Alok Inspired by Asad Islam

  Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools around the world were shut down for months, leaving children and parents scrambling for ways to continue learning. In countries with poor internet access, like rural Bangladesh, many families had no options for online education. This study set out to answer a vital question: Can simple mentoring delivered over basic mobile phones help children keep learning when schools are closed? How the Study Worked Researchers partnered with families in 200 Bangladeshi villages. The focus was on primary school children (grades 1–3) and their mothers. In the study: Half of the families received weekly mentoring calls, where trained university student volunteers tutored children in math and English, and coached mothers on effective homeschooling. The other half did not receive this support and continued learning as best they could. The mentoring lasted 13 weeks. Each phone session was about 30 minutes, blending tutoring for the children and pra...

Historically, Canada has maintained significant levels of immigration, with flows remaining relatively stable since the mid-20th century. Multiple waves of immigrants—from Europe, the USA, and later Asia—have shaped labor markets and demographic patterns. The literature offers mixed evidence: some theories predict higher unemployment from immigration, while others suggest complementary or positive effects through increased demand and job creation. What matters, according to theory and international evidence, are skill composition, labor market segmentation, and economic policy context. Data and Analytical Strategy This study uses quarterly and annual data on immigration, unemployment, real wages, and GDP (per capita), drawing from sources such as the Canadian Labour Force Historical Review and CANSIM II. Immigration is defined as permanent right-to-reside entrants and is measured as inflow per thousand Canadians. The methodology features: * Descriptive analysis of labor market trends s...

  The Context: A Generation Scarred by War Cambodia’s civil war and the Khmer Rouge genocide in the 1970s left the nation reeling—not just in lives lost or buildings destroyed, but in how entire generations’ prospects were altered. Schools shut down. Families were displaced. Young children missed their chance to learn, setting in motion ripple effects that still shape Cambodia today. The Study: Methods & Data Professor Islam and his co-researchers used a rich tapestry of data: population censuses, national socio-economic surveys, genocide databases, health and demographic surveys. By cleverly tracking cohorts—children in their primary school years during the conflict versus others—and regions exposed to varying levels of violence, the study isolates the true, long-term cost of conflict on people’s lives. Core Research Findings Education Suffers Most: The war’s disruption of primary schooling led to dramatically fewer years of education, most sharply among men but affecting wome...

  Dr. Asad Islam’s work exploring the economic and social impacts of agricultural innovations in Bangladesh. As a passionate follower of social science that changes lives, I am motivated to amplify his research and its transformative effects for farmers throughout the world. Dr. Islam, along with international collaborators, led one of the world’s largest randomized controlled trials on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Bangladesh. Over two years and across hundreds of villages, his research revealed that SRI methods—transplanting young, single seedlings further apart, managing water with alternate wetting and drying, and incorporating more organic inputs—can consistently increase rice yields by up to 50% with almost no extra investment from farmers. Not only did these methods improve productivity, but they also promoted sustainability, reduced chemical exposure, and improved health outcomes for rural communities. The project went beyond academic insight: it required chan...

The Background: Why Food Security Still Matters Though Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in poverty reduction, more than 37 million people remain food insecure. Rural households face seasonal vulnerabilities due to their reliance on agriculture. Traditional banks rarely serve the poorest, and without access to credit, these households struggle to break free from cycles of deprivation. Microcredit programs, such as those popularized by the Grameen Bank, provide loans to landless, asset-poor families—predominantly women. But how effective are these programs for food security, not just poverty reduction? The Research: A Comprehensive Approach Professor Islam and his co-authors use an eight-year panel dataset with over 3,000 households across 91 villages. They analyze not just income and general consumption, but dig deep into three critical dimensions: Daily per capita calorie intake and levels of “food poverty”. Diversity of diets consumed at the household level. Health and nutritio...