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21. Planning for Adaptation in Bangladesh: Past, Present and Future

Author:
Saleemul Huq and Mizan R. Khan
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
Abstract:
The world community already lives in a climate changed world. However, the need to adapt to its increasing impact is extremely urgent for the particularly vulnerable countries, such as the least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing states (SIDS) and Africa. Of all these countries, Bangladesh stands unique in terms of climate impacts on a huge population of 160 million living in a small territory sandwitched between the Himalayas in the North and Bay of Bengal in the South. Obviously, Bangladesh has a huge groundswell of experiential learning from living with climate disasters for ages. This experience has been reinforced during the last decade and a half when Bangladesh started anticipatory adaptation planning, first in the form of developing the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) under the mandate of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since then Bangladesh has accepted adaptation to climate change impacts as a national priority, with gradual integration of adaptation needs into national development planning. This Policy Brief is a stock-taking of what Bangladesh has done so far and how she can proceed with future adaptation planning.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Natural Disasters, and Adaptation
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

22. BRAC-UBS Shishu Niketan School Project: A Baseline Study

Author:
Samir Ranjan Nath, Nowreen Yasmin, and Anwar Hossain
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
BRAC Education Programme (BEP) in collaboration with BRAC-UK has established 15 low-cost, fee-paying schools called Shishu Niketan in 15 district towns of Bangladesh. The objective of this initiative is to provide quality primary education to the children of low-income families. The UBS Optimus Foundation is the development partner of this project. BEP is the implementing agency in collaboration with the BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BIED). The duration of this collaboration is 41 months starting from August 2016. According to the project proposal three grades viz., pre-primary, grade I, and grade II are supposed to be opened in each school in January 2017. After one year, the students will be promoted to the next grades and a new batch of pre-primary students will be admitted. The number of students in each grade was proposed to be 32. The number of teachers would be four in each school, one of whom is a headteacher. One new teacher would be recruited each year. During the implementation of this project, a total of 105 teachers will be recruited, and 2,970 students will be admitted to these schools. The research and Evaluation Division (RED) of BRAC is the research partner of this project. As part of an evaluation of this project, RED will collect various information throughout the implementation period. This report presents the findings of baseline research on this Shishu- Niketan School project. Fieldwork for this was carried out in June 2017.
Topic:
Development, Education, and Schools
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

23. Knowledge and Behaviour Assessment of Drivers and Community People Towards Road Safety: A Baseline Study

Author:
Mrinmoy Samadder and Polin Kumar Saha
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
Recently, road traffic accidents are considered as the leading cause of death both in developed and developing countries. In Bangladesh, BRAC has recently initiated a new program on road safety in aiming to increase road safety awareness among road users. The ultimate goal of the program is to achieve “zero fatal road accidents” between Syedpur- Enayetganj road of Nabiganj Upazila in Habiganj district. The study intends to understand the current status of knowledge and practices on road safety of selected motor and non-motor drivers, students, teachers and a group named Community Road Safety Group (CRSG). To achieve this goal, the present study conducts conducted a baseline survey in both intervention and control areas followed by Focus Group Discussion (FGD), in-depth interviews, and investing the CRSG group formation including its activity plan in the treatment area. Findings show that both the drivers and students possess poor knowledge about the traffic rules and the road safety issue. Alternatively, it is also found a significant issue that there is a huge gap between knowledge and behaviour of drivers at time of driving. Finally, it has been revealed that road accidents blame to many contributory factors leading to site-specific road accidents such as a variety of vehicles in a specific road structure, speed of the vehicles, traffic regulations, poor education of students etc. and all of these are interrelated with the human attitude, behaviour and road conditions.
Topic:
Development, Infrastructure, Behavior, and Roads
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

24. Combining Humanitarian and Development Approaches in Bangladesh: Using VRA and PCMA methodologies

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Many rural communities in Tala, south-west Bangladesh are vulnerable to environmental hazards including water-logging, arsenic contamination, salinity and cyclones. Pre-crisis market assessment (PCMA) is used to support humanitarian programming based on an understanding of daily needs, how these change during crises, and how local market systems respond to these needs. Using vulnerability and risk assessment (VRA) allowed Oxfam to test the assumptions of humanitarian programme staff and provide a richer, more detailed analysis of the local context. The combination of PCMA with VRA can subsequently be used to facilitate better contingency planning to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency responses.
Topic:
Development, Infrastructure, Crisis Management, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and Asia

25. Where Are E-governments in South Asian Countries? A Comparative Approach

Author:
Jin-Wan Seo and Hasan Md Golam Mehedi
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
The four countries are selected and compared based on their use of e-government as a tool to work and share information more effectively while delivering better services to the public. It also provides a general understanding of e-government and uses different variables to discuss the reality of e-government development and e-participation over the last few years in these four countries. In view of this, the time series data are collected from the United Nations e-government survey to highlight developing trends in e-government along with issues and challenges, best practices, and opportunities for the development of egovernment. As a result, this study finds that real e-government remains a distant hope in these countries due to the expense of supplying technology, a lack of infrastructure, limited human capital and a weak private sector.
Topic:
Development, Science and Technology, Infrastructure, and Internet
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Asia, India, Asia, and Korea

