Is the Bangladesh Paradox Sustainable?

Diagnostic account of how institutions and politics have shaped the development of Bangladesh and reforms needed for further development.

This book offers a novel approach to the role of institutions in development and applies it to Bangladesh with special attention to historical context and the political economy. It will interest development professionals in international and bilateral development agencies, policy-makers in developing countries; academics and graduate students.Bangladesh is widely seen as a 'paradox'. Over the last quarter of a century, it has maintained economic growth and has outperformed many countries on social indicators while scoring very low on the quality of governance. Moreover, its economic progress does not seem to indicate significant improvement in comparative institutional indicators. Is the Bangladesh Paradox Sustainable? thus examines whether such a paradoxical combination can be sustained in the long run if growth continues with no improvement in the quality of institutions. It argues that although Bangladesh has become the second largest world exporter in the garments, export diversification is needed, both within and outside the garment sector, if it is to maintain its development pace. Based on a thorough account of the country's economic, social and political development, this companion volume analyzes Bangladesh's critical institution- and development-sensitive areas such as the garment sector, banking, taxation, land management, the judiciary, and education. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.