The purpose of this report is to document some of the aforementioned achievements over the 2000-2010 decade and to illustrate their collective impact on poverty in Bangladesh.
... انظر المزيد + Analysis is undertaken to identify which factors contributed to the rapid decline in poverty over time. The main limitation of this report is that the analysis is based on a limited number of data sources, which do not cover all aspects of the poverty reduction process. Nevertheless, to the extent possible, the analysis covers the key drivers of poverty reduction over what has been a remarkable decade for Bangladesh. The report is organized into four parts. Part one focuses on explaining poverty patterns observed over the 2000-2010 period, noting qualitative differences between the first and second half of the decade. The analysis in chapter one offers poverty projections based on survey data from this period. Chapter two describes some key characteristics of the poor. Using poverty decomposition methodology, part two identifies the main drivers of the poverty reduction experienced over the last decade. Chapter three shows that the two most important contributors to poverty reduction over the 2000-2010 periods were the growth of labor income and the declining dependency ratio. The remaining two chapters in this section focus on labor income and demographic factors to understand their respective linkages to poverty. The past few years have underscored the importance of global factors affecting country-level outcomes. However, the series of shocks that affected Bangladesh in 2007-2008 did not significantly slow down the speed of poverty reduction. In Chapters six and seven of part three, the report attempts to uncover some of the reasons underlying Bangladesh's resilience to these global shocks as well as the way in which poor households cope with seasonal shocks, which are a permanent feature of some rural parts of the country, namely Rangpur. Chapters eight and nine explore the role of safety nets and microfinance in helping households deal with shocks and poverty. In part four, chapter ten revisits one of the key findings of the World Bank poverty assessment of 2005 (published in 2008).
رؤية أقل ـ
Bangladesh sixth five year plan underscores the importance of exports for dynamism in the manufacturing sector and provision of high productivity and high income jobs.
... انظر المزيد + Indeed, faster export growth will be critical if Bangladesh is to achieve the accelerated growth necessary to reach its goal of becoming a middle income country by 2021. The focus of this study is to analyze the constraints to continued rapid growth in overall exports. This study seeks to focus on issues relating to i) continuation of fast growth in the basic garment sector; ii) providing an environment for encouraging export of mid and higher-value garments; iii) possibilities for diversification into IT-enabled services-business process outsourcing, or ITES-BPO; and iv) drawing some more general lessons for overall export growth.
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Bangladesh is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world. Situated in the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna (GBM) rivers, the country is exposed to a range of river and rainwater flood hazards due to climate variability, the timing, location, and extent of which depend on precipitation in the entire GBM basin.
... انظر المزيد + The Government of Bangladesh is fully committed to global climate-change advocacy and action, having already invested heavily in adaptation measures and policies. In recent decades, the government has invested more than US$10 billion to protect its population and assets in the floodplains. Given the uncertain magnitude and timing of the added risks from climate change, it is essential to identify the costs of climate proofing Bangladesh's critical infrastructure from intensified monsoon floods and cyclonic storm surges. Previously, few if any detailed studies have been developed on the costs of climate-proofing the country's infrastructure assets from inland monsoon floods and cyclones. Most analytical work to date has been confined to case studies, with relatively limited sets of locations, impacts, and adaptation measures. This study aims to fill that knowledge gap by providing detailed vulnerable population estimates and estimates of the incremental costs of asset adaptation out to the year 2050. It is part of a larger World Bank-supported study, entitled Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change (EACC), funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
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This report presents findings from the first ever comprehensive survey to document the incidence and quality of secondary madrasas in Bangladesh.
