Three factors holding back economy
The interest rate cap on loans, the frequent changes to the exchange rate regime and a relaxed attitude to enforcing austerity measures are the major challenges facing Bangladesh in restoring stability in the economy.
The dominance of business elites in the political economy
The term “neopatrimonialism” is defined by political scientist Christopher Clapham as a system in which “relationships of a broadly patrimonial type pervade a political and administrative system, which is formally constructed on rational-legal lines”.
Bangladesh Apparel Industry / Thinking out of the box to gain some bargaining power
We constantly hear the complaint from our apparel exporters that buyers do not pay them a fair price for their products. Whether or not this is a fair assessment is perhaps irrelevant.
Trump's Proposed Tariff on Chinese Imports
Although Chinese products have provided consumers cheaper options, they are hurting US domestic production and the US manufacturing base has weakened dramatically over the last few decades.
Rise of the land of entrepreneurs
The simple answer to the question, “What do you do”, could really make a lot of difference.
PLEASURE IS ALL MINE / US' 'No' to GSP: One-sided love affair!
Though US-Bangla interactions have evolved on a love-hate trajectory, an exception is made in relation to the GSP facility for Bangladesh. Dhaka's obsession with it has not been reciprocated by Washington.
Quirks of banking and payment systems
We have some of the strangest banking and payment system strictures in the world.
The Trump tax cut: A mockery of fiscal responsibility?
It is well known that President Trump's much-ballyhooed recent tax cuts will have a major negative impact on the US federal budget, and according to some estimates, will lead to a USD 1.5 trillion increase in national debt.
Branding Bangladesh: How to deliver a promise
As global brands transcend borders by inspiring and engaging consumers through innovation and investors with the promise of higher turnover, sometimes rivalling that of some developing countries, it is no longer a question of how to compete with another nation.
The missing link
The concept of South Asia as a region is largely inherited from the British colonial legacy, with some exceptions.
Automation in apparel: Boon or bane for Bangladesh?
The World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a recent conference that about two thirds of jobs in the developing world may be lost due to automation.
Ready or not for the next recession?
A sunny day is the best time to check whether the roof is watertight. For economic policymakers, the proverbial sunny day has arrived:
ELUSIVE REGAINING OF GSP BENEFITS IN THE USA
GSP is always riddled with the subjectivity of the benefit granting countries. Indeed, trade analysts would recognise that this element of subjectivity is one of the fundamental problems with the GSP regimes.
Choice: Indispensably branded or ethically slaughtered?
Without branding, Bangladesh will only be just one more country bragging with an unsustainable RMG basket.
Europe's attack on Greek democracy
The rising crescendo of bickering and acrimony within Europe might seem to outsiders to be the inevitable result of the bitter endgame playing out between Greece and its creditors.
Our garment industry at a crossroad
In order to maintain the competitive advantage, there is a tendency of putting downward pressure on workers' wages and benefits. In this context, for the workers' welfare, there is a critical need for reducing the cost of doing business in Bangladesh.