26. The Impact of Microcredit on the Poor in Bangladesh: Revisiting the Evidence

Author:
David Roodman and Jonathan Morduch
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
The most-noted studies on the impact of microcredit on households are based on a survey fielded in Bangladesh in the 1990s. Contradictions among them have produced lasting controversy and confusion. Pitt and Khandker (PK, 1998) apply a quasi-experimental design to 1991–92 data; they conclude that microcredit raises household consumption, especially when lent to women. Khandker (2005) applies panel methods using a 1999 resurvey; he concurs and extrapolates to conclude that microcredit helps the extremely poor even more than the moderately poor. But using simpler estimators than PK, Morduch (1999) finds no impact on the level of consumption in the 1991–92 data, even as he questions PK's identifying assumptions. He does find evidence that microcredit reduces consumption volatility. Partly because of the sophistication of PK's Maximum Likelihood estimator, the conflicting results were never directly confronted and reconciled. We end the impasse. A replication exercise shows that all these studies' evidence for impact is weak. As for PK's headline results, we obtain opposite signs. But we do not conclude that lending to women does harm. Rather, all three studies appear to fail in expunging endogeneity. We conclude that for non-experimental methods to retain a place in the program evaluator's portfolio, the quality of the claimed natural experiments must be high and demonstrated.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Bangladesh, South Asia, and Asia

27. After the cyclone: lessons from a disaster

Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Late in the evening of 15 November 2007, Cyclone Sidr struck Mahmouda's home and thousands of other villages across Bangladesh's southern coastal areas, leaving around 4000 people dead and millions homeless. The initial response to the disaster was prompt and vigorous, but three months after the disaster the affected communities' needs – particularly in terms of housing and livelihoods – remain staggering.
Topic:
Development and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:
Bangladesh

28. Is the Price Right? A Study of the Impact of School Fees in Rural Bangladesh

Author:
Emily Grenzke
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect that user fees have on primary school enrollment and educational attainment in rural Bangladesh. There is growing international consensus that school user fees should be abolished in developing countries because they pose a barrier to universal enrollment. However, where school fees are the primary source of revenue for education, abolishing them significantly threatens the quality of education provided. Using data from three different regions in Bangladesh in 1996, this article employs a Heckman model to estimate the determinants of school enrollment. The results suggest that (i) fixed enrollment fees are a barrier to participation in the education market, (ii) but annual fees are not, and (iii) that the cost of secondary education has a significant impact on primary school enrollment. Based on these results, and considering the need for revenue, current policies aimed at abolishing all varieties of school fees are not justified. The article concludes by recommending advocacy for lower fixed enrollment fees and lower fees for secondary schools.
Topic:
Development, Education, Rural, and Schools
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

29. The Rise of Islamist Militancy in Bangladesh

Author:
Sumit Ganguly
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Bangladesh has generally been heralded as a stable, democratic Muslim state that has made great strides in economic and human development. Following the restoration of democracy in 1990, it carried out three largely free and fair general elections in 1991, 1996, and 2001. Since 1999, attacks by Islamist militants have been increasing. They have targeted opposition politicians, scholars, journalists, members of the judiciary, religious minorities, and members of the Islamic Ahmadiyya sect. Recent years have seen a deepening crisis in governance with continued politicization of civil society, deterioration of judicial independence, and diminishing rule of law and respect for human rights. Until very recently, the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia (backed by two Islamist parties) denied the existence of Islamist militancy in Bangladesh, dismissing these charges as “hostile propaganda,” designed to besmirch the country's reputation. Following a countryside terrorist attack in August 2005 and recent suicide bombings, the government has begun cracking down on selected individuals. Indian observers and policymakers are concerned about the activities of Bangladeshi Islamists. They accuse Dhaka of exacerbating the ongoing insurgencies in India's Northeast by turning a blind eye to growing illegal immigration. They also contend that Bangladesh is cooperating with Pakistan to target India. In light of these developments, questions persist about the government's dedication to respond decisively to Islamist terrorism, conduct free and fair elections in 2007, and address the deterioration in the rule of law and respect for human rights. Because of Bangladesh's regional importance and the implications of internal security developments, the United States has limited policy options to promote its regional goals and ensure democratic elections.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Human Welfare, and Religion
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and United States

30. A New World Map in Textiles and Clothing

Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The textile and clothing industries provide employment for tens of million of people, primarily in developing countries, and accounted for USD 350 billion in merchandise exports in 2002, or 5.6% of the world total. The current rules governing world trade in textiles and clothing will change drastically at the end of 2004, when countries will no longer be able to protect their own industries by means of quantitative restrictions on imports of textile and clothing products. What will this mean for cotton growers in Burkina Faso and Turkey, fashion retailers in France and the United States, or shirt factories in Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic or China?
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
Bangladesh, United States, China, Turkey, and France