ROAD TO BANGLADESH SERIES is designed to present published accounts of the background to the emergence of Bangladesh. The Series showcases such a collection that, when put together, achieves a well-rounded narrative of the events of 1971. Books in the series should be an invaluable collection for those interested in South Asian affairs, particularly students and scholars of politics, history, development and social transformation.
Microfinance, particularly microcredit, is recognized as one of the most important interventions to alleviate poverty in Bangladesh. It is now 27 years that non-government institutions have been providing microfinance services. It has grown both vertically and horizontally. In 2008, self provided information of 313 MFIs including Grameen Bank shows, a total of 16.690 branches across the country are providing financial services to the poor. This is the second publication of the joint collaboration of Institute of Microfinance (InM) and Credit and Development Forum (CDF).
To the social scientists, Bangladesh is an enigma wrapped in paradoxes. She defied conventional prophets of gloom and doom during last three decades by making significant strides in social and economic spheres. Ironically, she is deeply divided politically despite bonds of extraordinary ethnic and linguistic homogeneity. The multiple dimensions of paradoxes of governance, economy and crucial sectors like finance and water are unwrapped in the twelve essays in this volume. While unrevealing the Bangladesh conundrum, this inter-disciplinary study uncovers a number of new paradoxes.
At the turn of the new century, economic thought now faces, this book argues, a fundamental intellectual question, and one with the most profound consequences for all humanity. Is it really true, as the devotees of free market economics demand we assume, that there is no alternative to the neo-liberal ideology of (allegedly) self-regulating markets, the abandonment by governments of their economic management responsibilities, and the relentless pressure to cut both real wages and social expenditure?
Economic Analyses of Contemporary Issues in Bangladesh is a collection of studies by economists and other social scientists, working mostly on economic and social policies and issues in Bangladesh. This compilation of analytically well-grounded studies by established researchers covers a variety of topics such as economic growth patterns, regional convergence of per-capita income, micro-credits, natural resource management, household choice of water and sanitation facilities, capital markets, exchange rate policy, corruption, and transfer pricing by foreign investors.
A The recent Asian and Mexican currency crises have provided a somber lesson that in a global economic setting, the exchange rate policy, and more broadly monetary and financial policy cannot be treated in a business as usual manner. The stake is high because exchange rate policy has profound impact on current and future macroeconomic performance. This book is a modest attempt to highlight the above contention from a broad perspective for the emerging market economy of Bangladesh.
The central theme of the book is the changing paradigms of conflict and conflict resolution after the events of September 11. It also considers options for the South Asian countries to respond to challenges which they face in the dichotomy of US-led war against terrorism, the relevance of peace process and confidence-building measures in order to resolve inter and intra-state conflicts in the region. Paradigms of conflict resolution are passing through a transitory phase but it is a temporary phenomenon.
Women, Bangladesh and International Security purports to do two things. Firstly, it is an attempt to relate the life and living of Bangladesh women with the domain called international security. Seldom is there an understanding that the women of Bangladesh are actively engaged in the organization and reproduction of international security. Secondly, it is a theoretical intervention to the debate as how best to understand the engendered relationship between the national and the international.
Currently the country is witnessing a growing debate on the role of external aid in the development of Bangladesh. Development economists and aid watchers contend that external aid received by Bangladesh since independence exceeding $29 billion. This has had no visible impact on the economic and social development of the country and that benefits of this aid did not reach the poor constituting the vast majority of the population of Bangladesh.
Reforming political and governance institutions is not a common issue during election time. The last time this issue dominated an election campaign in a first world country was in the early eighties with Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain and Ronald Reagan in the United States. Thirty-six years after its birth, a Bangladesh caretaker government is facing the same issue. They are addressing it directly by instituting some useful reforms.