Issue

JUL-AUG ‘22

Transitioning from ‘Fast Fashion’ to ‘Green Fashion’: Making the Most of Market Access in China:
Can the Green be Greener? What Needs to be Done?
S M Zahid Iqbal | Page 1 Abdur Razzaque | Page 12
Water Security in Secondary Cities of Bangladesh: IPEF: Prospects for the Region and Implications
A Case of Mongla for Bangladesh
Khandker Tarin Tahsin, Lutfor Rahman & Rasheeq Ahmed | Page 15
Md Bodrud-Doza | Page 4 Is Data Localisation Economically Pragmatic
Revving up the ICT Growth Engine for Bangladesh?
M Abu Eusuf, Nazneen Ahmed & M Abu Eusuf & Jillur Rahman | Page 18
M M Zimran Khan | Page 7 Productivity and Working Poor in Bangladesh
Is Sustainable Urban Development Affected by Mohammad Nazmul Avi Hossain | Page 20
Climate-induced Migration and Informal Settlements? Does the Social Safety Net Budget Prioritise
Nobinkhor Kundu | Page 10 Marginalised People?
Humayra Anjumi Nabila | Page 22
© All rights reserved by Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID)

Editorial Team
Editor-In-Chief Advisory Board
Abdur Razzaque, PhD Atiur Rahman, PhD
Chairman, RAPID and Research Director, Policy
Former Governor, Bangladesh Bank, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Research Institute (PRI), Dhaka, Bangladesh

Managing Editor Ismail Hossain, PhD

Pro Vice-Chancellor, North South University,
M Abu Eusuf, PhD Dhaka, Bangladesh
Professor, Department of Development Studies and
Director, Centre on Budget and Policy, Dhaka University,
and Executive Director, RAPID, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bazlul Hoque Khondker, PhD
Professor, Department of Economics, Dhaka University,
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Associate Editors
Rabiul Islam Rabi
Lamia Shams Syeda Zakia Hossain, PhD
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine and Health,
University of Sydney, Sydney Australia
Cover and Visual Design
Zahidur Rahman Mohammad Anisur Rahman, PhD
Professor, Department of Public Health,
California State University, Fresno, USA

M Nahid Hasan, PhD

Entrepreneur and owner, Business Connection BV,
Delft, Netherlands

Runa Laila, PhD

Senior Research Fellow, Department of Social and Cultural
Anthropology,
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

Badri Narayanan Gopalakrishnan, PhD

Affiliate Faculty Member, School of Environment and Forestry
Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

Jodie Keane, PhD

Senior Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute
(ODI), London, UK

Development Letters, a quarterly peer-reviewed periodical, is published by Research and Policy Integration for Development
(RAPID). The views expressed in this publication are the views of the authors and not necessarily those of The Asia Foundation
and Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID).

For future issues, email at info@rapidbd.org.

About Development Letters
Development Letters is a new periodical that aims to promote ideas with important policy and practical
implications for a developing country like Bangladesh. This publication provides a platform to introduce
thought-provoking ideas on broad development issues through short and concisely-written articles that are
comprehensible to policymakers and development practitioners.

Development Letters is different from other established academic journals in several respects. First and foremost,
it emphasises on communicating the propositions in a manner that can help integrate senior policymakers and
other relevant stakeholders into the policy discourse. Disseminating potentially important and timely ideas without
being stifled by technical details and unnecessarily long and ambiguous review of other studies is one core
objective of this publication.

Furthermore, Development Letters will also select and publish ideas that should require full-blown research for
gathering evidence. These days, policy-relevant analytical studies are often in short supply given the lack of
financial support needed for conducting those. This journal will showcase the underlying ideas that need to be
supported to bridge the gap between analytical research and informed policymaking.

Development Letters will also offer an opportunity to learn from those who–based on their experience–can share
insights into the factors that cause development results to be less than optimal. This can help generate invaluable
lessons for future interventions.