... انظر المزيد + Analysis also draws upon other publicly available administrative and household level datasets. Currently the authors have very little information on school quality in general due to no national learning assessment system and because schools from different streams are tested under different Boards. Thus it is always important to examine the quality of aided madrasas relative to aided secular schools. The report highlights new challenges: while gender equality in access has been achieved in both schools and madrasas, girls remain systematically disadvantaged in terms of learning outcomes. The female learning penalty remain is particularly pronounced in case of madrasas. Overall, the quality of mathematics and English learning is low in madrasas, but performance of students of mainstream schools is also unsatisfactory average quality remains poor across the range of rural institutions. Overall, this report represents an empirically grounded investigation into the hitherto undocumented changes Bangladesh has witnessed in the secondary madrasa school sector in the past two decades. Based on their analysis, the authors suggest a range of policy initiatives that cover the entire secondary education sector, not just the madarasa education. Given the wealth of data collected on secondary institutions and households during the survey, this report only represents the first of a series of rigorous empirical research and analysis which will be undertaken. It is hoped that the report will provide an impetus towards an evidence-based policy debate on madrasas and other critical issues in the education sector.
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مذكرة سياسة 56600 MAR 01, 2010
Chaudhury, Nazmul; Asadullah, Niaz; Al Zayed, Syed Rashed
Bangladesh has recorded impressive economic and social gains since the 1990s. Recent growth has been at levels close to six percent. The country has doubled per capita growth and taken large strides toward reaching many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), ahead of many comparable countries.
... انظر المزيد + Attaining the MDGs calls for accelerating economic growth to six-seven percent a year. Accordingly, Bangladesh's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), ?unlocking the potential, puts into sharp focus the need for investment climate improvements, as well as inclusive growth and empowering the poor. Accelerating growth will require greater investment - to aid diversification into areas of comparative advantage and to finance infrastructure - and higher productivity. This in turn calls for a substantial improvement in the investment climate. The strategy as laid out in the PRSP promotes an enabling business environment as a key to Bangladesh's development - by improving trade policies, enhancing the legal and regulatory environment for the private sector, developing an effective competition policy, establishing policies friendly to foreign direct investment, and deepening financial sector reforms. Addressing labor skills and education is critical to improving productivity. Improvements in the policy environment for energy development are central to this effort, by strengthening the institutional framework, addressing distorted pricing, and encouraging accountable and transparent processes for investment decisions. Equitable growth and empowerment of the poor further call for strengthening of high-growth rural and peri-urban areas with natural potential, via services and infrastructure provision to such promising growth poles. With sustained growth, the scarcity of certain resources (energy, finance, land, labor skills) has started to strain the economy's growth and productivity gains. Along those lines, authors hope that this report will highlight successful strategies to unblock bottlenecks in basic resource markets and the investment environment, informing the policy dialogue and allowing for the economy and development of Bangladesh to forge ahead in a rapid, robust, and socially equitable manner.
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تقييم مناخ الاستثمار 56635 OCT 01, 2008
Alam, G. M. Khurshid; Rahman, Aneeka; Shilpi, Forhad J.; Fernandes, Ana Margarida; Sur, Mona; Islam, Syed Estem Dadul; Hye, Sakm Abdul; Nenova, Tatiana
Bangladesh has made good progress in reducing poverty over the past decade despite the series of external shocks which have routinely affected the country.
... انظر المزيد + Poverty fell from 49 percent in 2000 to 40 percent in 2005, propelled by respectable economic growth and relatively stable inequality. These statistics are reflected in tangible improvements in poor people's lives, such as a sharp reduction in those living under flimsy straw roofs in rural areas. Unfortunately, climatic shocks such as the 2007 floods and cyclone, as well as rising food prices, have slowed the country's progress in reducing poverty. Despite these setbacks we expect that Bangladesh will reach its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. Poverty reduction is not just about improving household income, but also about enhancing human capability. Our optimism in Bangladesh's future is also based on its significant gains in human development over the past 15 years. Despite its recent progress in reducing poverty, Bangladesh remains a poor country with about 56 million poor people in 2005 and continuing disparities across occupational groups, gender, and regions. Although growing regional inequality is characteristic of many developing countries experiencing rapid economic growth, Bangladesh is somewhat unique in that the natural boundaries created by its rivers limit integration between economically unequal geographic areas. This report shows that higher productivity in agriculture, job creation in urban growth poles and promoting migration will be essential for further poverty reduction across Bangladesh. Sustaining this reduction will require maintaining the progress made thus far in slowing population growth, and providing better quality options in schooling and healthcare. Another urgent priority is to better coordinate the country's existing safety net system in order to expand effective programs in line with the needs of the poor.
