Trends in the Post-Flood Economy: A Review of Bangladesh's Development 1998-99

The reputation of the Independent Review of Bangladesh's Development (IRBD), coordinated by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) is by now well established. Each of the IRBD volumes has received critical acclaim both in Bangladesh and abroad because of the richness of the information and the quality of the analyses presented. The current volume, IRDB 1999 is the fourth in the series and continues the tradition set by earlier volumes. The present IRBD volume Trends in the Post-Flood Economy: A Review of Bangladesh's Development 1998-99 puts under critical review the performance of Bangladesh's economy subsequent to the devastating floods of 1998, traces growth trends of important macroeconomic parameters and focuses on three key sectors of the economy. The review of the agriculture sector focuses on the impact of the flood on the sector, the post-flood rehabilitation programme and growth performance in 1999. The chapter on the fiscal sector traces the major departures in the budget for 1999-2000 arising out of the responses to the flood and their implications for the performance of the economy. The chapter on the external sector presents an analysis of the dynamics and recovery prospects of the sector in 1998-99. A major cross-cutting focus of IRBD 1998-99 is on the impact of the flood of 1998 on both macroeconomic and sectoral performances. The review, thus, provides important insights into the efficacy of the government's interventions and the coping strategy of the people in confronting the problems of the economy during and after the floods. This was expected in view of the immediate problems faced by the economy in the aftermath of the flood. A report on the national dialogue which was held to discuss the draft IRBD 1998-99 is presented in this volume. The report highlights key issues which came under discussion during the dialogue and provides a distinctive flavour to IRBD 1998-99.