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| Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Lecture, Oslo, December 10, 2006 (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/yunus-lecture-en.html) . |
| “Poverty is a Threat to Peace” |
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| Current Hot Topics / Features |
| Bangladesh Awakening IFPRI film produced for the Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum 2010. |
| Southern Promise IFPRI video produced for the Bangladesh Food Security Policy Workshop (Oct. 4-5, 2011). |
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| Easy Like Water A visionary architect is building floating schools to turn the front lines of climate change into a community of learning. |
June 11, 2017: Bangladesh Leads in Solar Home System Installations Worldwide
As reported by Mohammad Al-Masum Molla in the Daily Star, Bangladesh has topped a global
list of countries that have installed the highest number of Solar Home Systems (SHS). Based on
the “Renewables 2017 Global Status Report” of the more than 6 million SHS and kits in
operation worldwide as of 2016, Bangladesh has, with more than 4 million units installed, the
largest SHS market worldwide.
LEARN MORE (Daily Star News Report) --->
LEARN MORE (Renewables 2017 Global Status Report) --->
______________________________________________________________________
May 25, 2017: FDI Flow Still Slow Despite Policy Support
Bangladesh is not getting foreign direct investment (FDI) at an expected level although the
government has taken different initiatives to give easy access to such funds, analysts said
yesterday. Furthermore, private sector investment accounts for only 23 percent of the country’s
GDP, which has also failed to meet the expectations.
LEARN MORE (Daily Star News Report) --->
LEARN MORE (See Chapter 6 of a new book on Bangladesh’s economy) --->
______________________________________________________________________
May 1, 2017: Bangladesh Moves to Burn Grain for Fuel
Reuters reports that Bangladesh plans to begin turning some of the grain it produces into
ethanol to make its fuel greener – but economists and experts warn the move could hurt food
security in a country that is already a grain importer.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
April 24, 2017: Growth without Good Governance is Hollow
As reported by the Daily Star, economic growth would be meaningless unless there is good
governance, said Akbar Ali Khan, former caretaker government adviser, yesterday at a
discussion, which was part of a two-day annual event of the Bangladesh Institute of
Development Studies (BIDS).
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
April 18, 2017: Bangladesh Bank appoints Dr. Faisal Ahmed as Chief Economist
Dr. Faisal Ahmed, who previously held several positions at the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), including IMF representative to Cambodia from 2011-15,
has been appointed Chief Economist of Bangladesh’s central bank. He has
worked as a Senior Economic Adviser to the Governor of Bangladesh Bank
since August 2015. Dr. Ahmed holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University
of Minnesota and a master’s degree in finance from Princeton University.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
April 3, 2017: WFP Reaffirms Its Commitment to Zero Hunger in Bangladesh
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is launching a new four-year Country
Strategic Plan (CSP) 2017-2020 designed to strengthen and support the Government of
Bangladesh in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of “Zero Hunger” by 2030.
The CSP Bangladesh is budgeted at USD 201.6 million and reflects an evolution in WFP’s way
of working from being a deliverer of food assistance to an enabler of governments to achieve
national hunger solutions. WFP will work to improve malnutrition, to ensure access to food, to
support sustainable food systems, and to support emergency preparedness activities. WFP will
be capitalizing on decades of operational experience in Bangladesh and around the world to
support the government with technical assistance, operational know-how and evidence to
inform policies.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
April 1, 2017: Backtracking on U.S. Climate Pledges Affects Bangladesh and U.S.
In an open letter to the American people, Dr. Saleemul Huq (Director of the International Centre
for Climate Change and Development at Independent University, Bangladesh) writes that
President Trump’s backtracking on U.S. climate pledges will affect Bangladesh. However, the
biggest impact of President Trump’s executive order will ultimately fall on his own citizens as
homes, roads, and other infrastructure may be built with no regard to the rising risk of floods,
droughts, or storms.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
March 5, 2017: Making the Budget More Vibrant
In an Op-ed of the Daily Star, Dr. Biru Paksha Paul (the former Chief Economist of the
Bangladesh Bank) states that the time has come to change the structure and attitude of the
Government’s Budget. He refers to a dysfunctionality of the Budget’s annual development
programme (ADP), which is illustrated by the fact that only 50 percent of the ADP was
implemented in the first 10 months of the last fiscal year (FY 2016). Despite record progress,
the ADP’s implementation during the first 7 months of the current FY 2017 was only 33 percent.
Dr. Paul suggests that the best way to end the recurring dramas of ADP failures and the
pipeline stories of unused foreign resources is to create an independent infrastructure part in
the budget as soon as possible.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
February 13, 2017: New IMF Training and Technical Assistance Center Inaugurated
A new South Asia Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) was officially
inaugurated on February 13, 2017. SARTTAC is a collaborative venture between the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and
development partners. The Center aims at helping its member countries strengthen their
institutional and human capacity to design and implement macroeconomic and financial policies
that promote growth and reduce poverty.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
January 28, 2017: Take Action to Protect Girls
Bangladesh has made strides in passing progressive laws for women and girls. But a new law
aimed at ending child marriage could include a ‘special circumstances’ clause where young girls
may be forced to marry their rapists.
