Bangladesh: Politics, Economy and Civil Society
The one readable overview of how the state, NGOs and business interlock.
Summary
The reference has not verified this book in detail; the summary states only what the title, author and subject establish.
Lewis, an academic at the London School of Economics specialising in development and in Bangladesh, wrote an introductory survey of the country's politics, economy and civil society.
The reference has not verified the book's detailed contents. What the subject and the author establish is the territory. Bangladesh emerged from the 1971 war of independence as one of the poorest countries in the world, and was widely described at the time as a test case for whether development was possible at all. It subsequently achieved sustained growth, substantial reductions in poverty, and improvements in health and education indicators including female literacy, fertility and child mortality that exceeded those of countries with higher incomes.
The explanations examined in the literature include the ready-made garment industry, which became the second-largest exporter in the world and employs several million people, mostly women; the very large non-governmental sector, including BRAC and Grameen, which delivers services the state does not; remittances from workers abroad; and agricultural productivity growth. The countervailing features include political conflict between two dynastic parties, weak institutions, corruption, industrial safety failures including the Rana Plaza collapse, and vulnerability to climate and flooding.
Lewis has written extensively on the role of non-governmental organisations, and his work examines both their achievements and their effect on state capacity and accountability.
Readers should consult the current edition and supplement it with current data, since Bangladesh's economic position has changed substantially and the political situation has continued to develop.
Key takeaways 7
- Bangladesh was described at independence as a test case for whether development was possible and subsequently achieved sustained growth.
- Improvements in health, education and fertility outpaced countries with substantially higher incomes.
- The ready-made garment industry became the country's dominant export sector and employs several million people, mostly women.
- Non-governmental organisations including BRAC deliver services at a scale that substitutes for state provision.
- A very large non-governmental sector raises questions about state capacity and democratic accountability that its service delivery does not answer.
- Political competition between two dynastic parties has produced repeated confrontation without institutional development.
- Remittances from workers abroad are a major source of foreign exchange and of household income.
Who should read it
Readers needing an introduction to Bangladesh's political economy, using a current edition and supplementing with recent data.
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