Strengthening Competitiveness In Bangladesh—Thematic Assessment

Strengthening Competitiveness In Bangladesh—Thematic Assessment PDF Author: Sanjay Kathuria
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464808996
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 300

Book Description
This is volume 2 of a three-volume publication on Bangladesh’s trade prospects. Bangladesh’s ambition is to build on its very solid growth and poverty reduction achievements, and accelerate growth to become a middle income country by 2021, and share prosperity more widely amongst its citizens. This includes one of its greatest development challenges: to provide gainful employment to the over 2 million people that will join the labor force each year over the next decade. Moreover, only 54.1 million of its 94 million working age people are employed. Bangladesh needs to use its labor endowment even more intensively to increase growth and, in turn, to absorb the incoming labor. The Diagnostic Trade Integration Study identifies the following actions centered around four pillars to sustain and accelerate export growth: (1) breaking into new markets through a) better trade logistics to reduce delivery lags ; as world markets become more competitive and newer products demand shorter lead times, to generate new sources of competitiveness and thereby enable market diversification; and b) better exploitation of regional trading opportunities in nearby growing and dynamic markets, especially East and South Asia; (2) breaking into new products through a) more neutral and rational trade policy and taxation and bonded warehouse schemes; b) concerted efforts to spur domestic investment and attract foreign direct investment, to contribute to export promotion and diversification, including by easing the energy and land constraints; and c) strategic development and promotion of services trade; (3) improving worker and consumer welfare by a) improving skills and literacy; b) implementing labor and work safety guidelines; and c) making safety nets more effective in dealing with trade shocks; and (4) building a supportive environment, including a) sustaining sound macroeconomic fundamentals; and b) strengthening the institutional capacity for strategic policy making aimed at the objective of international competitiveness to help bring focus and coherence to the government’s reform efforts. This second volume provides in-depth analysis across seven cross-cutting themes that underpin most of the findings of pillars 1 and 2 above.

Strategies to Strengthen Bangladeshi Competitiveness

Strategies to Strengthen Bangladeshi Competitiveness PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781464806490
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description


Toward New Sources of Competitiveness in Bangladesh

Toward New Sources of Competitiveness in Bangladesh PDF Author: Sanjay Kathuria
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464806489
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Book Description
Bangladesh's ambition is to build on its very solid growth and poverty reduction achievements, and accelerate growth to become a middle income country by 2021, and share prosperity more widely amongst its citizens. This includes one of its greatest development challenges: to provide gainful employment to the over 2 million people that will join the labor force each year over the next decade. Moreover, only 54.1 million of its 94 million working age people are employed. Bangladesh needs to use its labor endowment even more intensively to increase growth and, in turn, to absorb the incoming labor. The Diagnostic Trade Integration Study identifies the following actions centered around four pillars to sustain and accelerate export growth: (1) breaking into new markets through a) better trade logistics to reduce delivery lags; as world markets become more competitive and newer products demand shorter lead times, to generate new sources of competitiveness and thereby enable market diversification; and b) better exploitation of regional trading opportunities in nearby growing and dynamic markets, especially East and South Asia; (2) breaking into new products through a) more neutral and rational trade policy and taxation and bonded warehouse schemes; b) concerted efforts to spur domestic investment and attract foreign direct investment, to contribute to export promotion and diversification, including by easing the energy and land constraints; and c) strategic development and promotion of services trade; (3) improving worker and consumer welfare by a) improving skills and literacy; b) implementing labor and work safety guidelines; and c) making safety nets more effective in dealing with trade shocks; and (4) building a supportive environment, including a) sustaining sound macroeconomic fundamentals; and b) strengthening the institutional capacity for strategic policy making aimed at the objective of international competitiveness to help bring focus and coherence to the government's reform efforts.