LEARN MORE (and see how you can help) --->
______________________________________________________________________
January 4, 2017: Bangladesh Development Bibliography contains 29,000+ entries
The BDRC’s Bangladesh Development Bibliography of this Millennium contains now more than
29 thousand entries. This bibliography is freely available on the BDRC website.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
Previous Hot Topics
As reported by Mohammad Al-Masum Molla in the Daily Star, Bangladesh has topped a global
list of countries that have installed the highest number of Solar Home Systems (SHS). Based on
the “Renewables 2017 Global Status Report” of the more than 6 million SHS and kits in
operation worldwide as of 2016, Bangladesh has, with more than 4 million units installed, the
largest SHS market worldwide.
LEARN MORE (Daily Star News Report) --->
LEARN MORE (Renewables 2017 Global Status Report) --->
______________________________________________________________________
May 25, 2017: FDI Flow Still Slow Despite Policy Support
Bangladesh is not getting foreign direct investment (FDI) at an expected level although the
government has taken different initiatives to give easy access to such funds, analysts said
yesterday. Furthermore, private sector investment accounts for only 23 percent of the country’s
GDP, which has also failed to meet the expectations.
LEARN MORE (Daily Star News Report) --->
LEARN MORE (See Chapter 6 of a new book on Bangladesh’s economy) --->
______________________________________________________________________
May 1, 2017: Bangladesh Moves to Burn Grain for Fuel
Reuters reports that Bangladesh plans to begin turning some of the grain it produces into
ethanol to make its fuel greener – but economists and experts warn the move could hurt food
security in a country that is already a grain importer.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
April 24, 2017: Growth without Good Governance is Hollow
As reported by the Daily Star, economic growth would be meaningless unless there is good
governance, said Akbar Ali Khan, former caretaker government adviser, yesterday at a
discussion, which was part of a two-day annual event of the Bangladesh Institute of
Development Studies (BIDS).
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
April 18, 2017: Bangladesh Bank appoints Dr. Faisal Ahmed as Chief Economist
Dr. Faisal Ahmed, who previously held several positions at the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), including IMF representative to Cambodia from 2011-15,
has been appointed Chief Economist of Bangladesh’s central bank. He has
worked as a Senior Economic Adviser to the Governor of Bangladesh Bank
since August 2015. Dr. Ahmed holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University
of Minnesota and a master’s degree in finance from Princeton University.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
April 3, 2017: WFP Reaffirms Its Commitment to Zero Hunger in Bangladesh
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is launching a new four-year Country
Strategic Plan (CSP) 2017-2020 designed to strengthen and support the Government of
Bangladesh in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of “Zero Hunger” by 2030.
The CSP Bangladesh is budgeted at USD 201.6 million and reflects an evolution in WFP’s way
of working from being a deliverer of food assistance to an enabler of governments to achieve
national hunger solutions. WFP will work to improve malnutrition, to ensure access to food, to
support sustainable food systems, and to support emergency preparedness activities. WFP will
be capitalizing on decades of operational experience in Bangladesh and around the world to
support the government with technical assistance, operational know-how and evidence to
inform policies.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
April 1, 2017: Backtracking on U.S. Climate Pledges Affects Bangladesh and U.S.
In an open letter to the American people, Dr. Saleemul Huq (Director of the International Centre
for Climate Change and Development at Independent University, Bangladesh) writes that
President Trump’s backtracking on U.S. climate pledges will affect Bangladesh. However, the
biggest impact of President Trump’s executive order will ultimately fall on his own citizens as
homes, roads, and other infrastructure may be built with no regard to the rising risk of floods,
droughts, or storms.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
March 5, 2017: Making the Budget More Vibrant
In an Op-ed of the Daily Star, Dr. Biru Paksha Paul (the former Chief Economist of the
Bangladesh Bank) states that the time has come to change the structure and attitude of the
Government’s Budget. He refers to a dysfunctionality of the Budget’s annual development
programme (ADP), which is illustrated by the fact that only 50 percent of the ADP was
implemented in the first 10 months of the last fiscal year (FY 2016). Despite record progress,
the ADP’s implementation during the first 7 months of the current FY 2017 was only 33 percent.
Dr. Paul suggests that the best way to end the recurring dramas of ADP failures and the
pipeline stories of unused foreign resources is to create an independent infrastructure part in
the budget as soon as possible.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
February 13, 2017: New IMF Training and Technical Assistance Center Inaugurated
A new South Asia Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) was officially
inaugurated on February 13, 2017. SARTTAC is a collaborative venture between the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and
development partners. The Center aims at helping its member countries strengthen their
institutional and human capacity to design and implement macroeconomic and financial policies
that promote growth and reduce poverty.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
January 28, 2017: Take Action to Protect Girls
Bangladesh has made strides in passing progressive laws for women and girls. But a new law
aimed at ending child marriage could include a ‘special circumstances’ clause where young girls
may be forced to marry their rapists.
LEARN MORE (and see how you can help) --->
______________________________________________________________________
January 4, 2017: Bangladesh Development Bibliography contains 29,000+ entries
The BDRC’s Bangladesh Development Bibliography of this Millennium contains now more than
29 thousand entries. This bibliography is freely available on the BDRC website.
LEARN MORE --->
______________________________________________________________________
Previous Hot Topics
