Professor Shyamal Chowdhury
Professor Chowdhury graduated from Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh with a BSc (Hons.) in Economics, an MA in Economics from the University of Kiel, Germany and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Bonn University, Germany. Prior to joining the University of Sydney, he worked for the International Food Policy Research Institute (from 2003-2006) and the World Bank (2006-2007) in Washington DC, USA.
Professor Chowdhury's research program has been and continues to be shaped by the broad goal of trying to understand how development interventions influence households, particularly poor households under market imperfections. Empirical evaluation of impacts of interventions particularly that are related to technologies and infrastructures are important to him. He uses both experimental and quasi-experimental methods in evaluation as well as other quantitative methods. For interventions that cannot be extended to the desired segments of a population through traditional market mechanisms, he examines alternative incentive schemes that are attainable in a second-best world.
Publications
Book Chapters
- Chowdhury, S. (2006). Implications of Access to Public Telephones: The Case of Rural Bangladesh. In Maximo Torero, Joachim von Braun (Eds.), Information and Communication Technology for Development and Poverty Reduction: The Potential of Telecommunications, (pp. 267-276). United States: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Torero, M., Chowdhury, S., Bedi, A. (2006). Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis. In Maximo Torero, Joachim von Braun (Eds.), Information and Communication Technology for Development and Poverty Reduction: The Potential of Telecommunications, (pp. 21-63). United States: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Torero, M., Chowdhury, S., Bedi, A. (2005). Telecommunications and Economic Growth: Implications for India. In Ashwani Saith, M. Vijayabaskar (Eds.), ICTs and Indian Economic Development: Economy, Work, Regulation, (pp. 231-264). India: Sage Publications.
Journals
- Chowdhury, S., Bin Khaled, M., Mallick, D., Raghunathan, K., Rashid, S. (2024). Resilience of Social Transfer Programs to Large Unexpected Shocks. Journal of Development Studies, 60(5), 788-805. [More Information]
- Bryan, G., Chowdhury, S., Mobarak, A., Morten, M., Smits, J. (2023). Encouragement and Distortionary Effects of Conditional Cash Transfers. Journal of Public Economics, 228, 105004. [More Information]
- Abdallah, W., Chowdhury, S., Iqbal, K. (2022). Access and fees in public health care services for the poor: Bangladesh as a case study. Oxford Development Studies, 50(3), 209-224. [More Information]
Conferences
- Briggs, A., Chowdhury, S. (2014). Economic Development, Food Demand and the Consequences for Agricultural Resource Requirements (Indonesia). 58th National AARES Conference, Canberra, ACT: Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES).
- Chowdhury, S., Rammohan, A., Sharma, U. (2013). Income Inequality and Crime in rural Indonesia. Econometric Society Australasian Meeting 2013 (ESAM 2013), Sydney, Australia: The Econometric Society.
- Bryan, G., Chowdhury, S., Mobarak, A. (2013). Seasonal Migration and Risk Aversion. Allied Social Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2013, San Diego: American Economic Association.
Magazine / Newspaper Articles
- Chowdhury, S., Rashid, S., Bin Khaled, N. (2020). Fighting the growing poverty arising from COVID-19. The Daily Ittefaq.
Report
- Chowdhury, S., Meenakshi, J., Tomlins, K., Owori, C. (2009). Are Consumers in Developing Countries Willing to Pay More for Micronutrient-Dense Biofortified Foods? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Uganda.
- Yamauchi, F., Chowdhury, S., Dewina, R. (2007). Spatial Coordination in Public Good Allocation: Nonparametric Evidence from Decentralized Indonesia.
- Chowdhury, S. (2002). Attaining universal access: public-private partnership and business-ngo partnership.
Other
- Chowdhury, S., Mobarak, A., Bryan, G. (2016), Reducing Seasonal Hunger with Small Incentives to Migrate.
Research Reports
- Chowdhury, S., Yamauchi, F., Dewina, R. (2009). Governance Decentralization and Local Infrastructure Provision in Indonesia, IFPRI Discussion Paper 00902, (pp. 1 - 24). Washington, DC, United States of America: International Food Policy Research Institute.
- Chowdhury, S., Mobarak, A., Bryan, G. (2009). Migrating Away from a Seasonal Famine: A Randomized Intervention in Bangladesh, Research Paper 2009/41, (pp. 1 - 39). New York, United States of America: United Nations Development Program.
- Chowdhury, S., Kpundeh, S., Khadiagala, G. (2008). Information and Service Delivery: Case Studies from Kenya and Ethiopia | 1. Introduction to Information Access, Governance, and Service Delivery in Ethiopia and Kenya, 63359, (pp. 7 - 15). Washington, United States of America: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank.
