How to tackle ‘entitlement failure’ in infrastructure?
In the discourse on infrastructure and economic growth, the dominant area of discussion is on the quantity and quality of infrastructure and how countries differ in these respects. While most of the countries emphasize a lot on investing in raising the quantity (and...
Making the most of the demographic dividend
For long, debates among economists and social scientists on the impact of population change on economic development centered on positions that population growth either restricts, promotes, or is independent of economic development. Despite the merits of these views, a...
Do education and skill development affect the transition from ‘good-enough’ job to ‘decent’ job?
Majority of studies conducted on decent job primarily focused on the demand side issues. However, there is a need to explore the supply side issues as the composition of labor supply itself can be a determining factor in the status of decent job. This article follows...
Export diversification – Myths and realities
Export diversification has been an important policy agenda in many of the developing countries. It is commonly viewed that export diversification is a necessary condition for the sustained and long-term growth of the economy and job creation. The current discourse of...
Why do countries differ in export diversification?
In the literature of export-growth linkages, the issue of export diversification draws a considerable interest in reducing risks associated with adverse and volatile terms of trade, slow productivity growth or relatively low-value addition in the global value chain....
Demystifying non-tariff barriers in South Asia
In the initial years of SAARC in the 1980s, the popular hypothesis for the reason behind limited intra-regional trade was the prevailing high tariff rate among the member countries. High tariff rates have come down substantially over the years since the formation of...
Towards a new regime of regional integration in South Asia
There are strong arguments for deeper regional economic integration in South Asia. It is believed to have the potential for generating significant intra-regional trade and welfare gains for the countries involved. Deeper regional integration is supposed to provide...
Bangladesh needs a new investment regime
Looking at the trend in the investment-GDP ratio since 1979-80, we can suggest four different investment regimes in Bangladesh. The first regime (1979-80 to 1989-90) is characterized by a low level of investment-GDP ratio with an annual average of 16.5 percent. This...
Our garment industry at a crossroad
Manufacturing is now an overwhelmingly salient component of Bangladesh’s export composition, thanks largely to the rapid expansion of the garment industry. From a small base of only around US$ 32 million in 1984, garment exports have grown to around US$ 25 billion by...
From ‘good-enough’ jobs to ‘decent’ jobs
Though there are many views on ‘inclusive growth’, the key consensus is that inclusive growth is a growth process that reduces poverty, inequality, and social exclusion and promotes ‘decent’ jobs and economic and social cohesion. A ‘decent’ job is referred to as a...
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