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.

I am on the 2024-25 job market.

Click here to view my CV.


Research

Working Papers:
Effects of Losing Medicaid on Body Weight and Health Behaviors [Job Market Paper]
(Under Review)

Tennessee’s 2005 Medicaid reform terminated public health insurance coverage for approximately 170,000 childless adults. Leveraging this policy-induced variation, I study the impact of losing public health insurance on body weight and related health behaviors. Using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 1997 to 2010, I estimate comparative case study models that compare Tennessee’s outcomes before and after the reform with those of data-driven control groups. The preferred synthetic difference-in-differences estimates suggest that the reform increased Body Mass Index by 0.37 points and the overweight or obesity prevalence (BMI≥25) by 4% among Tennessean childless adults. Examining health behaviors, I find evidence supporting weight gain through reduction in moderate physical activity participation (e.g., brisk walking, gardening) and vegetable consumption.

The Impact of AP Exam Fee Waivers on Participation and Performance
(with Cade Lawson)

We study the effects of Advanced Placement (AP) exam fee waivers on student AP exam participation, performance, and equity. Using course-level administrative data from North Carolina and exploiting within-student variation induced by the universal AP exam fee waivers policy, we find that the likelihood of an AP course resulting in an exam increased by 4 percentage points. We provide suggestive evidence that nearly 24% of these additional exams earned passing scores eligible for college credit. The rise in the share of courses leading to passed exams is primarily driven by increased exam-taking in subjects with higher historical pass rate but lower exam participation. Additionally, we estimate that the gains were approximately twice as large for minority and economically disadvantaged students, leading to a significant reduction in the racial and socioeconomic gaps in AP exam participation and performance. A back-of-the-envelope cost-benefit analysis suggests that the implied tuition savings alone exceed the cost of subsidizing AP exams for these historically underperforming groups.

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

We study the effects of piece-rate teacher bonus program on student outcomes. Beginning 2015-16 School year, North Carolina annually rewards an Advanced Placement (AP) teacher $50 bonus for each student in her class passing the corresponding AP exam, with total bonuses capped at $3,500 ($2,000 in SY 2015-16 only). Using the program features, we develop a simple economic model, which implies that the piece-rate structure and the cap provide disproportionate incentives to teachers with varying baseline student number and aptitude. Leveraging course-level student-teacher linked data from North Carolina and using both teacher fixed effects and difference-in-differences models, we provide evidence supporting the model implications. Our main result suggests that the bonus program significantly increased pass rate among students assigned to teachers unconstrained by the bonus cap.

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

Teaching Assistant, East West University, Bangladesh
Mathematics for Business and Economics I & II, Business Finance (2011-2013)


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.