Muhammad Shahid Alam is a Pakistani

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

, academic, and

social scientist Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of socie ...

. He is a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

at Northeastern University. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Policy Research & Development, London.

Background

Alam was born to a

Muhajir Muhajir or Mohajir ( ar, مهاجر, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer ...

Family in 1950 in Dhaka,

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

, moving to West Pakistan in 1971Cihan Aksan, ''State of Nature''
On Islam: An Interview with M. Shahid Alam
/ref> following the creation of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

from East Pakistan. He holds a BA from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

, an MA from the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (wh ...

, and a Ph.D. from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

. (1979) His brothers are, the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, Air Commodore

Muhammad Mahmood Alam Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam (Bengali: মহম্মদ মাহমুদ আলম; ur, ) 6 July 1935 – 18 March 2013) was a Bengali fighter pilot officially credited by the Pakistan Air Force with having downed four India ...

and particle physicist M. Sajjad Alam.

Career

Alam's academic writings focus, among other things, on the economic effects of Western foreign and economic policies on formerly colonized states. He writes critically about the present-day global wealth disparities produced by Western policies. He draws attention to the pro-capitalist ideological intent and Eurocentric biases of mainstream economics. An outspoken opponent of U.S. policies in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and the Global South, He has published many books, including # ''Poverty from the Wealth of Nations'' (Macmillan, 2000), # ''Governments and Markets in Economic Development Strategies'' (Praeger: 1989), # ''Is There An Islamic Problem'' (Kuala Lumpur: The Other Press, 2004, republished in 2007 as ''Challenging the New Orientalism'', IPI: 2007), # and most recently, ''Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism'' (Palgrave Macmillan: 2009). He is also a regular contributor to ''

CounterPunch ''CounterPunch'' is a left-wing online magazine. Content includes a free section published five days a week as well as a subscriber-only area called CounterPunch+, where original articles are published weekly. ''CounterPunch'' is based in the Unit ...

'' magazine.

Books

*''Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). *''Challenging the New Orientalism: Dissenting Essays on the "War Against Islam"'' (IPI, 2007). *''Is there an Islamic problem? : essays on Islamicate societies, the US, and Israel'' (The Other Press, 2004). *''Poverty From the Wealth of Nations: Integration and Polarization in the Global Economy since 1760'' (Macmillan, 2000). *''Governments and Markets in Economic Development Strategies: Lessons From Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.'' (Praeger, 1989).

References

External links

Faculty Page at Northeastern University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alam, M. Shahid Northeastern University faculty University of Karachi alumni University of Dhaka alumni Pakistani economists Living people People from Dhaka People from Karachi Pakistani emigrants to the United States Year of birth missing (living people) University of Western Ontario alumni Fellows of Pakistan Academy of Sciences Pakistani people of Bihari descent American academics of Pakistani descent