Don’t shrink social safety net even during austerity
No matter how tight the budget is, the social safety net sector has to be given its due importance.
5m ago
The fight against child marriage needs a new narrative
The latest official data paints an alarming picture of 41.6 percent of girls married under 18 and 8.2 percent married under the lower age of 15.
6m ago
The contradiction between economic policy and practices
How much can declared policy intentions be taken at face value when simultaneous administrative and political steps signal different intentions?
8m ago
All about fair and unfair elections
The current political uncertainties work out, the road to a fair election appears neither certain nor easy.
1y ago
Is Bangladesh at a triple crossroad?
Bangladesh has always battled and progressed through crises. But what future awaits us?
1y ago
How much do we know about our emerging ‘new rural’?
“New rural” will be a critical player in the next chapter of Bangladesh’s transformation.
1y ago
‘Louha tribhuj’ and the political economy of development
A political economy lens is needed to understand the current situation of Bangladesh.
2y ago
June 13, 2021
When entrepreneurship can be a public good
My friend Fouzul Kabir Khan’s recent book, “Win: How Public Entrepreneurship Can Transform the Developing World”, has brought back an issue critical to the development discourse in these pandemic times.
March 26, 2021
Bangladesh economy through a “turning point’ lens
The economy of Bangladesh has come a long way in the past 50 years. The enduring image of Bangladesh earlier was that of a disaster victim.
May 5, 2020
Opinion: A time for truths
It is 58 days since the first Covid-19 infection was recorded in Bangladesh. February now feels like a distant memory, even early March.
November 12, 2019
Women must have the right to choose
First there was Mexico City in 1984. Then there was Cairo in 1994. Now there is Nairobi in November 2019. The global community has dealt with the issue of population in these mega-conclaves.
October 27, 2019
Poverty’s Third Frontier
When Bangladesh gained independence nearly five decades ago, poverty was the default condition for over 80 percent of the population.
July 10, 2019
The truths about the budget that we fail to see
The recently-concluded budget season had to play second fiddle to the cricket season. And why not? Cricket is about passion, budget rarely so. The new finance minister has a foot in both of these worlds holding, as he does, the Comilla Victorians franchise. Mr Mustafa Kamal
June 14, 2019
Are policy blind spots driving the urban mess?
Accelera-ting urbanisation is the defining story of contemporary Bangladesh. Projections show that by 2050 urban population will overtake rural population. As Bangladesh hurtles towards its urban future, what a storyline of contradictory hues is unfolding!
March 3, 2019
A 'new normal'?
In its 48th year, Bangladesh faces a new existential question to ponder. What now passes as “normal”?
August 12, 2018
The Crisis is Impunity
Howsoever one tries to explain it, the death of Dia and Rajib, the two students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College, on the Airport Road ten or so fateful days ago, can never be called an “accident”.
December 13, 2017
Middle-income Bangladesh has to be a healthy Bangladesh
Economic progress is meaningless if the people are not healthy enough to enjoy the progress. As Bangladesh pursues its dream of becoming a middle-income country, this dream must also be one of a Healthy Bangladesh.
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