Yutaka Yoshino, a Japanese national, is the Lead Country Economist for Bangladesh and Bhutan at the Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions (EFI) Department of the World Bank South Asia Region.  He is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He takes a lead role in the overall implementation of the World Bank’s economic programs for Bangladesh and Bhutan in the areas of macroeconomic and fiscal management, trade, and investment, finance and competitiveness, poverty and equity, and public sector and governance.

Since he joined the World Bank in 2003, he has taken several economist positions both in the areas of research and operations and has led a number of policy-based lending operations as well as analytical and advisory products in the areas of macroeconomic and fiscal policies, growth and structural transformation, trade and investment, economic geography, and natural resources for development. Most recently, he was a Lead Economist and Program Leader, EFI, based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in charge of Burundi, Malawi, Somalia, and Tanzania.

Prior to the World Bank, he served as an Economic Attaché at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations in New York. He holds Bachelor of Laws from Sophia University in Tokyo, Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, and M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia with specialization in international economics, public finance, and industrial organization.