Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak
Jerome Kasoff ’54 Professor of Management and Economics
Yale University
Mobarak will present his most recent research paper, "1970 Bhola Cyclone and the Birth of Bangladesh." This work explores the political impacts of one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded, the Bhola Cyclone that struck East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and killed 300,000 to 500,000 people. He will provide empirical evidence that the cyclone's devastation and the Pakistani government's "callous response" to it were instrumental in galvanizing support for an independence movement.
In addition to this exciting talk, Mobarak also will discuss his involvement in the new interim government of Bangladesh, where he serves as part of the Planning Ministry Task Force. He will discuss connections between the historical incident of the cyclone and current events, and how large-scale events like the cyclone enable political transitions today.
More about his views may be found in his most recent piece, published by the Atlantic Council, "After the Monsoon Revolution, Bangladesh's economy and government need major reforms."
Sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies with the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.
Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak is the Jerome Kasoff ’54 Professor of Management and Economics at Yale University with concurrent appointments in the School of Management and in the Department of Economics. He is the founder and faculty director of the Yale Research Initiative on Innovation and Scale (Y-RISE). Mobarak has several ongoing research projects in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, and Nepal. He conducts field experiments exploring ways to induce people in developing countries to adopt technologies or behaviors that are likely to be welfare-improving. He also examines the complexities of scaling up development interventions that are proven effective in such trials.