Economics
Silent role of MFS to keep the economy going
With the advancement of the pandemic, the citizens of Bangladesh are leaning more and more towards adopting Mobile Financial Service (MFS) as their method of money transfer, buying products and services, buying mobile balance and making bill payments.
Navigating the socioeconomic perils of Covid-19 in Bangladesh
Despite the depressing state of major indicators such as negative export-import growth; large revenue deficit; falling private sector investment; rising non-performing loans recorded in the last quarter of 2019
Stimulus for Bangladesh’s export-oriented enterprises
On March 25, 2020, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced, in her address to the nation, that the government would provide an incentive package of Taka 5,000 crore for export-oriented industries.
Financial mobility in an immobile world
The recent outbreak of Covid-19 is an unprecedented global issue, leading many to contemplate difficult questions that are plaguing all of humanity.
COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of our economies
The human dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic reach far beyond the critical health response. All aspects of our future will be affected—economic, social and developmental. Our response must be urgent, coordinated and on a global scale, and should immediately deliver help to those most in need.
Economic threats in the time of corona
What will the impact of Covid-19 be on the Bangladesh economy? Overall, it seems inevitable that the GDP gains that were expected to be realised in the current fiscal year are likely to be wiped out.
COVID-19 and Bangladesh’s macroeconomic challenges
The world economy is now on lockdown because of the global coronavirus pandemic. Governments and their central banks around the world are wasting no time in dealing with the health and economic implications of this crisis.
Implementing SDG 6: Watering the seeds of development
Nothing is more useful than water. Ironically, hardly anything can be obtained in exchange for water.
Rural transformation in focus
RURAL Bangladesh is changing its face. Both physically and structurally. With the rise of various new and emerging activities
Anatomy of two E-waste disasters
Discarded end-of-life electronic and electrical devices, or e-waste, are the fastest growing waste stream in the world.
Why is Bangladesh different?
If we can further liberalise our trade by reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers and by removing age-old regulations, our growth will exceed even 7 percent.
BUILDING ON WHAT WORKS BETTER
Bangladesh, with the support and vision of the Bangladesh Bank, has seen remarkable progress in Mobile Financial Services (MFS) in recent years.
Pledges of Paris climate summit
Understandably, a significant amount will be required by poor countries as they are the most vulnerable to climate change. Additionally, they are also engulfed with environmental problems such as pollution and resource degradation which make their development unsustainable.
Financial Inclusion - More Than Money
In early September, I travelled to New York for the Sustainable Development Summit at the UN. There, a sweeping new global development agenda was adopted by 193 countries, including Bangladesh and my own country, the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Banking for growth and humanity
Allocating more funds for training, research, technology, travel, and after-hour education will not only add more human values to the banking profession, but also make our banking sector more productive in the long-run.
Counting a woman's worth
Despite an increase in the total working age of the female population, women's contribution to GDP is only about 30 percent. This is not only due to their greater involvement in the less productive informal sector but also because they are engaged mostly in unpaid activities within the household which are not counted in the traditional measure of GDP.
The Poverty Line's Battle Lines
Being in the business of measuring poverty is a challenge for the World Bank. If poverty declines, critics accuse us of trying to showcase our success. If it rises, they say we are ensuring that we stay in business. And if it stays the same, they accuse us of trying to avoid these two charges.
Access equals development
Allowing young women to plan whether and when they want to start their families gives them the option to stay in school, join the workforce or pursue other dreams. This virtuous cycle that begins with empowering one woman can lift entire communities out of poverty.