Naila Kabeer

Naila Kabeer
Name	Naila Kabeer
Occupation	Development economist, academic, researcher
Known for	Gender, poverty, social policy, development

Naila Kabeer is a development economist and social scientist known for her work on gender, poverty, social policy, and empowerment. She has held academic posts and policy advisory roles across institutions and contributed to debates on livelihoods, labor, microfinance, and social protection. Her research spans interdisciplinary engagements with scholars, policymakers, and international agencies.

Early life and education

Kabeer was born in Bangladesh and educated in South Asia and the United Kingdom, studying at institutions connected with Dhaka University, University of London, London School of Economics, University of Cambridge, University of Sussex, and SOAS University of London. Her formative years intersected with historical events such as the Bangladesh Liberation War, the rise of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and regional development projects involving Asian Development Bank and World Bank initiatives in South Asia. Early mentors and contemporaries included figures associated with Amartya Sen, Mahbub ul Haq, Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, and scholars from Institute of Development Studies and Overseas Development Institute.

Academic and research career

Kabeer has held professorial and research fellow positions at institutions including London School of Economics, Institute of Development Studies, BRAC University, International Labour Organization, Asian Development Bank Institute, and United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. She has collaborated with policy bodies such as United Nations Development Programme, World Bank Group, UN Women, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and Oxfam. Her academic network includes connections with scholars and institutions like ICRW, IDS, ODI, UNICEF, ILO, and universities such as Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, University of Oxford, and Columbia University through visiting fellowships, conferences, and collaborative research projects.

Major contributions and theories

Kabeer developed influential frameworks on empowerment, social exclusion, and capabilities, engaging with theoretical traditions associated with Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. She advanced empirical analyses of microfinance linked to debates represented by Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank, Kiva, and critiques from Dilip Mookherjee and Jean Drèze. Her work intersects with discussions on gendered labor markets studied alongside research by Esther Duflo, Claudia Goldin, Branko Milanović, Angus Deaton, and Joseph Stiglitz. She examined social protection, cash transfer programs, and labor policies in contexts involving Conditional Cash Transfer schemes, Brazil Bolsa Família, Mexico Oportunidades, India Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, and Bangladesh garment sector reforms. Kabeer contributed to scholarship on intersectionality, drawing on concepts from bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, Judith Butler, and debates within feminist economics networks at institutions like International Association for Feminist Economics.

Publications and selected works

Kabeer authored books, edited volumes, and articles published with presses and journals linked to Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Oxford University Press, World Development, Journal of Development Studies, Feminist Economics, Development and Change, Economic and Political Weekly, and Gender & Development. Notable works engage with themes addressed by texts from Amartya Sen's capabilities literature, Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen on entitlements, and practice-oriented analyses used by United Nations policy documents. Her publications have been cited alongside works by Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, Angus Deaton, Catherine Hakim, Bina Agarwal, Leela Fernandes, Carolyn Nordstrom, and Nancy Fraser.

Awards, honours and recognitions

Kabeer has received fellowships, awards, and honorary positions from bodies including British Academy, Royal Society of Arts, Leverhulme Trust, Wellcome Trust, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Nuffield Foundation. She has been invited to lecture at venues such as The World Bank, United Nations Headquarters, European Commission, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, Brookings Institution, Chatham House, and universities including Harvard University, Yale University, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford.

Personal life and affiliations

Kabeer is associated with non-governmental and research organizations including BRAC, ActionAid, Oxfam, CARE International, Save the Children, International Development Research Centre, and networks like Development Studies Association and Global Development Network. She has participated in advisory roles for parliamentary committees and national commissions linked to social policy in countries such as Bangladesh, India, and the United Kingdom. Her professional affiliations connect her with scholars and practitioners across institutions like Institute of Development Studies, Overseas Development Institute, International Labour Organization, and United Nations University.

Category:Development economists Category:Feminist economists Category:Bangladeshi academics