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.
Tap into resources abroad to develop human capital at home
Three years ago, the then president of Uruguay, José Mujica, travelled to Berlin to meet Chancellor Merkel. She had already been in office for 10 years and was well accustomed to receiving Third World leaders seeking monetary assistance to contribute to the development of their countries. If she thought she was about to meet another such leader, she was in for a surprise.
We need reliable infrastructure, not megaprojects
Bangladesh newspapers bring me good news and sometimes not so good ones too. In the latter category, I include accounts of tailbacks, road accidents, power failures, and factory fires.
Why is solar power development so slow in Bangladesh?
The pace at which renewable energy including solar and wind is being developed worldwide suggests that these will overtake the fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) as dominant sources in power generation in a shorter time frame than previously forecasted. In mid-1990s renowned energy experts predicted that oil, gas and coal will remain the predominant fuel for power generation until 2030.
RIP to GDP? Not So Fast
Recently, David Pilling had a write-up entitled “Do we need to say RIP (Rest in Peace) to GDP?” The write-up draws on his latest book The Growth Delusion on which he recently spoke at the Oxford Literary Festival.
Is LDC graduation a panacea?
Bangladesh has successfully met all three criteria for LDC graduation in the first review in March 2018. It is expected that Bangladesh will be able to meet the graduation criteria in the second review in 2021 and will finally graduate from the LDC status in 2024.
How Bangladesh should respond to global apparel industry changes
I read an interesting article the other day about a cotton spinning company based in Manchester, England. Although the company, by Bangladesh's standards, produces high volumes of product, it has established a niche for itself in the UK and Japan with customers who appreciate both quality and locality of resource.
Navigating in an inhospitable global and regional environment
The global economy is experiencing a multitude of transitions in terms of economic and geopolitical rebalancing, ongoing technological change and emerging social and political risks. These transitions are expected to have far-reaching impacts on Bangladesh's economy, which is becoming increasingly integrated with the global and regional economies.
How to ensure smooth transition after LDC graduation
Bangladesh will cross a number of milestones during its implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mapping out a strategy
Bangladesh has become eligible for LDC graduation at the triennial review of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) held in March 2018 by meeting the thresholds for graduation: Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, the Human Assets Index (HAI) and the Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI). Bangladesh has been able to satisfy all the three graduation criteria and that also with significant comfort margins.
Learning from peers and graduates
The outlook for the United Nations' (UN) list of least developed countries (LDCs) is finally looking optimistic after 47 years of lacklustre performance since the category's establishment in 1971. There have been 52 inclusions and only five graduations to date according to the UN Committee for Development Policy's (CDP) triennial reviews. Bangladesh, an LDC, remains on track for graduation.