2024
- Chowdhury, S., Bin Khaled, M., Mallick, D., Raghunathan, K., Rashid, S. (2024). Resilience of Social Transfer Programs to Large Unexpected Shocks. Journal of Development Studies, 60(5), 788-805. [More Information]
2023
- Bryan, G., Chowdhury, S., Mobarak, A., Morten, M., Smits, J. (2023). Encouragement and Distortionary Effects of Conditional Cash Transfers. Journal of Public Economics, 228, 105004. [More Information]
2022
- Abdallah, W., Chowdhury, S., Iqbal, K. (2022). Access and fees in public health care services for the poor: Bangladesh as a case study. Oxford Development Studies, 50(3), 209-224. [More Information]
- Chowdhury, S., Sutter, M., Zimmermann, K. (2022). Economic Preferences across Generations and Family Clusters: A Large-Scale Experiment in a Developing Country. Journal of Political Economy, 130(9), 2361-2410. [More Information]
- Chowdhury, S., Satish, V., Sulaiman, M., Sun, Y. (2022). Sooner Rather Than Later: Social Networks and Technology Adoption. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 203(Nov), 466-482. [More Information]
2020
- Chowdhury, S., Rashid, S., Bin Khaled, N. (2020). Fighting the growing poverty arising from COVID-19. The Daily Ittefaq.
- Chowdhury, S., Mallick, D., Roy Chowdhury, P. (2020). Natural shocks and marriage markets: fluctuations in mehr and dowry in Muslim marriages. European Economic Review, 128(September), 1-28. [More Information]
2018
- Briggs, A., Chowdhury, S. (2018). Economic development, food demand and the consequences for agricultural resource requirements: an application to Indonesia. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 62(3), 420-437. [More Information]
- Banerji, A., Chowdhury, S., De Groote, H., Meenakshi, J., Haleegoah, J., Ewool, M. (2018). Eliciting Willingness-to-Pay through Multiple Experimental Procedures: Evidence from Lab-in-the-Field in Rural Ghana. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 66(2), 231-254. [More Information]
2017
- Chowdhury, S. (2017). Microfinance and rural non-farm employment in developing countries. IZA World of Labor, 350, 1-9. [More Information]
2016
- Chowdhury, S., Mobarak, A., Bryan, G. (2016), Reducing Seasonal Hunger with Small Incentives to Migrate.
2014
- Briggs, A., Chowdhury, S. (2014). Economic Development, Food Demand and the Consequences for Agricultural Resource Requirements (Indonesia). 58th National AARES Conference, Canberra, ACT: Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES).
- Chowdhury, S., Chowdhury, P., Sengupta, K. (2014). Sequential lending with dynamic joint liability in micro-finance. Journal of Development Economics, 111, 167-180. [More Information]
- Bryan, G., Chowdhury, S., Mobarak, A. (2014). Underinvestment in a Profitable Technology: The Case of Seasonal Migration in Bangladesh. Econometrica, 82(5), 1671-1748. [More Information]
2013
- Chowdhury, S., Rammohan, A., Sharma, U. (2013). Income Inequality and Crime in rural Indonesia. Econometric Society Australasian Meeting 2013 (ESAM 2013), Sydney, Australia: The Econometric Society.
- Bryan, G., Chowdhury, S., Mobarak, A. (2013). Seasonal Migration and Risk Aversion. Allied Social Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2013, San Diego: American Economic Association.
2012
- Shu, Y., Chowdhury, S., Harris, M. (2012). Does an Elected Leader Have Incentives to Provide Public Goods with Future Returns? 28th International Conference of Agricultural Economists, Foz Do Iguacu, Brazil: International Association of Agricultural Economists.
- Chowdhury, S., Rammohan, A., Robitaille, M. (2012). Income Inequality and Crime in rural Indonesia. Human Development and Capability Association (HDCA) 12th Iinternational Conference, UK: Routledge.
- Chowdhury, S., Chowdhury, P., Sengupta, K. (2012). Sequential lending with dynamic joint liability in micro-finance. 2012 Asia Meeting of the Econometric Society (AMES 2012), Delhi: University of Delhi.
2011
- Chowdhury, S., Meenakshi, J., Tomlins, K., Owori, C. (2011). Are Consumers in Developing Countries Willing to Pay More for Micronutrient-Dense Biofortified Foods? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Uganda. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 93(1), 83-97. [More Information]
- Yamauchi, F., Muto, M., Chowdhury, S., Dewina, R., Sumaryanto, S. (2011). Are Schooling and Roads Complementary? Evidence from Income Dynamics in Rural Indonesia. World Development, 39(12), 2232-2244. [More Information]
- Chowdhury, S. (2011). Consumer preference and willingness to pay for bio-fortified food: evidence from Uganda. Creating Useful Knowledge for Africa's Development 2010, Uganda: Makerere University, Technological Faculty.
2010
- Chowdhury, S. (2010). Ethnicity and Conflict in Indonesia. 6th Australasian Development Economics Workshop ADEW 2010, Australia: University of Western Sydney, School of Economics and Finance.