Finally, Development Letters is about dealing with issues that are topical and demand immediate policy attention.
It is a usual phenomenon in social sciences that empirical research can be quite time-consuming, and any
evidence gathered may require further verification. This publication will duly acknowledge this challenge while
highlighting the promising ideas that need due consideration. To summarise, this periodical focuses on bringing
together relevant issues, ideas, and approaches that can be researched, refined, experimented, and investigated
further.
 Transitioning from
‘Fast Fashion’ to
‘Green Fashion’:
Can the Green be Greener?
S.M
S M.Zahid
ZahidIqbal
Iqbal

Background ecological and social sustainability by emphasizing on

quality, at every stage of production. That is why this
Following the oil and gas industry, the fashion industry eco-fashion is often called "slow fashion." The terms
is not far behind as one of the worst global polluters. sustainable fashion, ethical fashion, and green fashion
There has been an ever-increasing number of apparel are often used interchangeably to explain the same
brands producing fast-fashion garments. These brands concept. However, while sustainable fashion caters to
tend to focus on short, fast supply chains to bring the both the green and ethical dimensions of fashion, green
newest fashions to the consumers before their fashion concentrates on the environmental aspect by
competitors. This leads to garments that are only endorsing the consumption of recycled resources and
designed and meant to last through a season, ignoring biodegradable fibers (Saha et al., 2019).
the quality and longevity of the final product. These
designs with speed-to-market business models mimic Where Does Bangladesh Stand?
the "fast-food" models of the food industry and are as
harmful to the environment as fast foods are to human Bangladesh, the second-largest apparel exporter in the
health. Recently, ethical and sustainable initiatives are world and contributing 7.66 percent of GDP in FY2021
growing more common within the apparel market, (RMG Bangladesh, 2022), has every reason to be
along with increased consumer interest in purchasing concerned about the shift in consumer awareness and
from transparent companies that uphold sustainable act accordingly. Against this backdrop, Bangladesh
and ethical practices. McKinsey and Company's report currently boasts to be the greenest garment factory in
"The State of Fashion 2020" (Ahmad et al., 2020) finds the world. Till May 2022, the number of green garment
sustainability and transparency to be of rising concern factories recognized as green by the United States
to consumers, leading them to pressure apparel brands Green Building Council (USGBC) is 160; which is the
to be more eco-friendly. This consumer concern highest globally (RMG Bangladesh, 2022). Motivations
inspired fashion designers and merchandisers practice for going green are environmental safety, a safe
sustainability in design and production. working ambiance, reduced energy use, and enticing
consumers (RMG Bangladesh, 2022).
The most frequently used definition of sustainable
fashion is "clothing, shoes, and accessories that are Suppose any factory fulfills some mandatory
manufactured, marketed and used most sustainably. In prerequisites like energy meter installation, digital water
practice, this implies continuous work to improve all meter installation, & some other policy-related issues; in
stages of a product's life cycle, from design, raw that case, it is tagged as a green factory. So, to be
material production, and final sale, to use, reuse, and green certified is not a very expensive and challenging
recycling of the product " (Ahmad et al., 2020). Further, process at all, given the factory fulfills a few of the
the workers producing such sustainable garments requirements. But for holistic, sustainable growth in this
supposedly receive decent wages and greater industry, the key hurdles are massive infrastructure, high
protection than their fast fashion industry supply chain maintenance costs, and a lack of green-financial
counterparts. Thus sustainable fashion advocates assistance. This
Thisdisparity
disparitybetween
between
costs
costs
of merely
of merely

