Md Twfiqur Rahman

LinkedIn CV JMP Email

Hi, I'm Toufiq.


I am an Economics PhD candidate at Georgia State University. My research leverages modern econometric tools to address questions relevant to health, education, and labor policies.

Prior to joining Georgia State University, I served as an Assistant Director at the Central Bank of Bangladesh.

Click here to view my CV.


Research

Working Papers:
From Coverage to Consequences: BMI and Health Behaviors after Medicaid Contraction [Job Market Paper]

Leveraging Tennessee’s 2005 Medicaid contraction, I study the impact of losing public health insurance on body weight and relevant health behaviors. Using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 1997 to 2010, I estimate comparative case study models with data-driven control groups. The preferred synthetic difference-in-differences estimates suggest that the reform increased Body Mass Index by 0.38 points and the overweight or obesity prevalence (BMI≥25) by ∼4% among Tennessean childless adults. My findings—a 21% increase in the share of childless adults reporting poor health, declines in Medicaid-supported use of pain and antiinflammatory medications, and reduced participation in moderate physical activities— suggest that worsening unmanaged health conditions may be a key pathway through which coverage loss affected physical activity and weight gain. Additionally, my analysis offers practical guidance for analyzing single treated clusters using comparative case study methods, highlighting the advantages of placebo-based standard errors for valid inference.

Removing Barriers to College Credits: How and Where AP Exam Fee Waivers Work
(with Cade Lawson)

We examine the impact of North Carolina's Advanced Placement (AP) exam fee waivers on exam participation and potential college credit attainment. Using course level administrative data and multiple quasi-experimental strategies, we find that fee waivers significantly increased exam participation and potential college credit attainment among high school students, particularly in underutilized AP courses, defined by below-median exam participation rates prior to the implementation of fee waivers. Although we find evidence that fee waivers reduce the exam participation gap between the underserved and more advantaged students, we do not find robust evidence that they narrow the disparity in college credit attainment. Finally, our main findings help reconcile the seemingly disparate findings from prior research on AP exam funding.

Select Work in Progress:
Do Incentives Shape Teacher Effort? Lessons from a Piece-rate Bonus Program
(with Ian Callen)

We study the effects of a piece-rate teacher bonus program on student outcomes. Beginning 2015-16 Academic Year, North Carolina rewards AP teachers $50 bonus for each student in her class achieving a passing score in the corresponding AP exam, with annual bonuses capped at $3,500. We propose a model implying that the piece-rate and the cap generate higher incentives for teachers with relatively lower baseline student number and aptitude. The model further predicts that the bonus program does not effectively incentivize teachers with a high baseline number of students passing the AP exams, since they are likely to automatically qualify for the maximum reward without exerting additional effort. Leveraging course-level student-teacher linked data and using both teacher fixed effects and difference-in-differences models, we provide evidence supporting the model implications. We find that the bonus program increased the probability of a course leading to a passed exam by approximately 2 percentage points. We also document an approximately 2-2.5 percentage point increase in the pass rates among students instructed by teachers for whom the bonus cap was non-binding, relative to those instructed by teachers earning near-maximum bonus amount before the program implementation.

Reconciling BMI with Obesity Measures: A Machine Learning Approach

Eviction in the Gig Economy

R Package: propWeights

Implements Proportional Weight Allocation (PWA) to distribute trade volumes in classification concordances.


Teaching

Instructor of Record, Georgia State University
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Georgia State University
Teaching Assistant, East West University, Bangladesh


Education

Georgia State University | Atlanta, GA
Ph.D. in Economics (2025, Expected)

Dissertation Title: Essays on Health and Education Policies
Dissertation Committee:Daniel Kreisman (Chair), Jonathan Smith, Keith Teltser, and Steven W. Hemelt.