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Economic Policy Unit
The Economic Policy Unit provides
research and analysis to enable advocacy and campaigns in the field of
economic policy for social justice. The aim is to examine economic policies and development intervention strategies by exposing its underlying
paradigms and the impacts on the people, and to
explore alternative approaches to public policy questions. This Unit considers the processes and policies that
potentially influence national and regional development in the context of an
increasingly global economy. Research considerations include the roles of
institutions, government policies, market structures, distributional issues,
international trade and finance, and economic geography in explaining
development and welfare.
Programme Areas
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Macroeconomics
Fiscal and monetary policies, employment, public
expenditure, financial sector, capital market
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Trade
Multilateral,
regional and bilateral trade arrangements
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International
Institutions
International
Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and World Trade Organization
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Corporations
accountability,
transparency, responsibility
Publications
Bangladesh Public Policy Watch
Bangladesh Public Policy Watch, first of its kind in the country and annual in nature, provides an update on the state of economy and society. The aim of the Policy Watch is to examine development intervention strategies by exposing its underlying paradigms and the impacts on the people, and to explore alternative approaches to public policy questions.
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The Role of
IMF in Policy Making in Bangladesh
Unnayan Onneshan has organized a round table discussion on “The Role of IMF
in Policy Making in Bangladesh” at CIRDAP auditorium on 20th October, 2007.
Md. Iqbal Ahmed presented a paper on the issue. Ahmed showed the effect of
IMF policies with empirical data and ended with questioning its role.
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Bangladesh Public Policy Watch 2006
State of the Economy - Interim Report Released
This year's interim Bangladesh Public Policy Watch presents state of
the economy in Bangladesh for last ten years (FY1996-97 to FY2005-06),
with a view to stimulating public debate as the country progresses
towards another election. In an acrimonious atmosphere too often loud
with the clash of uniformed opinion and smug self-righteousness,
Bangladesh Public Policy Watch, like its past two annual volumes,
offers a rather old-fashioned contribution: evidence.
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Bangladesh Public Policy Watch 2005
Millenium Developmentt Goals: A Reality Check
This year's Bangladesh Public Policy Watch presents a reality check on the achievement of millennium development goals (MDGs) in Bangladesh. The timely theme provides an independent review of implementation
vis-a-vis the commitments made in UN Millenium Declaration (MD) by the largest-ever gathering of Heads of State in 2000 as they again meet from September 14 to 16, 2005 to take decision on how the governments have lived up to their promises.
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Bangladesh Public Policy Watch, 2004
The interim Bangladesh Public Policy Watch, 2004 is divided into two parts. The former provides an update on the recent developments of the current fiscal while the latter concentrates on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)**. The release coincided with the May 8-10, 2004 so-called "Bangladesh Development Forum", presided over by the World Bank.
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Summary of the Interim Bangladesh Public Policy Watch in Bangla
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Bangladesh National Budget 2006 - 2007: A Rapid Assessment
The rapid assessment is divided into three parts. The first part
locates the dynamics of fiscal measures to understand their
implications on the process of national output expansion, which is the
necessary condition for an economy to sustain in the coming years,
especially in view of reduction of poverty. The second section
analyses the budgetary allocation in light of the previous trends in
order to find out as to where the resource is going. The final section
attempts to understand the outcome of such exercise, particularly in
light of claims in the field of millennium development goals (MDGs)
which are prime target of the government, as stated in its poverty
reduction strategy paper, which according to the government is her
national strategy for development.
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A Rapid Assessment of WTO Hong Kong Mininsterial meeting
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Slippery Slopes: How Hong
Kong Empowers Rich Countries to Choke the LDCs – A Rapid
Assessment
This rapid assessment provides a brief account on the outcome
of the Hong Kong Ministerial. The rhetoric of a special
development package for the LDCs was aired in Hong Kong, and
was told that, for sure, this Ministerial delivered on the
promise of market access. The second part of the report
examines the claim and contains an illustrative exercise that
analyses the effectiveness of the deal by taking exportables
of a single country to a single country market. Given
the scenario, clearly, the country
in
question
would not have much
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benefit from the availed market access as her exports
concentrated mainly on few products and very limited number of
destinations. Apprehension is that many of the products under
different tariff lines, in which she has export interests
might be excluded from the market access - at least the US
proclamation portends of such apprehension. The country could
reap some benefit if she is capable enough to bargain with her
bilateral counterparts to avail such facilities for some of
the particular products, if not all, in which she has
particular export interests. However, this requires a lot of
ground work and, of course, it is inevitable to upgrade her
negotiation skills. The final part of the report, thus, ends
with some recommendations for the internal reflection and
elements of strategy the LDCs may choose for their onward
journey.
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Trade Negotiations and Livelihood of the
People (TNLP) Papers
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Demystifying
Effectiveness of Market Access for LDCs
A Case Study of Bangladesh
Apparel Exports to the USA
The rhetoric of
a special development package for the LDCs was
aired in
Hong Kong,
with the assurance that the Ministerial would deliver on the promise of
market access. The current study examine the effectiveness of the
DFQF provided to the products of LDCs, by taking exportables of a single
country to a single country market. For this purpose a trend analysis of
Bangladesh exports into the US market has been conducted for last six years.
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Sinking into Vulnerability
Erosion of Non-Reciprocal Preferences in WTO-NAMA:
The Case of Bangladesh
The erosion of non-reciprocal preference, envisaged to result from the possible MFN liberalisation, has received least attention in the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations. The paper attempts to measure the extent of the erosion of preference Bangladesh may incur in the EU and USA market. The erosion of preference has been estimated in response to proposals made in NAMA negotiations. The impact estimated on the basis of traditional measure of preference erosion, which shows that the magnitude of erosion of preference to be faced by Bangladesh in the EU market as a result of MFN tariff cut is quite significant based upon the value of coefficients.