Development Letters 1
 meeting the minimum requirements to earn the "green" fashion. A one size fits all approach would not be
tag and going full-fledged "green" might lead many sustainable for the entire garments and fashion industry.
ready-made garments (RMG) factories to strategically Policymakers and researchers should initiate more
prefer the cheaper option of being merely a "green in-depth, quantitative, and qualitative research to help
factory." Is it green, sustainable fashion? Yes, to some the fashion industry transition to greener fashion.
degree. But is it what the world is rooting for? Not Bangladesh, being the second-largest apparel exporter,
remotely. Green fashion is a new approach to "fashion would aim to cement its position irrespective of the
with a conscience." To assist in controlling "greenness," changes in rules, regulations, and production
certifications and standards are needed to ensure that procedures.
specified conditions have been met. Fulfilling the bare
minimums and fulfilling all requirements are not the Considering the environmental impact, the European
same shade of green. But, going greener is costly, and Union (EU) has declared war against "fast fashion."
it takes time. Some of the significant challenges that the European regulators are planning to propose rules and
RMG sector faces while working towards making the regulations to force factories involved in garments to
industry go green, include, but are not limited to, higher overhaul their clothing designs to meet a laundry list of
cost of organic or sustainable raw materials, lack of criteria governing everything from the durability of the
eco-friendly waste management system, lack of apparel to the final production (Chakraborty et al.,
infrastructure to minimize carbon emission, lack of 2022). The rules and regulations would also cover
advanced technology, lack of public awareness about labour and the working condition of the factories. The
sustainable production system, and consumer USA also seeks to address the environmental and social
sentiments or absence of their preparedness to bear impact of the fashion industry. It plans to propose a law
the increased price of greener fashion. requiring large fashion companies “to disclose
environmental and social due diligence policies" (Alzate,
Way Forward for Bangladesh RMG: 2022).

Role of Supply Chain, End-users, The regulations will most likely cover other facets of the
Fashion Houses, and Importers fashion and garment manufacturing industry as the
sustainability concern attracts more attention. All this
For the RMG industry, going green is feasible only if newness will present new opportunities for many
fashion brands induce the end-users to pay for greener countries to enter the garments production and export
goods. Existing research states that if consumers business as the factors of production, the production
believe there is an environmental problem, they are procedure, and many other related production
more likely to adopt consumer behaviour geared dynamics. These changes will also require a
towards alleviating the problem (Mainieri et al., 1997). It considerable investment. The higher production costs
states that consumers' pro-environmental concern is would also require the final product's prices to be
one of the determinants of their "green buying" higher. Bangladesh policymakers must be very thorough
behaviour, i.e., buying and consuming environmentally and far-sighted to develop the appropriate strategies to
beneficial products. A more sustainable, eco-friendly ensure its competitive advantage. It is not possible to
garments production procedure would be feasible in wait for the regulations to be in effect to start making
the long run when the fashion brands and sectors changes as that will give other countries a competitive
involved in the supply chain can enjoy profitability. edge. Also, social initiatives to promote green products
Determining the premium consumers are willing to pay should be undertaken to reach the end-users. The
for sustainable garments is an important question. The importers of RMG products should be brought into the
shade of "green" depends on this finding significantly. whole supply chain and production loop to avoid
forgery and to encourage paying fair prices for green
Existing research has identified several critical factors to products. Going greener in RMG production will also
motivate individual consciousness about environmental take Bangladesh on the path of sustainable
sustainability. When individuals are concerned about the development. Now, only the strategies that
environment they not only work towards the welfare of policymakers would come up with will determine
others, but they also act responsibly and reasonably whether Bangladesh can take on the challenges and
towards the environment. turn them into opportunities or would lose its
competitive edge.
2
Ha-Brookshire et al. (2011) found that consumer attitudes
toward social responsibility and environmental
sustainability significantly depend on age and gender, S M Zahid Iqbal, PhD, is an Assistant Professor,
which are also significant factors for consumers' Department of Economics, North
willingness to pay a premium. Consumers who are South University.
concerned about the environment and are
knowledgeable about environmental issues try to Email: Zahid.iqbal@northsouth.edu
purchase only eco-friendly products (Laroche et al.,
2001). So, holistic, all-inclusive policy strategies must be
considered at every stage of apparel production if we
want to reap the maximum outcome from green

2 Development Letters
 References

Ahmad, A., Madi, Y., Abuhashesh, M., M. Nusairat, N., &

Masa'deh, R. E. (2020). The knowledge, attitude, and
practice of the adoption of green fashion innovation.
Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and “A more sustainable,
Complexity, 6(4), pp.107.
eco-friendly garments
Alzate, S., (2022, January 20). America may get the first
fashion sustainability law. Impakter. https://impakter.com production procedure would
/america-first-fashion-sustainability-law/
be feasible in the long run
Chakraborty, S., Yiu, P., & Hoang, L. (2022, June 24).
From China to India, Asia braces for EU plan to kill fast when the fashion brands and
fashion. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/
e8439ef1-c588-4ad2-9579-0eac0d5d07a0 sectors involved in the supply
Ha‐Brookshire, J. E., & Norum, P. S. (2011). Willingness to chain can enjoy profitability.”
pay for socially responsible products: case of cotton
apparel. Journal of Consumer Marketing.