- Chowdhury, S. (2010). Hypothetical Bias and Cheap Talk in Eliciting WTP for OFSP in Uganda. 54th Australian Agricultural & Resource Economics Society Annual Conference AARES 2010, Australia: Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
- Chowdhury, S. (2010). Impact of Infrastructures on Paid Work Opportunities and Unpaid Work Burdens on Rural Women in Bangladesh. Journal of International Development, 22(7), 997-1017. [More Information]
2009
- Chowdhury, S., Meenakshi, J., Tomlins, K., Owori, C. (2009). Are Consumers in Developing Countries Willing to Pay More for Micronutrient-Dense Biofortified Foods? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Uganda.
- Chowdhury, S., Meenakshi, J., Tomlins, K., Owori, C. (2009). Are Consumers in Developing Countries Willing-to-Pay More for Micronutrient-Dense Biofortified Foods? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Uganda. 27th International Association of Agricultural Economists Conference IAAE 2009, United States: International Association of Agricultural Economists.
- Abdallah, W., Chowdhury, S., Iqbal, K. (2009). Corruption in Health Sector: Evidence from Unofficial Consultation fees in Bangladesh. 5th Annual Conference on Economic Growth and Development 2009, New Delhi: Indian Statistical Institute.
2008
- Chowdhury, S. (2008). Hypothetical bias and cheap talk in eliciting WTP for OFSP in Uganda. Workshop on Design of Consumer Acceptance Study in Ghana 2008, United Kingdom: University of Greenwich, Natural Resources Institute.
- Chowdhury, S., Kpundeh, S., Khadiagala, G. (2008). Information and Service Delivery: Case Studies from Kenya and Ethiopia | 1. Introduction to Information Access, Governance, and Service Delivery in Ethiopia and Kenya, 63359, (pp. 7 - 15). Washington, United States of America: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank.
- Kpundeh, S., Khadiagala, G., Chowdhury, S. (2008). Information and Service Delivery: Case Studies from Kenya and Ethiopia | 10. Conclusions: Lessons from the Kenyan and Ethiopian Experiences, 63359, (pp. 103 - 112). Washington, United States of America: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank.
2007
- Chowdhury, S. (2007). Governance Decentralization and Local Infrastructure Provision in Indonesia. 36th Australian Conference of Economists ACE 2007, Australia: Economic Society of Australia.
- Yamauchi, F., Chowdhury, S., Dewina, R. (2007). Spatial Coordination in Public Good Allocation: Nonparametric Evidence from Decentralized Indonesia.
2006
- Chowdhury, S. (2006). Access to a Telephone and Factor Market Participation of Rural Households in Bangladesh. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 57(3), 563-576. [More Information]
- Chowdhury, S. (2006). Implications of Access to Public Telephones: The Case of Rural Bangladesh. In Maximo Torero, Joachim von Braun (Eds.), Information and Communication Technology for Development and Poverty Reduction: The Potential of Telecommunications, (pp. 267-276). United States: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Chowdhury, S. (2006). Investment in ICT-Capital and Economic Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in East Africa. Journal of International Development, 18(4), 533-552. [More Information]
2005
- Torero, M., Chowdhury, S., Bedi, A. (2005). Telecommunications and Economic Growth: Implications for India. In Ashwani Saith, M. Vijayabaskar (Eds.), ICTs and Indian Economic Development: Economy, Work, Regulation, (pp. 231-264). India: Sage Publications.
- Chowdhury, S., Gulati, A., Gumbira-Said, E. (2005). The Rise of Supermarkets and Vertical Relationships in the Indonesian Food Value Chain: Causes and Consequences. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, 2(1-2), 39-48.
2004
- Chowdhury, S. (2004). Attaining Universal Access in Rural Areas: Business-NGO Partnership in Bangladesh as a Case Study. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 25(2), 257-274. [More Information]
- Chowdhury, S. (2004). Search Cost and Rural Producers' Trading Choice between Middlemen and Consumers in Bangladesh. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, 160(3), 522-541. [More Information]
- Chowdhury, S. (2004). The effect of democracy and press freedom on corruption: an empirical test. Economics Letters, 85(1), 93-101. [More Information]
2003
- Torero, M., Chowdhury, S., Galdo, V. (2003). Willingness to Pay for Rural Telephone Service in Bangladesh and Peru. Information Economics and Policy, 15(3), 327-361. [More Information]
2002
- Chowdhury, S. (2002). Attaining universal access: public-private partnership and business-ngo partnership.
Selected Grants
2022
- The Effect of Maternal Beliefs, Mental Health, and Economic Resources on Human Capital Accumulation in Early Life, Chowdhury S, J-PAL Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab/The Social Protection Initiative (SPI)
- Building resilience through self-control among disadvantaged adolescents in rural areas, Chowdhury S, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/FASS External Engagement Fund 2022
2019
- Seasonal poverty, rural labor market and migration, and formation of non-cognitive skills in children, Chowdhury S, DVC Research/SOAR Fellowships