Why is our public spending on education still so shockingly low?
Since it boosts individual productivity and produces a trained labour force, education is seen as a crucial road to economic progress. However, in most countries, there are clear examples of market failure when it comes to education since, in a free market, education...
How to make development projects more time and cost-effective
In light of the recent debt crisis in Sri Lanka, there is a growing discussion on the funding of development projects. In the context of foreign financing, if one concern is that of debt burden, the other is related to the inefficiency in managing foreign funds. In...
Reforms proposed by IMF have been planned by the govt before
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded their much-awaited mission in Bangladesh on November 9. The visit had a positive outcome as the Bangladesh government and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement, which happened within a reasonable timeframe suggesting...
How should we address our core labour market challenges?
In the recent decade, despite high economic growth, job creation has slowed down. This is especially in the manufacturing and services sectors, where it remains a big challenge due to increased automation. The high degree of informal employment in Bangladesh, where...
Micro Implications of Macro Challenges
At the moment, Bangladesh is facing a number of challenges in maintaining macroeconomic stability, with the taka depreciating against the US dollar due to increased import bills, coupled with declining export earnings and remittance inflows. This is made worse by the...
Why have banks failed SMEs?
Even before the pandemic, CFOs of small businesses struggled to get the insights they needed to manage their finances effectively. Even though banks are willing to help, they are facing an increasing number of complex cases of SME clients. It can be stated that...
Bangladesh needs a new vision for social protection
Social protection is an important fiscal policy instrument that not only helps smoothen consumption and reduce poverty and inequality, but also spurs growth via raising the aggregate demand. Since independence, Bangladesh’s social protection, a key policy instrument...
Time to focus on women’s sexual health and rights
Bangladesh has made significant progress in the last two decades in improving the lives of women and girls. Maternal mortality rates are decreasing, fertility rates are decreasing, and gender parity in school enrollment is increasing. Women's participation in the...
Demographic dividend: How do we include more youth into Bangladesh’s economy?
For several reasons, the recently conducted Population and Housing Census 2022 of Bangladesh was of interest to people in different sectors, especially the policymakers and researchers. This is primarily because census data can be a crucial source of information not...
Mental health in Bangladesh: A generational far cry
Mental health has been traditionally a taboo subject in Bangladesh, and frequently overlooked at the policy level. The country has undertaken the first ever National Mental Health Policy 2022 this June, which is highly appreciated- better late than never! The mental...
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