Finance
Taka policy in a changing world
It is still widely believed that depreciation of taka vis-à-vis foreign currencies—especially US dollar—will boost Bangladesh’s export earnings. This is true only if our exports are priced or invoiced in Bangladeshi taka. For example, if a shirt made in Bangladesh is invoiced at Tk 1,000, at an exchange rate of USD 1 = Tk 85, the shirt will cost USD 11.76 in the international market.
Privatisation increases corruption
International financial institutions (IFIs) have typically imposed wide-ranging policy reforms—called “conditionalities”—in exchange for country governments to secure access to financial assistance.
The PM’s China visit
It is undeniable that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has, quite deftly, made the most of the fast-changing regional and global geopolitics, eventually emerging as a strong leader in South Asia.
2019 SUMMER DAVOS FORUM / An open world economy in a new era of globalisation
The 2019 Summer Davos Forum, also known as the “World Economic Forum’s 13th Annual Meeting of the New Champions,” was held during July 1-3, 2019 in the coastal city of Dalian in northeast China’s Liaoning province.
Consumer Rights Violations / Why filing complaints is absolutely necessary
I assume there is hardly anyone amongst us who has never felt cheated after buying a product or taking a service in exchange for money.
What does Bangladesh gain from the US-China trade war?
As the US-China trade war intensifies, pundits on both sides of the Pacific and elsewhere are wondering: who is the real winner?
The emerging cracks in our external sector
The robust external sector performance has been a strong pillar on which Bangladesh’s impressive macroeconomic stability and growth of recent years was founded. The strong performance was underwritten by several factors.
Smart priorities for the new government’s first budget
Since 2015, Copenhagen Consensus and BRAC have collaborated on Bangladesh Priorities to create a bridge between policy and research. This is driven by the belief that, with limited resources and time, it is crucial that decisions are informed by what will do the most good for each taka spent.
Promises to keep in 2016
If we want to achieve the targets established by the Global Goals for maternal health, child health, and infectious disease, we will have to double R&D funding by 2020.
Fuel price adjustment: Somoy gele sadhan hobena
Over the last one year, since December 2014, Bangladesh's 12-month average inflation fell by 11 percent and came down to 6.2 percent in November 2015. However, India's inflation fell by 28 percent and came down to 4.8 percent, Pakistan's inflation dropped by 62 percent to reach below 3 percent.
When inequality kills
It is perhaps true that unhealthy habits are more concentrated among poor Americans, a disproportionate number of whom are black. But these habits themselves are a consequence of economic conditions, not to mention the stresses of racism.
The pleasure of giving
The recent announcement of Silicon Valley's power couple - Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his doctor wife Priscilla Chan...
Lessons from the banking mela
The recent five-day banking mela (fair), held at the Bangla Academy premises, was the first of its kind in Bangladesh's history.
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.