This book evaluates Bangladesh’s impressive economic and social progress, more often referred to as a ‘development surprise’. In doing so, the book examines the gap in existing explanations of Bangladesh’s development and then offers an empirically informed analysis of a range of distinctive factors, policies, and actions that have individually and collectively contributed to the progress of Bangladesh. In an inclusive way, the book covers the developmental role, relation, and impact of poverty reduction, access to finance, progress in education and social empowerment, reduction in the climatic vulnerability, and evolving sectoral growth activities in the agriculture, garments, and light industries. It also takes into account the important role of the government and NGOs in the development process, identifies bottlenecks and challenges to Bangladesh’s future development path and suggests measures to overcome them. By providing an inclusive narrative to theorize Bangladesh’s development, which is still missing in the public discourse, this book posits that Bangladesh per se can offer a development model to other developing countries.

This book discusses Bangladesh’s economic and social development that may be called a “miracle” since the country has achieved remarkable development progress under several unfavorable situations: weak governance and political instabilities, inequality, risks entailed in rapid urbanization, and exposure to severe disaster risks. The authors examine what led to this successful economic development, and the potential challenges that it presents, aiming to elicit effective policy interventions that can be adapted by other developing countries.

This book explains the macro-drivers of growth behind the economic development of Bangladesh. Few countries in the developing world have shown as exciting a promise of economic prosperity as Bangladesh. The promising nature of the Bangladeshi economy raises interesting questions pertaining to whether good governance may lead to sustained economic growth. This book looks at the strategic interventions on macro-level, specifically the policy interventions. This book will be a useful reference to making sense how economic transformation can be strengthened through state-sponsored activities and how states can inculcate a culture of innovation which can be regarded as one of the underpinnings of economic growth.

This book explores the diverse experience of Bangladesh’s development over the last fifty years and provides systematic explanations of its success in socioeconomic development. It also assesses future trends on the basis of past experiences. It is widely acknowledged that Bangladesh provides one of the most striking examples in the study of present day development along with rapid growth and catching up. The analysis highlights the development traps that Bangladesh faced during its journey and the ones that may have to be faced in the coming decades in order to move towards prosperity. The book asserts that explaining Bangladesh’s development is not for the simpleminded; any single mono-causal explanation for Bangladesh’s development is bound to fall down in the face of reality. This book will be of interest to academics, students, policy makers and development practitioners especially in developing countries—in particular in South Asia and Bangladesh.

Women have experienced significant changes in various spheres of their lives during the last decades as Bangladesh made economic progress. Yet women’s economic engagement and empowerment are subdued, as they cannot make sufficient choices for themselves. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic developments in gender equality in Bangladesh. Through examining women’s participation in the labour force, ownership and control of household assets, use and control of financial assets, and opportunities for entrepreneurship, the authors have made concrete recommendations to overcome challenges that lie ahead for women’s economic empowerment. This book is an important contribution to the knowledge on interventions required by the policy makers and broader stakeholders towards narrowing gender gaps. --Fahmida Khatun, PhD, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh The women’s story is central to Bangladesh’s economic and social transformation. There is an urgent need to deepen researched understanding of the multidimensional pathways of women’s economic empowerment and extent of real progress made. Voices to Choices is an important contribution to this story. Surely, the journey of women’s economic empowerment remains a long and challenging one. Realizing the full benefits of new opportunities is often hampered by both new and entrenched insecurities. The task is as much one of empowering women’s agency as of dismantling barriers. The responsibility is as much women’s as society’s. --Hossain Zillur Rahman, PhD, Executive Chairman, Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) This book provides critical insights and is timely, as it outlines how girls and women in Bangladesh have gained more opportunities in labor force participation, control over household and financial assets, as well as greater prospects for entrepreneurship. The findings will greatly contribute to future policy and planning for government and key stakeholders working to advance women’s economic empowerment in the country. --Sabina Faiz Rashid, PhD, Dean and Professor, BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health BRAC University

The book provides an exhaustive inquiry of Bangladesh s seasonal hunger with special focus on the northwest region where it is more pronounced than in other areas. It also presents an evaluation of several policy interventions launched recently in mitigating seasonality.

Bangladesh seeks to attain middle-income status by 2021. To accelerate growth enough to do so, Bangladesh needs to build a competitive urban space that is innovative, connected and livable. This book identifies what is unique about Bangladesh's process of urbanization and examines the implications for economic growth.