Mahtab Uddin

The University of Manchester

This paper analyses the impact of international remittances on household spending behaviour in the Bangladesh context. The total household spending has been classified into seven categories, namely education, health, food, consumed and durable goods, housing and land, investment and ‘other consumption’. For addressing the self-selection bias, we ap...

This article identifies the nature of gendered digital divides between male and female youth (aged 15–29) in the context of Bangladesh. As a measuring indicator for technology inclusiveness, this study examines whether a young male or female owns a mobile phone, the most basic means of accessing the Internet. As observed in the descriptive analysis...

This paper analyses disparities in learning outcomes among primary school students in Bangladesh associated with different background characteristics. The result of the study reveals that there is a clear disparity between the students from the poorest and richest households in achieving different learning skills while this gap increases over the p...

Bangladesh will graduate from the LDC list by 2026. Currently, Bangladesh's exports of readymade garments (RMG) benefit from international support measures which allow preferential trade in major export destinations, such as the EU. After graduation, Bangladesh's exports, particularly RMG, will face competition from mega trading blocs, such as RCEP...

In the arena of economic literature, it is now well established that economic growth is a necessary but insufficient condition for development (Sen 1999). In addition, increasingly, there is a consensus among academicians that employment creation as such does not guarantee social, economic, and political inclusion or basic human rights as chartered...

We explore the role of households’ economic status and migration network on the probability of becoming a new international migrant household while controlling for other conventional parameters. We use the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey data, a nationally representative panel for rural Bangladesh covering three periods – 2012, 2015, and 201...

Bangladesh has witnessed remarkable economic growth and development in the last three decades. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the Russia-Ukraine war and the global energy crisis, has put Bangladesh to the test on several frontiers. There is a growing need to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic challenge...

Private sector investment expansion is one of the fundamental catalysts for achieving high economic growth and obtaining sustainable development. However, Bangladesh’s private sector investment growth has remained almost stagnant over the decades, beset with numerous obstacles. In this context, Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Count...

The seventh round of the Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey commenced in January 2022—at a time when the country had entered a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus threatened a higher level of transmission of infection and consequently a much greater health crisis in comparison with the earlier phase...

Although COVID-19 was primarily a health risk, the lockdown that was imposed as a precaution to contain the spread of the virus caused severe economic crises all over the world. The situation was no different for Bangladesh. Many people in Bangladesh, particularly women workers, lost their jobs permanently or temporarily and experienced their wages...

Although COVID-19 was primarily a health risk, the lockdown that was imposed as a precaution to contain the spread of the virus caused severe economic crises all over the world. The situation was no different for Bangladesh. Many people in Bangladesh, particularly women workers, lost their jobs permanently or temporarily and experienced their wages...

COVID-19 had a tremendous economic impact on Bangladesh, especially in 2020, with massive business losses and closures, as well as an increase in unemployment and poverty. However, the effects of effective pandemic-related measures (lockdowns, social distancing, etc.) as well as government financial assistance contributed to reducing the number of...

Bangladesh, marking its 50th Anniversary in March 2021 – went through periods of upheavals in getting its path back to development. The country attained remarkable progress on many indicators. Perhaps, Bangladesh’s march towards industrialization was one of the phenomenal achievements the country attained over the years. When Bangladesh started the...

Until the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, Bangladesh made a steady reduction in the poverty rate. However, even during the pre-pandemic situation, nearly half of the population in the country was within the threshold of vulnerable poverty. Given this context, any major economic shock may leave dents on the progress achieved over the past decades....

The COVID-19 pandemic with its numerous variants arising in different times has already proved that it is not going away from our life soon. In response to the COVID-19 upsurge, the Government of Bangladesh had to impose lockdowns at different periods which incurred many losses in the national economy. As it will be existing at different degrees ac...

Unlike MDGs, attaining SDGs would require joint global efforts from every country. Recent developments in international relations such as China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provides scope for countries like Bangladesh in assessing the potential benefits of BRI in attaining SDGs. The BRI has five key areas, namely policy coordination, facilitati...

COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant, negative impact on the global economy – rising levels of poverty, unemployment, business costs and closures due to lockdowns and restricted business activity are just some of the economic effects that have led to the largest global recession in history, which is still ongoing. The shock of the pandemic is be...

Bangladesh, like the rest of the world, is experiencing economic downturns due to the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19. During such economic downturns, close monitoring of the private sector is needed since it is one of the fundamental engines of economic growth. To capture the expectations as well as distresses of the business communities of Bangl...

The paper focuses on identifying the factors affecting youth's decision not to be in 'employment, education or training' in the context of Bangladesh. Using microeconometric frameworks, the paper identifies that several variables-containing both personal attributes like education, disabilities, age, sex etc. as well as family or social aspects like...

Despite stringent policies from governments across the globe, COVID-19 continued to spread steadily beyond the borders. As the virus went viral across the economies, the global economic growth forecasting was lowered down to (negative) -3.0% from an earlier projection of 2.9% (IMF, 2020). Due to the economic standstill caused by the global pandemic...

This report aims at profiling small social security programmes in Bangladesh, identifying their salient features, and proposing a framework for effective and efficient harmonisation. Since the NSSS does not provide any working definition for the small SSPs, this report proposes a working definition based on consultations with social security expert...

Inclusive growth and development are dependent on, among others, employment generation and a well-functioning labour market that can ensure participation of all – including women and other vulnerable groups – in economic activities. Generating adequate and productive employment opportunities is a challenge for Bangladesh, as it requires an addition...

In Bangladesh, remittance plays an important role in terms of its contribution to the gross national income and foreign exchange earnings, as well as its significant positive impact in reducing poverty both in the rural and urban areas (Raihan et al. 2009, 2014; Raihan and Sugiyarto 2012; Raihan and Uddin 2011; Khondker and Raihan 2009). Bangladesh...