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This report attempts to take stock of where Bangladesh stands in achieving the Education For All (EFA) goals and to suggest policy recommendations that could help towards meeting them by 2015.
... انظر المزيد + Among the six EFA goals: 1) ensure universal primary education for all children by 2015; 2) eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieve gender equity in education by 2015; 3) improve early childhood care and education; 4) ensure equitable access to 'life skills' programs; 5) achieve a 50 percent increase in adult literacy by 2015, especially for women; and 6) improve all aspects of the quality of education. This report focuses mainly on: (i) universal primary enrollment for all children; (ii) universal primary completion; (iii) gender parity in education; (iv) adult literacy; and (v) quality of education. This is because these areas can be meaningfully analyzed with reasonably reliable information from various sources.
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Bangladesh stands out as the shining new example in South Asia of a poor country achieving impressive gains in gender equality. Between 1971 and 2004, Bangladesh halved its fertility rates.
... انظر المزيد + In much of the country today, girls' secondary school attendance exceeds that of boys. The gender gap in infant mortality has been closed. The scholarly work that came out of the micro credit revolution is based on large and unique data sets and high quality ethnographic work and has set a high bar for evidence-based policy proposals. Beyond a doubt, Bangladesh has made great progress in achieving gender equality and enhancing the status of women. Its success in girls' education, reducing fertility and mortality and the famed microcredit revolution are some of the gains that set it apart from its neighbors and other countries of its income level. When young women and their families were asked what this meant for them and how their lives were different from their mothers', the unexpectedly common theme was "finding a voice" or "being able to speak" or "being listened to".
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دراسة بشأن المرأة في التنمية والمساواة بين الجنسين 43045 MAR 01, 2008
Pharmaceuticals are an extremely important part of health-care expenditures in Bangladesh. Almost one-third of total annual per capita health-care spending is on pharmaceuticals.
... انظر المزيد + The domestic pharmaceutical market in Bangladesh is cost-sensitive, protected from imports, and has a loose regulatory environment. While some domestic manufacturers produce pharmaceuticals of world-class standards, others can and do flourish with a lower quality product. Previous efforts to improve access to drugs have not been very successful. The focus on the pricing and quality of drugs has called for tighter regulation of the market. However, the pharmaceutical sector and the Bangladeshi population have a joint interest in accessing pharmaceuticals of good quality and at a competitive cost. This paper explores new ways to address the issue through the private sector.
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The case studies presented in this volume examine five high value agricultural commodities in Bangladesh. They identify a number of important opportunities, challenges, and requirements that agro-businesses in the in the country now face and are likely to face in coming years as they seek to respond to changing demand.
... انظر المزيد + Access to timely and reliable market information and to new technologies will go far in determining the competitiveness and profitability of a number of industries and sub-sector treated here. Establishing an enabling and environment and improving the investment climate for agro-business can substantially reduce the costs of doing business. For the same reason, upgrading the country's infrastructure, particularly its troubled electricity infrastructure, is a critical priority. Greater attention to quality and food safety may increase some agro-business costs, but can also serve to manage and reduce risks and increase competitiveness. High value agriculture requires substantial technical expertise, and much will ride on the development of human capital to enable people to participate in the production and management of high value products.
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دراسة أخرى بشأن المناطق الريفية 45760 FEB 01, 2008
As a first step in defining a new policy for the Inland Water Transport (IWT) sector, the present report proposes options and strategies for a revival of IWT in Bangladesh.
