Dr. CAF Dowlah

Dr. CAF Dowlah, a dual citizen of the United States and Bangladesh, is the Chair and Executive Director of the BIPS.  A distinguished professor, author, and researcher, Professor Dowlah worked in both academia and non-academia. His academic credentials include a doctoral degree in Economics from the University of Southern California and three master’s degrees from esteemed American universities in Economics, Public Administration, and Law.

Dr. Dowlah served as a Professor of Economics with the SUNY and CUNY university systems in the United States for three decades. He also served as a Visiting Scholar/Professor with the University of Miami Law School (Florida), the Columbia University Law School (New York), and the Otaru University of Commerce (Japan). For several years he worked for the United Nations, World Food Program (WFP), and the World Bank in policy-advisory capacities.

Twice recipient of the U.S. Fulbright Scholarship and many other prestigious awards, including the Commonwealth Scholarship, the Asia Foundation Fellowship, the Japan Foundation Fellowship, and the Rotary Foundation International Fellowship, Dr. Dowlah published over two dozen books on international trade and finance, international law, traditional and modern slaveries, the economics of immigration, and the legal frameworks of U.S. Economic Sanctions. 

His recently published books include Economic and Financial Sanctions of the United States: Legal Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 2024); Foundations of Modern Slavery (Routledge, 2022);  Cross-Border Labor Mobility (Palgrave, 2021); Transformations of Global Prosperity: How Foreign Investment, Multinationals, and Value Chains are Remaking Modern Economy (Macmillan, 2018); International Trade, Competitive Advantage, and Developing Economies (Routledge, 2016); and Backwaters of Global Prosperity: Marginalization of LDCs under the WTO Trade Regimes (Praeger, 2004).

In addition to many chapters in edited volumes, Dr. Dowlah’s scholarly papers appeared in numerous journals, including the Law and Development Review, Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, World Economy, Asia-Pacific Development Journal, International Journal of Social Welfare, International Journal of Social Economics, Journal of Economic Issues, Finance & Development, Bangladesh Development Studies, Dhaka University Studies, Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, and Journal of Small Wars and Insurgencies.

Dr. Dowlah has also served as a columnist for The Daily Star (Dhaka), as Economic Editor for The Financial Express (Dhaka), as guest columnist for The Japan Times (Tokyo), as an Economic Analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU, London), and as Member of Panel of Experts for the Far Eastern Economic Review (Manila).