Munem Ahmad Chowdhury

Earth Lily, I/12, Block-E

Lalmatia, Dhaka-1207

Bangladesh

Bio

Currently, I am working as a co-researcher with Prof. Dr. Selim Jahan in a research project that examines the evolution of business and trade in Bangladesh from 1947 to the present. We recieved a funding equivalent to USD 25,000 for this research project.

Prior to that, I was a Research Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Social Research (BISR) Trust. Previously, I served as a Research Associate at the same institution, following my early research experience as a Research Assistant at Change Initiative.

I earned both my Bachelor’s (BSS) and Master’s (MSS) degrees in Economics from Comilla University, where I also worked as a Graduate Research Assistant under the supervision of Dr. Kazi Mohammed Kamal Uddin during and shortly after my postgraduate studies.

Research Interests

Behavioral Economics
Development Economics
Economics of Climate Change

Exploring, Engaging, Evolving

Ongoing Research

Research Project

The evolution of Business and Trade in Bangladesh Role: Co-researcher

Research Article

Does sustainable industrialization reduce climate vulnerability? With Brice Kamguia & Xuan Hoa Nghiem

Research and Consultancy Awards

Over the course of my career, I have successfully developed and secured multiple research and consultancy projects through competitive proposal writing, both as a team member and as a team leader.

$120,000 consultancy for an e-Parliament Feasibility Study; UNDP Bangladesh
$19,850 consultancy for a gender analysis of the waste value chain in Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, and Tangail, UNDP Bangladesh
$20,000 research grant for a study on public traffic awareness; Bangladesh Police
$15,000 consultancy for a comprehensive study on climate risk insurance; OXFAM Bangladesh

Other Engagements

For two consecutive years (2023, and 2024), I have been part of the organizing team of the Annual Conference on Social Research hosted by BISR Trust, the largest academic networking platform for social science researchers in Bangladesh. In 2025, it marked its tenth edition. In the past two years, my responsibilities included reviewing papers and moderating sessions. However, in 2025 I served as the Organizing Manager, overseeing the entire process—from handling communications with Authors to designing the full program.

In the news (2023 & 2024): 1, 2, 3, 4

Snapshots from 10th ACSR

What I am doing now!

Here’s what I’m currently focusing on:

🎓 PhD application preparation
✍️ Writing an article on the nexus between Sustainable Industrialization and Climate Change Vulnerability
📈 Learning Panel Econometrics and Spatial Econometrics
📖 Reading Behavioral Economics: The Basics by Philip Corr and Anke Plagnol

Latest LinkedIn Post

We talk about privilege through the usual lenses; wealth, race, gender, access. But we miss something quieter and sneakier, that is time.

Posted on LinkedIn · May 2025

→ See all my LinkedIn posts

recent publications

JTF

Nexus between infrastructural development and economic growth: Evidence from Bangladesh through auto-regressive distributive lag and nonlinear auto-regressive distributive lag analysis

Munem Ahmad Chowdhury and M. Zakir Saadullah Khan

Journal of Tropical Futures, 2025

Abs HTML

This study aims to scrutinize the influence of infrastructure on the economic growth of Bangladesh, employing an extensive time series analysis spanning from 1973 to 2020. Utilizing Principle Component Analysis, two distinct indices were constructed to gauge the dimensions of economic and social infrastructure. Subsequently, Auto-Regressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) and Nonlinear Auto Regressive Distributive Lag (NARDL) bound tests were employed to assess the existence of long-run relationships among the variables under examination. The findings indicate a significant and positive contribution of economic infrastructure to both long and short-term production expansion. Upon further disaggregation into negative and positive shocks, consistent results emerge. An increase (decrease) in the economic infrastructure (EI) index by one unit corresponds to an upsurge (subside) of 0.16% (0.17%) in economic growth. In contrast, social infrastructure (SI) exhibits no significant long-run association with GDP growth. The discerned pattern suggests that EI play a pivotal role in driving aggregate output, while SI display a lag. Despite this, it is imperative to underscore the importance of SI for human development. Consequently, adopting a comprehensive and strategic approach, encompassing vision, ensuring quality inclusivity, and anti-corruption measures, is imperative for Bangladesh to fully realize the transformative potential of its infrastructure investments and foster sustained economic growth.