... انظر المزيد + While lack of resources has been claimed to be the main cause of poor sector performance, the report does not limit itself to exploring options to increase the amount of resources available for the sector. Indeed, poor performance has been caused by other reasons as well which need to be addressed in the new policy. The report thus also examines the means to improve the efficiency in the use of these resources as well as the quality of the sector management and services provided by the sector operators. The report includes comments received from a number of stakeholders and was presented during a workshop held in Dhaka on February 28, 2007.
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If Bangladesh were a long-distance runner, its supporters would be applauding the speed and stamina that have brought it from the back of the pack to a place within sight of the leaders.
... انظر المزيد + This paper includes an overview and nine chapters on firm-level productivity, accelerating income growth, the labor market, trade liberalization and export competitiveness, urban development and economic growth, sub-national income and expenditure dynamics, governance and growth, creating a more efficient financial system, and infrastructure and growth.
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The report, Dhaka: Improving living conditions for the urban poor, presents a comprehensive look at poverty in Dhaka with the goal of providing the basis for an urban poverty reduction strategy for the Government of Bangladesh, local authorities, donors and NGOs.
... انظر المزيد + Given the magnitude of the problems, this study focuses on analyzing those issues that are most critical for the poor - understanding the characteristics and dynamics of poverty, employment, land and housing, basic services, and crime and violence. The study reflects new analysis on these topics, and is based on extensive consultations in Dhaka. This analysis will provide a platform for developing recommendations for policy reform as Dhaka endeavors to meet the growing challenges and urgent needs of the urban poor. Each chapter concludes with a set of recommended priorities for poverty reduction.
رؤية أقل ـ
Bangladesh has made considerable progress in its economic development, presently reaching high average growth of nearly 6 percent. This economic growth has been accompanied by an annual employment growth rate of about 5 percent between 1996 and 2006.
... انظر المزيد + Increasing rate of female labor participation, generation of industrial sector employment triggered by growth in foreign direct investment, and public workfare programs that create non-farm employment in the rural areas have all contributed to this increase. In order to accelerate this growth process, Bangladesh's National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction appropriately identifies the need to promote vocational training and skill development. This report attempts to contribute to a better understanding of Bangladesh's labor market dynamics and its interaction with the vocational education and training system.
رؤية أقل ـ
Bangladesh has achieved an impressive steady economic growth of more than 5.5 percent annually over the last decade. However, this growth rate will need to increase dramatically if Bangladesh is to reach the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015.
... انظر المزيد + Critical to achieving this growth is private domestic and foreign direct investment. Both domestic and foreign investors in Bangladesh face many constraints which can be addressed by Export Processing Zones (EPZs), industrial parks and Special Economic Zones (SEZs). However, for zones to have an impact on poverty reduction, they must be part of a larger economic growth strategy which allows for an overall improved investment climate in Bangladesh. The report piloting reform through the development and management of economic zones recommends that Bangladesh pursue reforms that leverage the benefits of public-private partnerships. The public sector can allocate large tracts of developable land for the purpose of developing economic zones and provide the necessary regulatory oversight, while the private sector may offer expertise in zone development and management along principles of demand responsiveness and commercial viability. This study recommends that Bangladesh implement three parallel and inter-related reform tracks, which firstly aim to rehabilitate and commercialize existing publicly-managed economic processing zones and industrial estate properties to better serve the needs of their tenants. Secondly, the need to develop new, modern zones based on public-private partnerships. Lastly, the report suggests the creation of a large special economic zone, to be implemented on a single property by a master developer, reflecting integrated planning practice and fair and transparent processes of land acquisition, resettlement and compensation.
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This report highlights governance issues in Bangladesh's HNP sector that hinder the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. This study is intended as a first step in gaining a better understanding of how to improve governance and service management in the HNP sector.
