling in various countries, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Mongolia, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Dr. Raihan has published a number of journal articles, books, book chapters, and working papers. He is the editor of "Thinking Aloud" - a monthly digest from SANEM, and regularly writes columns in leading English and Bengali dailies in Bangladesh. Dr. Raihan has worked for several national and international organizations including the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, UNDP, UNESCAP, UNCTAD, IFPRI, the Commonwealth Secretariat, FAO, European Commission, ILO, IDRC, DFID, etc. He has led and participated in a number of regional and international research projects on trade and regional integration issues.

Prabir De is a Professor at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi, India. He is also the Coordinator of ASEAN-India Centre (AIC) at the RIS. Prof. De works in the field of international economics, with research interests in international trade and development. He has been a Visiting Fellow to the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Tokyo; and a Visiting Senior Fellow to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Bangkok. He has conducted policy research for the Government of India and several international organizations. Holding a Ph.D. in Economics from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, he has contributed several research papers to international journals and written books on trade and development. He is the Editor of South Asia Economic Journal.