Laroche, M., Bergeron, J., & Barbaro‐Forleo, G. (2001).

Targeting consumers who are willing to pay more for
environmentally friendly products. Journal of consumer
marketing.

Mainieri, T., Barnett, E. G., Valdero, T. R., Unipan, J. B., &

Oskamp, S. (1997). Green buying: The influence of
environmental concern on consumer behavior. The
Journal of social psychology, 137(2), pp.189-204.

RMG Bangladesh. (2022, February 12). Bangladesh

regains global position as the second largest RMG
exporter. RMG Bangladesh. Retrieved July 15, 2022, from
https://rmgbd.net/2022/02/bangladesh-regains-global-
position-as-the-second-largest-rmg-exporter/

RMG Bangladesh. (2022, May 06). Bangladesh Green

Industry Moving Ahead' an inside scenario of the RMG
Sector. RMG Bangladesh. Retrieved July 15, 2022, from
https://rmgbd.net/2022/05/bangladesh-green-industry-
moving-ahead-an-inside-scenario-of-the-rmg-sector/

RMG Bangladesh. (2022, May 15). 3 more garment

factories are recognized as green. RMG Bangladesh.
Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://rmgbd.net/2022/
05/3-more-garment-factories-are-recognized-as-green/

Saha, I., Bhandari, U., & Mathew, D. J. (2019). A study on

consumer awareness towards green fashion in India. In
Research into Design for a Connected World, Springer,
Singapore, pp. 483-494

Development Letters 3
 Water Security in
Secondary Cities
of Bangladesh:
A case of Mongla
Khandker Tarin Tahsin, Lutfor Rahman & Md Bodrud-Doza

Importance of Secondary Cities toward urban peripheries in Bangladesh. Most of these

migrants are likely to move towards megacities like
Growing under the cognitive shadow of primitive cities, Dhaka, considering the number of employment
the importance of secondary/intermediate cities are opportunities it offers. However, lately, secondary cities
seldom highlighted by researchers, urban planners, or like Mongla are known for offering a cautionary tale for
even the central government. In recent times, such cities climate migrants as well. Mongla currently is known for
in developing countries have been identified as centers having the second largest seaport in Bangladesh and is
for trade and for public and private services. These a hub for climate migrants. As a huge chunk of the rural
cities also play particularly important roles in rural population flows towards this trade hub, land crisis
development and are now marked as the fastest skyrockets which often forces individuals and
growing areas which often are the economic engines of communities to choose informal settlements and
their larger counterparts. Nearly two-thirds of all the compromise basic services like access to safe drinking
secondary cities of the world are in Asia and Africa water. While this city aspires to be a climate-migrant
(Marais et al., 2015). Considered as trade hubs, these friendly city, it mostly emphasizes on infrastructure
cities are becoming increasingly attractive to migrants, development and economic growth; whilst social
however, they are treated as subordinates when it aspect of ensuring basic services for residents remains
comes to ensuring basic services and facilities, underexplored.
particularly in South Asian regions. Mongla city of
southern Bangladesh is one such example; playing Shilpi Khatun of Signal tower is one example of
major role in the country’s economy and offering Mongla’s informal settlements, where communities
immense employment opportunities, it is currently barely have any access to basic services like safe water.
experiencing sheer negligence from the central Thirty-seven years old Shilpi lives by Pasur River in
government for ensuring basic social services. Signal Tower in Mongla, with her 12 years old autistic
daughter, 2 years old son, and 60 years old husband
who is currently suffering from cancer. As the
Climate-driven Displacements in freshwater sources are miles away from her residence
Secondary Cities she often feels reluctant to leave her children alone
and fetch water. Moreover, due to freshwater scarcity,
Bangladesh being one of the most vulnerable to water is available at collection points only for an hour
climate change has always survived its share of tropical or two; which often means dwellers return home
storms, flooding, droughts, and other natural disasters. empty-handed after waiting for hours in long queues.
But as climate change increases the frequency and Options such as buying water from vendors are
intensity of such disasters, it creates new patterns of present, but she can barely avail those as three jars of
destruction, one of which is migration and the explosion 30 L cost around US $1. The vicious cycle of poverty,
of rapid, unplanned, and chaotic urbanisation lack of social safety programs, climate change impacts,
(Mcdonnell, 2019). Although there are multiple factors rising salinity, and constant conflicts within communities
affecting rural-urban migration, climate change recently in accessing safe drinking water forces Shilpi and many
has been considered as a prime driver of migrants of her community members to depend on

