Emerging Issues in Bangladesh Economy

The present volume Emerging Issues in Bangladesh Economy: A Review of Bangladesh's Development 2005-06, is the tenth publication under the pioneering initiative of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) titled Independent Review of Bangladesh's Development (IRBD). Over the past years, since 1995, the IRBDs, an annual publication of the CPD, have been able to establish a tradition of high scholarship and a credible civil society perspective on key issues of developmental concern and interest in Bangladesh. IRBD 2005-06 has identified fourteen strategic issues which are likely to have important medium-term implications on how Bangladesh develops over the coming years. The increasingly globally integrated economy of Bangladesh needs policies that will foster and promote strengthened participation of Bangladesh's enterprises and entrepreneurs in the domestic, regional and global markets. This will require increasing productivity, enhancing competitive strength, attracting FDI, raising the quality of service delivery, accessing and making use of the benefits of ICT, supporting the SME sector and promoting a conducive environment for business and commerce. The need to ensure food security will require the adoption of new technologies in agriculture and steps to raise yield and diversification of the sector. Ensuring energy security will call for long-term strategies to develop new sources of energy and energy pricing. The high inflation of recent times in Bangladesh has given rise to the need for a renewed focus on the trade-offs between growth and inequality. New initiatives are called for to improve the quality of service delivery in health and education. Climate change is expected to bring new challenges for Bangladesh. The labour market has to be prepared to cater to the demands of the future economy. The fourteen chapters in the IRBD 2005-06 volume take an in-depth look into these areas and present insights and analyses to meet the challenges that await Bangladesh in its journey towards a future with high growth and distributive justice. The present IRBD 2005-06 volume embodies excellent contributions from some of Bangladesh's leading experts in the relevant fields. The volume also bears the fruits of stakeholder consultations which informed the preparation of the volume. It is hoped that interested readers will find in this volume a wealth of new insights and knowledge. Contributors: Sajeda Amin, M Asaduzzaman, Zaid Bakht, Salma Begum, Debapriya Bhattacharya, AHM Mustain Billah, Toufic Ahmad Choudhury, Naeem Chowdhury, Uttam Kumar Deb, Mohammed Farashuddin, Shah Md Ahsan Habib, Mahabub Hossain, Towfiqul Islam Khan, Fahmida Khatun, Simeen Mahmud, Muhammad Masum, Mustafizur Rahman, SR Osmani, Selim Raihan, MA Razzaque, Zeba I Seraj, Kaniz Siddique.