Currency unleashed: Handle with care
This decision is a pragmatic step, regardless of whether it was motivated by the necessity of meeting IMF program conditions for the 4th and 5th disbursements
15 May 2025, 05:27 AM
Differentiating the FY26 budget
The interim government (IG) is set to present its FY26 budget on June 2. The anticipation is that their budget will depart from the past.
5 May 2025, 18:00 PM
Differentiating the FY26 budget
The interim government, unburdened by political motivations, has no need to seek popular acclaim
5 May 2025, 11:41 AM
Global trade dynamics amidst US–China tariff war
The bilateral trade in goods between the US and China faces the risk of being severed due to the imposition of steep tariffs
13 April 2025, 08:26 AM
US tariff war: Implications and strategies for Bangladesh
On April 2, 2025, US President Trump introduced sweeping reciprocal tariffs, effectively reversing nearly all US tariff liberalisation since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
3 April 2025, 19:06 PM
Implications and strategies for Bangladesh
The average US tariff surged from 2.5 percent to 20 percent with a single executive action
3 April 2025, 12:26 PM
The headless industry dilemma: Navigating the fallout of crony capitalism
The golden rule of crony capitalism, in which profits are private but losses are social, has led to blatant injustice, as is generally recognised. The extra-market connections of crony capitalists facilitated transactional benefits while leading to entrenched market power, distorted competition, and depressed productivity growth, all contributing to growing inequalities. Yet, attempts to change the crony business model are facing their own dilemmas.
24 March 2025, 18:00 PM
The headless industry dilemma: navigating the fallout of crony capitalism
The golden rule of crony capitalism, in which profits are private but losses are social, has led to blatant injustice, as is generally recognised.
24 March 2025, 09:37 AM
Spike in GDP growth: hard to fathom
There was no doubt that the growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in FY21 was better than the growth in FY20 even though the pandemic was present with all its ferocity in both years.
8 February 2022, 18:00 PM
No growth in real wages
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data provides a somewhat mixed picture on how labour is benefitting from the ongoing economic recovery in Bangladesh.
8 January 2022, 18:00 PM
Rising inflation creates a trilemma
Consumer price growth has spiked, driven by non-food inflation which is approaching 7 per cent. Inflation in Bangladesh is catching up with global trends. As in the case of the rest of the world, cost-push has been the most important driver which in turn came from increases in energy prices.
27 December 2021, 10:31 AM
Gain some, lose some
Timely revisions to data on GDP and its components determine the accuracy of national accounts estimates and their comparability across countries.
1 November 2021, 18:00 PM
Harnessing potential gains from outward FDI
Corporate Bangladesh is increasingly demanding the easing of draconian restrictions on outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) as they seek to diversify earnings. Indeed, OFDI can yield financial, intangible capability, and tangible capacity returns, thus complementing the development benefits realised through trade, migration and inward FDI.
23 October 2021, 18:00 PM
Budgeting to make a difference
While the pandemic waves on, the budget should focus on crisis management, prioritising spending on health, targeting fiscal support to distressed families and enterprises, restoring the functionality of education, and building on the resilience demonstrated by agriculture while keeping an eye on revenues. A business-as-usual budget like last year will miss the boat again.
16 May 2021, 18:00 PM
Pursuing new approaches to deliver quality education is key
In-person schooling in Bangladesh has remained shut since March 2020. Children have already lost a full year, equivalent to 0.6 learning-adjusted years of schooling based on the learning gap implied by the World Bank (WB) in its Human Capital Index (2020) for Bangladesh.
7 April 2021, 18:00 PM
Activities back, incomes not
We are going through an unprecedented time, which is economically troublesome.
7 March 2021, 18:00 PM
Expectations From 2021: Vaccination, education and sustained economic recovery
The new year always carries the legacy of the year gone by. Expectations for the new year are naturally conditioned by these legacies. This is true every year. But 2021 is starting from an exceptional footing. Preceded by a prolonged 10 months of unprecedented trauma and fear all the world over, 2021 inherits the legacies of a year that will go down in history as the most cursed in last hundred years.
29 December 2020, 18:00 PM
Next budget would be an immense balancing act
Next fiscal is likely to be one of the most challenging years from a fiscal management perspective, among others.
3 June 2020, 18:00 PM
The economics of social distancing
Social distancing has proven to be an effective weapon for dampening the spread of coronavirus.
21 May 2020, 18:00 PM
Next fiscal year’s budget priorities must be aligned with the needs of the pandemic-hit economy
The coronavirus-infected economy requires dealing with the disease burden and the economic devastation caused by measures to contain the virus.
14 May 2020, 18:00 PM
Our sudden and decentralised restart is hard to fathom
Bangladesh’s restart is happening, whether science supports it or not.
9 May 2020, 18:00 PM
Technology is a useful servant. Let’s harness it for social protection, social distancing and community testing.
The government is hard-pressed in responding to the raging coronavirus pandemic with every resource, instrument, policy and strategy it can get its hands on.
26 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Cash transfer is the assistance the poor need right now
Early data on the poverty impact of the coronavirus-induced coma of the economy, as Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman characterises it, is rather alarming.
20 April 2020, 18:00 PM
We paused the economy to save lives. But how do we press play again?
The historical novelty of the coronavirus shock has unravelled as the lockdown continues. Bangladesh’s economic expansion is projected to face a drastic brake.
16 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Making the bell toll for the poor and the vulnerable
Are we doing enough to support households dependent on labour income from the formal and informal sectors in this time of distress?
11 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Stimulus package geared towards the long road to normalcy
The Tk 72,750 crore package announced by the prime minister promises to provide support to small and large businesses in industry and services to tide over the disruptive stage of the pandemic.
6 April 2020, 18:00 PM
It’s a good package, but its delivery holds the key
This is a good package committing 2.5 percent of GDP to keep businesses in industry and services afloat with a particular focus on protecting employment and labour income.
5 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Coronavirus: Are the policy and community responses adequate?
The government and the Bangladesh Bank have come up with several initiatives in response to the evolving public health and economic crisis.
29 March 2020, 18:00 PM