Encouraging Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Bangladesh’s Power Sector

Encouraging Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Bangladesh’s Power Sector PDF Author: Tareq Mahbub
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031279905
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 110

Book Description
This book identifies and investigates the determinants that influence investment decision-making for conducting foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh’s power sector. This book is organized around six core themes. These are: Bangladesh’s vision to become a middle-income country by 2021 and have universal power for all; an overview of the benefits and costs of FDI from a host nation’s perspective; an outlook of Bangladesh’s power sector starting from the years 1994-2008 through 2011-2015 to 2016-2020 and beyond; the key factors that encourage foreign investors to conduct FDI in the Bangladeshi power sector subsumed under four broad categories of investment prospects namely, regulatory, economic and financial, political and social; the key barriers that deter FDI in the Bangladeshi power sector; and policy implications for long-term investment sustainability in the power sector. The main arguments posited in this book are: regulatory aspects are the most important for firms when conducting FDI in the power sector; land acquisition is a perineal problem that continues to hamper the development of large-scale power projects; there is a need for a transparent and competitive selection process to improve transparency and accountability in private power procurement; and more exploration of onshore and offshore gas fields with the extension of gas transmission networks be enhanced that ensure a regional balance of primary energy supply (gas) for setting up additional gas-based power plants in the country.

Playing to Strengths

Playing to Strengths PDF Author: Sanjay Kathuria
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464815054
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 105

Book Description
It is widely agreed that, over the past decade, accelerating infrastructure investments in India's North Eastern Region (NER) and neighboring countries, along with connectivity agreements with Bangladesh, hold immense promise for unlocking NER's economic potential. Other global trends, such as the growing incomes and consumer awareness in India and neighboring countries; a rising preference for fresh, healthy, safe, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible products; the growing role of services in manufacturing; and increasing demand for skilled resources are also very favorable for NER. Together, these developments can help NER showcase its strengths in agriculture and services, thereby developing value chains in these sectors, which will lead to sustainable, better-paying job opportunities for the people of NER. In this context, the World Bank, in consultation with stakeholders--government, private sector, and academia--analyzed two cross-cutting constraints that are encountered across all value chains and sectors in NER: connectivity and logistics, and product standards and quality infrastructure. To ground the policy in specific contexts, the team studied four sectors in depth: fruits and vegetables, spices, bamboo and related products, and medical tourism. Playing to Strengths lays out an initial policy framework for NER that integrates demand and supply and shows that, even with a low base in manufacturing, NER can leverage its strengths in agriculture and services to step up its growth. However, implementing this framework will require a different approach to doing business compared with the existing ecosystem and its associated value chains, which are mostly geared to local and/or price-conscious consumers. In capitalizing on its advantages, NER will not only accelerate its own development, but also will play an increasingly critical role in the government of India's "Act East" policy.

South Asia in Global Power Rivalry

South Asia in Global Power Rivalry PDF Author: Imtiaz Hussain
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811372403
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
This edited volume examines global power-rivalry in and around South Asia through Bangladeshi lenses using imperfect and overlapping interest concentric-circles as a template. Dynamics from three transitions —the United States exiting the Cold War, China emerging as a global-level power, and India’s eastern interests squaring off with China’s Belt Road Initiative, BRI—help place China, India, and the United States (in alphabetical order) in Bangladesh’s “inner-most” circle, China, India, and the United States in a “mid-stream” circle, and the United States and Latin America, among other countries, in the “outer-most” circle, depending on the issue. In an atmosphere of short-term gains over-riding long-term considerations, the desperate, widespread search for infrastructural funding inside South Asia enhances China’s value, raises local heat, releases new challenges, with costly default consequences looming, issue-specific analysis overtaking formal bilateral relations and a stubborn uncertainty riddling the Bangladeshi air as its policy preferences stubbornly show more certainty.

Business Infrastructure for Sustainability in Developing Economies

Business Infrastructure for Sustainability in Developing Economies PDF Author: Ray, Nilanjan
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1522520422
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 343

Book Description
Economic growth is one of the primary goals for all countries. There are many factors that contribute to a healthy and stable economy, and studying these emerging methods and techniques can aid in creating sustainable economic growth. Business Infrastructure for Sustainability in Developing Economies is a comprehensive reference source filled with informative discussions on the socio-economic expansion of developing nations. Featuring dynamic topics such as supply chain management, foreign trade deficits, service quality, and sustainable energy solutions, this book is an ideal resource for business managers, practitioners, professionals, and researchers who are interested in discovering the most recent trends and solutions in sustainable economic growth.

