Rizwanul Islam is former Special Adviser, Employment Sector, International Labour Office, Geneva. During his career with the ILO, he has held various directorial positions. He is Visiting Professor at the Institute for Human Development, Delhi, India, and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Research for Policy and Development Institute (REPOA), Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Prior to joining the ILO in 1980, he was an Associate Professor of Economics at Dhaka University.
Dr. Islam did his Ph.D. in Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science under the supervision of Professor (Nobel Laureate) Amartya Sen. He topped in all public examinations in Bangladesh – starting from the Secondary School Certificate up to Masters in Economics at Dhaka University. He received Commonwealth Scholarship for doing his Ph.D. at the LSE.
Dr. Islam specializes in development economics with a particular focus on employment, poverty and income distribution. He has published 14 books (including those co-authored with others, and edited and co-edited ones) and 43 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
His recent publications include (i) Employment and Inclusive Development (co-authored with Iyanatul Islam and published by Routledge, London) (ii) a book in Bengali titled Unnayon Bhabnay Karmosongsthan O Shromobazar (UPL, Dhaka), and (iii) Unnayaner Arthaneeti (UPL, Dhaka) (iv) an edited book titled Fighting Poverty: The Development-Employment Link, published by Lynn Rienner, Boulder and London, 2006, and (v) an edited volume (edited jointly with Gordon Betcherman of the World Bank) titled East Asian Labour Markets and the Economic Crisis: Impacts, Responses and Lessons, 2001.
The areas of Dr. Islam’s current research include (i) inclusive development, (ii) the challenge of jobless growth, employment intensity of economic growth and poverty reduction, (iii) the impact of macroeconomic stabilization policies on employment and labour market, and (iv) integrating employment into the post-MDG development agenda.