4 Development Letters
 contaminated pond water. And such dependence on System of Provision as a Possible
saline water has strongly been correlated with multiple
health issues like urinary tract infection, diarrhea, Solution
hypertension, and strokes; miscarriages and other
complications in pregnancy in women. The persistent lack of safe drinking water in Mongla
despite multiple interventions by government and
Existing Interventions NGOs, indicates that it is time for a radical shift in the
understanding of the problem and solution. A working
Given the water crisis situation, optimisation of water concept known as System of Provision (SoP) offers such
management systems seems the most reliable option an alternative and is expected to be more effective.
(Hossain et al., 2022). Rainwater harvesting has evolved SoP calls for problem analysis to be strongly based on
as one of the most widely used and preferred options specific historical contexts, such as politics and power
by most of the community people considering its social, dynamics of water access. It is built upon five
economic, and environmental benefits. High annual fundamental components of a system: agents, relations,
rainfall in Mongla also makes rainwater harvesting a processes, structures, and material cultures (Bayliss &
great alternative. One might question the idea of Fine, 2020). By unpacking these five components, the
introducing deep tube wells; however, the high salinity drivers of observed outcomes in communities,
in groundwater sources has made tube well an especially in relation to under-provisioning and
unfeasible alternative (Hossain et al., 2022). Hence, inequalities, can be unpacked. If policies are to be
monsoon brings respite to the communities of Monlga, mediated through this approach via the agents
as high rainfall means a rise in river water level, reduced identified in a community, there’s a higher chance of
overall salinity in water and people can preserve water reaching the end users. Additionally, this
rainwater for later use. Rainwater harvesting usually approach puts forward the proposal of empowering
refers to a technology of collecting and storing slum-dwellers in their relations with the city’s water
rainwater from rooftops, land surfaces, or rock utility to access safe drinking water in informal
catchments using jars, pots, or well-engineered settlements. Hence, it is imperative that the water crisis
structures. Nevertheless, most of these storing issue in informal settlements should be looked through
containers used by locals are earthenware pots which a lens of SoP, which aims to ensure inclusive urban
are prone to breaking, catching molds, and can only settlements and strengthen central water system for
hold up to 16 liters of water max. secondary cities like Mongla and promote social
awareness.
During the 1990s, World Vision excavated a rainwater
harvesting pond for the informal settlements in Mongla The researchers have investigated in-depth on this topic as a part
which would reduce their water crisis to a certain level. of a research project Trajectory for Inclusion at International
Nevertheless, the pond was far away from the locality Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD). System of
Provision (SoP) has been their primitive approach to identifying
and people had to walk at least an hour to fetch water. solutions for the existing problem in Mongla, Bangladesh regarding
Other NGOs and INGOs working in Mongla have water security in informal settlements.
sponsored a few rainwater harvesting tanks, but
unfortunately, those are not enough for the total
number of people residing in an informal settlement.
Additionally, the installation cost of rainwater harvesting Khandker Tarin Tahsin is a Junior Research
tanks is around USD 350 (BDT 30,000), which is quite Officer at International Centre for Climate
high for people living in informal settlements, as most Change and Development (ICCCAD).
of their monthly income ranges between USD 80 to 100.
In recent times, BRAC has also taken initiatives to Lutfor Rahman is a Research Officer at
construct several rainwater harvesting tanks which can
ICCCAD.
hold up to 2000 liters of rainwater in Mongla under its
climate change program (Web, Relief, 2022). This might
reduce the water scarcity issue in the region; however, Md. Bodrud-doza is Operations and Business
it’s yet to be implemented. The locals are also reluctant Development Manager at ICCCAD.
to get a legal water connection because of the cost
associated with it; as they lack land ownership there’s a For correspondence, email:
high chance of them being evicted; therefore, investing khandker.tahsin@icccad.org
around USD 100 may not seem worthwhile for
communities. Further Department of Public Health
Engineering (DPHE) is providing rainwater harvesting
tanks and freshwater lines in the informal settlements of
Mongla in consortium with local NGOs free of cost.
Such initiatives by government organisations and NGOs
may seem enough but are far less compared to the
population residing in informal settlements of Mongla.

