Professor Mustafizur Rahman is currently serving as Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a leading think tank in South Asia. Earlier, he served as Executive Director of CPD (2007-2017). He is also a member of Board of Trustees of the CPD. Professor Rahman taught for twenty-five years at the University of Dhaka before taking voluntary early retirement to work full time at CPD. He was awarded the prestigious Ibrahim Memorial Gold Medal by the University of Dhaka for excellence in research. Professor Rahman served as a member of the Dhaka University Senate (2009-2013, 2017-2021 and 2021-present). He is a member of Board of Trustees and Syndicate of the BRAC University.

Professor Rahman did his Masters in Economics, with Distinction, from the Kharkov State University, Ukraine and Ph.D in Development Economics from Moscow State University, Russia. Professor Rahman carried out post-doctoral research at several reputed academic institutions including the University of Oxford, UK and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore as a Visiting Fellow, Yale University, USA as a Senior Fulbright Fellow and Warwick University, UK as a post-Doctoral Fellow. Professor Rahman has carried out research studies in collaboration with a number of international organisations and institutions including the UNDP, UNCTAD, UNESCAP, The World Bank, USAID, IDRC, ADB, Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London, WTO Secretariat, Commonwealth Secretariat, European Commission, the ILO and other reputed organisations.

In recent times Professor Rahman has carried out a number of research works in the areas of publicpolicy analysis, macroeconomic management, and macro-fiscal-monetary performance of Bangladesh economy. Some of his very recent works have focused on implications of the Covid pandemic on the Bangladesh economy, and Bangladesh’s strategies in view of LDC graduation. As part of academic and research careers Dr. Rahman has worked on a diverse range of issues including trade policies and trade reforms, globalisation, regionalisation and regional trading arrangements, connectivity in the Southern Asian region, WTO, multilateral trading system and interests of low-income countries, and implementation challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh. Professor Rahman has published widely in reputed professional journals both in Bangladesh and abroad, and has authored books and monographs in areas of interest and expertise. His works have been published in volumes brought out by globally renowned publishing houses including Routledge, Springer, Hart, McMillan, Tata-McGraw-Hill Publication and others. He is a Series Editor of South Asia Economic Policy Studies published by Springer and Member of Editorial Board of the Rising Powers and Global Governance (RPGG).

At different points in time Professor Rahman has served as member of a number of important national bodies and committees set up by the Government of Bangladesh. He was a member of the WTO Advisory Committee, National Coal Policy Review Committee, Regulatory Reforms Commission, Committee to review National Sustainable Development Strategy, National Task Force to Monitor the Impact of Global Financial Crisis, Consultative Group of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), Core-committee on Transit and Connectivity and Study Team for BCIM-Economic Corridor. Dr. Rahman was a member of Advisory Committee of National Human Development Report, 2020. He has served as a member of the T-20 for G-20 Task Force set up to provide policy advice in view of the
Japanese Presidency of the G-20. He is a member of the Core Group of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh. Dr Rahman served as member of the Panel of Economists for Bangladesh’s Sixth and Seventh Five Year Plans, and was a member of the Panel of Experts for the First and Second Perspective Plans of Bangladesh (2011-2021, and Vision 2041). Professor Rahman is a Senior Fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

Professor Rahman has served as a member of the White Paper Committee set up by the Interim Government of Bangladesh in August 2024. He is at present serving as a member of the High-Level Expert Committee set up by the Chief Advisor’s office to Monitor the Implementation of the Smooth Transition Strategy (STS) in view of Bangladesh’s Graduation from the Group of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).