Trade and Regional Integration in South Asia

Trade and Regional Integration in South Asia PDF Author: Selim Raihan
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811539324
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
Gathering contributions from leading academics and international trade experts from South Asia, this book is dedicated to the late Dr. Saman Kelegma, whose untimely death in June 2017 left a huge void in the field of regional economic cooperation. Keeping in mind his enduring legacy regarding regional cooperation in South Asia, it covers issues related to the challenges of deeper regional integration in South Asia and proposes strategies to address these challenges. It also offers an up-to-date, rigorous academic analysis of various issues related to low intra-regional trade in South Asia; prevalence of tariff barriers; incidence of a range of non-tariff measures; challenges of weak-trade-related infrastructure and the need for trade facilitation; the political economics of regional integration, highlighting how bilateral political relations affect the integration process; low level of intra-regional investment; South Asia’s pattern of integration with the global and regional value chains; pattern and dominance of informal trade; and alternative regional integration initiatives in South Asia, such as the bilateral, regional, and sub-regional trade agreements within and countries outside this region. Intended primarily for researchers and students of international trade, and policymakers from South Asia and beyond, the book is also a valuable supplementary reference resource for researchers and students. Furthermore, the pragmatic analysis of the policy options presented offers guidance for policymakers in South Asia wanting to implement effective policies and strategies for deeper regional integration.

A Glass Half Full

A Glass Half Full PDF Author: Sanjay Kathuria
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464812950
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Book Description
Trade has played a critical role in global poverty reduction. In harnessing the potential of trade, some of the most successful countries have developed strong trade relationships with their neighbors. However, many South Asian countries have trade regimes that often offset the positive impact of geography and proximity. This report documents systematically the gaps between current and potential trade in South Asia and addresses important specific barriers that have held trade back. These barriers include tariffs and paratariffs, real and perceived nontariff barriers, connectivity costs, and the broader trust deficit. This policy-focused report unpacks these critical barriers to effective trade integration in South Asia through four in-depth studies that produce new, detailed, on-the-ground knowledge. Three of the studies are based on extensive stakeholder consultations. Two also rely on tailored surveys. The fourth study, on tariffs, benefits from new data on paratariffs. The report also marshals new evidence showing how trading regimes in South Asia discriminate against each other. Given the South Asian context, incremental, yet concrete steps aimed at tapping the potential of deeper integration are appropriate. The report has been drafted in this spirit. It offers precise, actionable policy recommendations that could help achieve measurable progress in key areas of trade and integration that would be to the advantage of all countries in the region.

Trade Liberalisation and Economic Development in Africa

Trade Liberalisation and Economic Development in Africa PDF Author: Gift Mugano
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000457915
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
This book provides a thorough and rigorous discussion on the impact of trade liberalisation on economic development with a special focus on the African continent. The author presents the rationale for trade liberalisation, trade liberalisation frameworks, the trade liberalisation economic development nexus, impediments to trade, and contemporary issues of international trade. In this book, notwithstanding the benefits from trade liberalisation, the author shows that African trade as a share of global trade has remained flat at 3% as in 1975, while the continent’s exports have remained raw materials and its intra-regional trade at less than 15% of total trade, which is the lowest in the world (UNCTAD, 2020). With respect to key economic development indicators such as economic growth, poverty levels, and employment levels, this book shows that, ironically and in direct contrast with the conventional views that trade liberalisation alleviates poverty, trade liberalisation in Africa has resulted in high levels of unemployment and low economic growth which ultimately lead to increased poverty. In addition, this book provides a detailed analysis of why trade liberalisation has failed to yield meaningful benefits to Africa. The binding constraints and blockages which prevent positive spin-offs on trade liberalisation in Africa are discussed in detail in this book. In the same vein, the author provides practical strategies which must be adopted by African countries in order to gain from trade liberalisation, making this work a must-read for African governments, academia, trade experts, regional trading blocs, the World Trade Organization, and development partners. In view of this, and as part of the disruptive and structural transformation policies, the author discusses case studies and international experience contextualised to Africa as well as strategies for addressing the trade-related infrastructure gap, production capacities, export promotion, and aid for trade.