Where are we heading?
By bringing down a despotic leviathan, the anti-discrimination student movement has earned the moral authority to be spokespersons for the whole nation
3m ago
Rebooting the economy
The crackdown on the nonviolent uprise of the students and the subsequent one thing leading to another chain of events locked down the economy, only figuratively reminiscent of the pandemic in 2020
3m ago
Not much beyond lip service
In their Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for the first half of FY25, Bangladesh Bank (BB) has stuck to the policy stance already in place.
4m ago
Not much beyond lip service
Let’s begin with the central question to gauge what more this MPS could have done to increase the potency of monetary policy in restoring macro-financial stability.
4m ago
Export data correction was long overdue
Bangladesh Bank’s latest data on the balance of payments has remarkably altered the narrative on the drivers of external stress without changing the signal on the overall stress.
4m ago
Making sense of revisions in balance of payments
Bangladesh Bank's latest data on the balance of payments has remarkably altered the narrative on the drivers of external stress without changing the signal on the overall stress. The bottom line on persistent external imbalance remains pretty much the same but the composition is palpably different
4m ago
A post-election defining moment
The economy has been in a rough patch since 2022 like never before in the past decade and a half
5m ago
Fifty years of learning from rises and slips in the Bangladesh economy
We are hubristically living through our ecological implosion.
7m ago
January 17, 2024
Short on actions
Even though the challenges are pointed out in the MPS, they fall short of measures to yield visible results
January 11, 2024
Making the economy breathe easier
The Bangladesh economy has entered 2024 with acute cost-of-living pressures, external payment imbalances, shortage of dollar liquidity, elevated illicit capital outflows, and vulnerable balance sheets in several, not all, bank and non-bank financial institutions.
December 31, 2023
Time ripe to own up to weaknesses
The Bangladesh economy faced extended economic distress after recovering partially from the pandemic before facing the cost-of-living increases and external payment imbalances. Economic activity slowed in 2023 with persistently high inflation and erosion of external buffers.
May 25, 2023
FY23 fiscal policy shies away from prioritising macroeconomic stability
Says economist Zahid Hussain in an interview
April 16, 2023
A poverty, inequality, and growth puzzle
The poverty trend emerging from valid comparisons with the previous rounds of HIES may or may not be different.
March 12, 2023
No policy measure taken to contain high inflation
There has also been very little policy response to help out families at the bottom of the income ladder
January 1, 2023
Policies and reality checks
The beginning of a new year is not just a moment for resolution. We are in a season that is about both reflecting on the past and looking forward to the future.
July 1, 2022
Foggy stance of BB on exchange rate
A key objective of issuing a monetary policy statement on the eve of the new fiscal year is to provide forward guidance to the public about the likely future course of monetary policy. When credible, individuals and businesses use this information in making decisions about spending and investments.
June 30, 2022
Foggy stance of Bangladesh Bank on exchange rate
A key objective of issuing a monetary policy statement on the eve of the new fiscal year is to provide forward guidance to the public about the likely future course of monetary policy. When credible, individuals and businesses use this information in making decisions about spending and investments.
June 20, 2022
Real wage decline could push low-income families into poverty
Nominal wage growth at the low skill level overall has fallen behind the headline inflation.
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