Bangladesh

The IGC-Bangladesh programme is in the process of formulating a strategy to respond to long-standing policy questions, such as governance, non-traditional export prospects beyond garments, rationalisation of the tax system, poverty alleviation (including the impact of microcredit), and improvements in social indicators. The program is also looking at short- to medium-term work on climate change, urbanisation under intense population density and skill formation in a rapidly expanding labour force.

The IGC-Bangladesh office is hosted by the Economic Research Group in Dhaka. Below are details of current IGC activities, both country engagement and individual research projects.

Wahiduddin Mahmud
: Country Coordinator
Sajjad Zohir
: Country Co -Coordinator
Mushfiq Mobarak
: Lead Academic
Fahad Khalil
: Lead Academic
Ravid Chowdhury
: Data Fellow
Veronica Prado
: Hub Economist
Anik Ashraf
: In-Country Economist

Explore our Research

Can Entrepreneurship Programs Transform the Lives of the Poor?
Event
Author: igcadmin:
Linking Research to Policy: Issues in Economic Growth and Development in Bangladesh
Event
Author: igcadmin:
Mitigating Seasonal Hunger: Evidence from Northwest Bangladesh
Policy brief
Author: igcadmin:
The policy brief sheds light on the causes and nature of seasonal hunger in northwest Bangladesh, a region which has been particularly prone to seasonal poverty and hunger for a long time. The authors examine the impacts of alternative measures currently in place to mitigate seasonal hunger in this region,…
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Encouraging Seasonal Migration to Mitigate the Consequences of a Seasonal Famine in Rural Bangladesh
Policy brief
Author: Adam.Green:
In Bangladesh, during the annual seasonal famine, incomes decrease by 50-60% and expenditures on food drop by 10-25%. The government has instituted food or cash-for-work programs, while NGOs attempt to enhance income and employment mostly through credit and to a lesser extent through job training and marketing initiatives. However, there is…
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Value Chain Upgrading, Management and Productivity: Evidence from Bangladesh Woven and Knitwear Sectors
Research Project
Author: Chris Woodruff
In recent years the Bangladesh knitwear sector has witnessed extremely rapid growth. IGC researchers explore Bangladesh’s ability to expand exports in the garment sector. Data will be used to produce a summary report of recent entry of exporters into new product lines and countries. The initial work will form the…
Searching for Exporting and FDI Spillovers in Bangladesh
Research Project
Author: Andrés Rodríguez-Clare
IGC researchers look to identify sources of data that can be used to understand the evolution of Bangladeshi exports at different levels of aggregation.
What determines religious school choice in rural Bangladesh?
Research Project
Author: Niaz Asadullah
Bangladesh is home to a large and rapidly growing number of registered secondary madrasas (Islamic faith schools). Whilst studies document low level of achievement across all registered educational institution types, it is particularly low in registered madrasas. If registered madrasa schools do not boost cognitive skills, their graduates are…
Transit Arrangements for Indian Trade Through Bangladesh
Research Project
Author: Sadiq Ahmed
Landlocked countries and landlocked regions within countries depend on transit facilities provided by contiguous neighbors for their domestic and international trade, which can result in high costs and low trade. This project reviews the implementation of a transit agreement between India and Bangladesh and explores its potential to generate trade…
The ICT Sector in Bangladesh: An Analysis of Firm Capabilities
Research Project
Author: Monzur Hossain
The present government of Bangladesh envisions creating a “Digital Bangladesh” by 2021, which critically depends on proper policies as well as infrastructure development for this sector. However, in order to capture significant gains from the growth of the ICT industry worldwide, policy makers and firms both require a clear understanding…
Export Dynamics in Bangladesh (IGC Growth Week 2010)
Research Project
Author: Andrés Rodríguez-Clare
Growth Week 2010 presentation by Jonathan Eaton, Kala Krishna, Bee Roberts, Andrés Rodríguez-Clare, Ummul Ruthbah, and James Tybout
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The Effect of Seasonal Migration on Households during Food Shortages in Bangladesh
Research Project
Authors: Shyamal Chowdhury, Mushfiq Mobarak
Shyamal Chowdhury (Economic Research Group, University of Sydney), Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak (Yale University) and Jashim Uddin (Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation) pursue a randomized field experiment to test incentive mechanisms for promoting seasonal out-migration during Bangladesh's seasonal food deprivation.
Effects of Climate Change on Low-lying and Flood-prone Areas: The case of Bangladesh (Climate Change, Environment and Natural Resources programme)
Research Project
Author: Raymond Guiteras
Global climate change is likely to cause rising sea levels and increased frequency and severity of flooding in low-lying areas. Raymond Guiteras (University of Maryland), Richard Hornbeck (Harvard University) and Mushfiq Mobarak (Yale University) quantify the potential impacts of climate change in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most vulnerable nations.