... انظر المزيد + It is hoped that these findings will assist the Government of Bangladesh to initiate and to implement policy decisions and strategies that will reduce system losses, strengthen accountability mechanisms and ensure value for money. The object of this study is to better understand what improvements in governance would assist the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) in reducing system losses and strengthening accountability in the Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) sector. The ultimate goal of this research is to offer the Government of Bangladesh strategies to improve HNP service delivery for all Bangladeshis and for the poor and vulnerable in particular. This report examines systemic deficiencies in the HNP sector caused by fiduciary risks. One major limitation of the study is that it addresses difficult and sensitive issues from a technical and prescriptive viewpoint using data from a small sample rather than considering political feasibility. While the technical analysis could benefit from in-depth political and economic analysis, that research is well beyond the scope of this study. Nonetheless, that analysis could form part of a continuing research study or it could be included in the design of pilot interventions in better governance for Bangladesh.
رؤية أقل ـ
Bangladesh has already achieved one of the millennium development goals (MGDs), namely gender parity in primary and secondary schools. It is likely to achieve several more by 2015.
... انظر المزيد + This report analyzes the specific policy and institutional reforms required for Bangladesh to increase its rate of progress toward the MDGs.
رؤية أقل ـ
The trading relationship between India and Bangladesh is currently of special interest in both countries for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are urgent and longstanding concerns in Bangladesh arising from the perennial, large bilateral trade deficit with India, and from the large volumes of informal imports from India across the land border which avoid Bangladesh import duties.
... انظر المزيد + These concerns have been particularly acute on the Bangladesh side in the context of discussions between the two governments of the possibility of a bilateral free trade agreement along the lines of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Secondly, even though (because of the disparity in the size of the two economies) India's trading relationship with Bangladesh is much less significant for it than it is for Bangladesh, closer economic integration with Bangladesh is nevertheless seen as a very important way of reducing the economic and political isolation of the seven Indian eastern and north eastern states from the rest of the country. Finally, both countries have long shared common objectives for closer economic integration within the South Asia region, and these have recently been re-emphasized by signing on to South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), which takes effect in January 2006. This report summarizes and attempts to draw out and synthesize some of the main conclusions of a series of consultant papers on various aspects of the trading relationship between India and Bangladesh. The paper includes two volumes: a main report, and the methodology and selected case studies.
رؤية أقل ـ
The trading relationship between India and Bangladesh is currently of special interest in both countries for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are urgent and longstanding concerns in Bangladesh arising from the perennial, large bilateral trade deficit with India, and from the large volumes of informal imports from India across the land border which avoid Bangladesh import duties.
... انظر المزيد + These concerns have been particularly acute on the Bangladesh side in the context of discussions between the two governments of the possibility of a bilateral free trade agreement along the lines of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Secondly, even though (because of the disparity in the size of the two economies) India's trading relationship with Bangladesh is much less significant for it than it is for Bangladesh, closer economic integration with Bangladesh is nevertheless seen as a very important way of reducing the economic and political isolation of the seven Indian eastern and north eastern states from the rest of the country. Finally, both countries have long shared common objectives for closer economic integration within the South Asia region, and these have recently been re-emphasized by signing on to South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), which takes effect in January 2006. This report summarizes and attempts to draw out and synthesize some of the main conclusions of a series of consultant papers on various aspects of the trading relationship between India and Bangladesh. The paper includes two volumes: a main report, and the methodology and selected case studies.
رؤية أقل ـ
Complex linkages between poverty, growth and environmental management underpin the analysis in the present Bangladesh Country Environmental Analysis.
... انظر المزيد + This report identifies three significant issues that need priority attention: (i) urban and indoor air pollution threats to human health; (ii) treatment of urban and industrial sewage in Dhaka; and (iii) the continuous decline of capture fisheries. The negative impacts of these environmental issues are costly to the poor and the economy alike: they are estimated at more than percent of GDP in this report. The report proposes a set of actions in each of these areas, and also identifies a series of measures that could be taken to strengthen environmental governance, which forms an overarching constraint to improved environmental management across all issues. While the report estimates the economic losses associated with the environmental impacts considered, it does not provide a benefit-cost or cost-effectiveness analysis of the proposed mitigating actions. It will be important to examine the costs of the proposed actions in more detail as an element of the follow-up work in each of the priority areas.
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