The Asia Institute sadly announces the passing of Dr. David Bigman, an outstanding economist with a deep commitment to social justice who joined the Asia Institute in 2007 as our first senior researcher and served for two years as a central figure in our team. Dr. Bigman and led a series of initiatives at the Asia Institute related to international development and the perennial issue of poverty. His book Globalization and the Least Developed Countries: Potentials and Pitfalls (CABI) was released at time he joined us and that research served as the basis for several seminars and lectures.
Dr. David Bigman (center) flanked by Dr. Tridib Biswas (right) and Director Emanuel Pastreich (left) in an early meeting of the Asia Institute in 2008.
Other books by Dr. Bigman include Coping With Hunger: Toward a System of Food Security and Price Stabilization, , Food Security and Food Inventories in Developing Countries, , Globalization and the Developing Countries and Poverty, Hunger, and Democracy in Africa: Potential and Limitations of Democracy in Cementing Multiethnic Societies.
Dr. Bigman started his career as an economist working in the Treasurer’s Department of the International Monetary Fund in 1977. Dr Bigman conducted research on the impact of the floating exchange rate on the trade of developing countries after the breakup of the Bretton Woods system. Later he served as the head of the World Bank’s program on food security and food trade policies inAfrica. His research on the impact of globalization on emerging economies and on the least-developed countries conducted at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) set the direction for his research.
Dr. Bigman left a lasting mark on the Asia Institute though his concern for the challenges faced by the less privileged and his constant efforts to draw attention to their economic needs.
