Bazlul H Khondker

Dr Bazlul Haque Khondker is chairman of South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) and director at Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Bangladesh. He can be reached at bazlul.khondker@gmail.com.

High tax expenditure: A paradox in Bangladesh’s tax system

Bangladesh has an unusually high tax expenditure to GDP ratio despite having low revenue generation through direct tax.

4w ago

Tax reform imperatives for the interim government

Historically, revenue efforts in Bangladesh have been seriously inadequate, which has constrained public expenditure.

2m ago

Let people, not political parties, decide interim govt’s role

The interim government should call for a plebiscite along with a reform agenda and estimated timeframe to achieve them.

3m ago

Our social safety net budget is neither equitable nor efficient

How does the social protection budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year fare when analysed through the lenses of equity and efficiency?

1y ago

Rethinking Bangladesh's social security budget

Almost a decade after the approval of the NSSS, the country has not yet established a single registry system or installed a robust MIS.

1y ago

Reforms proposed by IMF have been planned by the govt before

Time has come to make good on those plans.

2y ago

Bangladesh needs a new vision for social protection

Bangladesh’s social protection, a key policy instrument in the country, has had a history of innovation evolved around crises

2y ago

Financial inclusion: Identifying policy gaps and a way forward

Ensuring accessible, affordable and reliable financial services for all is one of the prerequisites of inclusive growth. The need for a comprehensive and focused public document for this purpose, outlining the vision, concrete targets and clearly defined implementation plan, had long been agreed upon by most financial policymakers worldwide.

2y ago
October 23, 2024
October 23, 2024

High tax expenditure: A paradox in Bangladesh’s tax system

Bangladesh has an unusually high tax expenditure to GDP ratio despite having low revenue generation through direct tax.

September 16, 2024
September 16, 2024

Tax reform imperatives for the interim government

Historically, revenue efforts in Bangladesh have been seriously inadequate, which has constrained public expenditure.

August 11, 2024
August 11, 2024

Let people, not political parties, decide interim govt’s role

The interim government should call for a plebiscite along with a reform agenda and estimated timeframe to achieve them.

July 26, 2023
July 26, 2023

Our social safety net budget is neither equitable nor efficient

How does the social protection budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year fare when analysed through the lenses of equity and efficiency?

May 13, 2023
May 13, 2023

Rethinking Bangladesh's social security budget

Almost a decade after the approval of the NSSS, the country has not yet established a single registry system or installed a robust MIS.

November 15, 2022
November 15, 2022

Reforms proposed by IMF have been planned by the govt before

Time has come to make good on those plans.

September 11, 2022
September 11, 2022

Bangladesh needs a new vision for social protection

Bangladesh’s social protection, a key policy instrument in the country, has had a history of innovation evolved around crises

February 7, 2022
February 7, 2022

Financial inclusion: Identifying policy gaps and a way forward

Ensuring accessible, affordable and reliable financial services for all is one of the prerequisites of inclusive growth. The need for a comprehensive and focused public document for this purpose, outlining the vision, concrete targets and clearly defined implementation plan, had long been agreed upon by most financial policymakers worldwide.

June 28, 2020
June 28, 2020

Social protection budget for FY2021 falls short of expectations

There have been lots of debates and disagreements with regard to the economic cost of Covid-19 in Bangladesh. In particular, the debate concentrated on GDP growth rate in FY2020, which ranged from 1.6 percent (World Bank) to 5.5 percent (Budget Speech FY 2021, Ministry of Finance [MOF]).

May 4, 2020
May 4, 2020

In this moment of crisis, the poor and needy must be aided with cash support via MFS

Bangladesh has started dealing with the severe consequences of the global coronavirus pandemic in earnest, with curtailed economic activities manifested in factory closures, cancellation of and/or sharply reduced export orders, falling remittance inflows, and depressed demand for domestically produced goods and services.