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Plunging into Food Insecurity
Multilateral Liberalisation in Agriculture and the Concern of Net-food
Importing Countries: The Case of Bangladesh
The report attempts to understand the implications of multilateral agricultural liberalisation on food security situation of a net-food importing developing country.
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Undercutting Small Farmers
Rice Trade in Bangladesh and WTO Negotiations
Tyranny of the forced liberalisation with virtual absence of domestic support to Bangladesh agriculture and dishing out of bounty along the lines of rigged rules in the resource-rich countries have contributed to stall the reduction of rural poverty in Bangladesh, with a yearly average of 0.32 per cent implying that it would take 135 years to eradicate poverty and 43 years to achieve the target of the Millennium Development Goals.
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Unkept Promises
Non-agricultural Market Access at the WTO
A Case Study of Apparel Trade of Bangladesh
The people of Bangladesh and their compatriots in other least developed countries were promised time and again including in Marrakesh, Singapore, Geneva, and Doha that they would enjoy better livelihood and the disadvantaged would be lifted out of poverty by "improving effective participation in the multilateral trading system" and trade ministers are "committed to addressing the marginalization of least-developed countries in international trade".
The report provides an independent review of implementation
vis-a-vis the commitments made in such gatherings as they again meet from December 13 to 18, 2005 to take decision on how the governments have lived up to their promises.
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Dodging Development
Doha Round and Least Developed Countries
The people of the least developed countries (LDCs) are told many a time that free trade creates opportunity for all, speeds up growth and unchain the shackles of poverty and despair. They are again told that the current round of trade negotiations will, for sure, deliver on this promise. The practices in the international trading system are far away from the rhetoric: rich countries tilt the playing field against the poor. The trends set it all: the number of people living in extreme poverty will increase from 334 million people in 2000 to 471 million in 2015 in LDCs, if the present trends persist. The forecast of increase in poverty begs questioning the effectiveness of the current paradigm, its derived mechanisms and instruments.
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IFI Watch-Bangladesh
IFI Watch-Bangladeshcontains fact-sheets, opinion pieces and summaries of research reports that scrutinise and monitor the activities of World Bank, IMF, WTO, ADB, with special focus on their roles in Bangladesh.
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The Making of the Bank and the Fund above the Law in Bangladesh
IFI Watch Bangladesh, Vol.-2, No.- I
The amendment would give immunity to the WB and the IMF from all legal procedures. This would mean that the Brettonwoods institutions could not be taken to the court of law or be held liable for its actions by individuals, communities or the government. The Bill would strengthen the influence of international financial institutions (IFIs) over domestic policy decisions, therefore compromising the democratic process. The Bill would de facto make the WB and IMF organisations which share no responsibility to answer to the people, whom these are meant to serve.
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The World Bank and the Question of Immunity
IFI Watch Bangladesh, Vol.- 1, No.- I
The Cabinet in an unprecedented move approved on 4 July 2004 a draft bill to provide blanket immunity to the World Bank in Bangladesh by seeking an amendment to the International Financial Organisations Order 1972. It means that the Bank as an institution shares no responsibility to answer to the people it is meant to 'serve'. The Bank cannot be taken to court, it cannot be held liable for its actions by the people and the government.
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Bangla versions of various issues of IFI Watch-Bangladesh
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Policy (in) coherence in European Union Support to Developing Countries
The policy brief attempts to gauge the impact of EU policies on the people and economies of Bangladesh, Brazil and Kenya. The brief focuses to what extent the EC's development themselves form a coherent approach and contains in
depth country studies examining EU policies and their impact on poor people in developing countries.
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Collapse of Cancun - A Perspective on the Problematic
The paper attempts an enquiry into the failure of the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun in 2003 of the much-hyped Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The first part assembles divergent negotiating positions of major countries/blocs on the issues under multilateral trade negotiations, chiefly those at Cancun. The second part considers roles played different actors at Cancun and exposes imbalances that afflict developing countries. The final part ends with recommendations for the internal reflection by Bangladesh and elements of strategy she may choose for her onward journey.
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Barriers to Access to Public Services for the Urban Poor: An Enquiry into Dhaka Slums
The paper attempts to enhance understanding on the barriers to access to public services for the urban poor living in slums in Dhaka. Departing from the conventional conceptualisations, the investigation into the barriers to access to public services is built on the conceptual framework which is compatible with justice and rights. The paper finds that access to both kinds of services "universal form of services (i.e. services are to be made available to all citizens on a uniform basis regardless of income, status or power such as universal free primary education, the fire service, etc.) and those services where income, position or influence have the capacity to leverage particular individuals or groups" is affected by financial circumstances, creating different levels of access and situations in which the urban poor are disadvantageous from the outset.
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Learning for Skills Formation and Employability: A Strategic Framework for Informal Sector in Bangladesh
The formal work environment has undergone a process of rapid transformation in the context of globalisation and technological change, leaving the majority of the workforce in the informal sector. The informalisation of the labour market with concurrent changes in the concept of employability risks exclusion from employment for those without appropriate skills. The process of skill formation for informal sector is further challenged by inadequate capacity of the formal sector institutions. The system, according to the paper, has to evolve from the perspective of learning for skills formation and employability, wherein education, training and the acquisition of core skills is seen as a major, if not the main, instrument available to individuals to improve their chances in labour market, indoctrinated by the principles of decent work.
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Spinning the Chain; Lost in the Queue - International Restructuring and Bangladesh Women Garment Workers
The paper was presented at the first plenary "Global Trade Regime and Women Employment: Dynamics, Dilemmas and Downturns" Solidarity Forum for Garment Workers of LDCs, Dhaka; August 18-19, 2003
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