Development Letters 5
 References

Bayliss, K., & Fine, B. (2020). A Guide to the Systems of

Provision Approach: Who Gets What, How and Why.
Palgrave Macmillan. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030
-54143-9 “The water crisis issue in
Hossain, M. R., Khan, M. S., Islam, M. A., & Hasan, M. informal settlements should
(2022). Pond sand filter as an alternative system for
purifying drinking water: climate change perspective in be looked through a lens of
Mongla, Bangladesh. International Journal of Energy
and Water Resources, 6(2), pp. 243–252. https://doi.org System of Provision (SoP),
/10.1007/s42108-021-00172-y
which aims to ensure
Marais, L., Nel, E., & Donaldson, R. (2015). Secondary
cities in South Africa. In Secondary Cities and inclusive urban settlements
Development (pp. 9–25). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.
4324/9781315667683 and strengthen central water
Mcdonnell, T. (2019, January 24). Climate change system for secondary cities
creates a new migration crisis for Bangladesh. National
Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/env like Mongla and promote
ironment
social awareness.”
Web, Relief. (2022). BRAC, Embassy of Denmark sign
MoU to implement rainwater harvesting project in
Mongla. Dhaka: BRAC.

6 Development Letters
 Revving Up
the ICT Growth
Engine
M Abu Eusuf, Nazneen Ahmed & M M Zimran Khan

Rapidly growing information and communication significantly accelerated the digitalisation of their
technologies (ICTs) have brought new dynamism in customer and supply-chain interactions, as well as their
access to health and education services, creating new internal operations, with Microsoft's CEO stating that
sources of income and employment. Being able to they have seen two years' worth of digital
access and use ICTs has become a major factor in transformation in just two months of 2020
driving competitiveness, economic growth, and social (January-March period).
development. This sector also has great potential in
terms of export diversification. Companies had already been implementing 4IR (4th
Industrial Revolution) technologies before the
There is a great deal of optimism that the ICT sector, pandemic. While a lot of businesses worldwide were
especially the outsourcing-related segment, can shut down due to COVID-19, many have taken
emerge as the next export growth engine for advantage of the rather unusual times by digitally
Bangladesh. The growth of this sector can also help modernising their organisations to prosper. Digitalisation
generate employment opportunities, particularly for the is expected to boost productivity, reduce labour costs,
youth. In recent years the outsourcing-related segment and improve returns. Businesses have increased their
of the ICT sector has achieved rapid growth with expenditureion technological improvements significantly.
promising efficiency improvements in the supply chain.
There are projections that the spending on cloud
Outsourcing services comprise a plethora of activities services and other digital services, including analytics,
using a range of technologies, from the low-end ones artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), cyber
to the high-end. Low-end services generally include security, and user interface (UI/user experience (UX) is
front-office activities (e.g., customer support, back-office likely to expand dramatically over the next few years.
activities (e.g., invoice scanning, data entry, and
accounting services), and creative content development ThoughSSBangladeshSShasSSachievedSSimpressive
(image, video, and audio). advancement in digitalising society, acquiring skills for
technological catch-up and expansion is yet to go a
Higher-end services include software development, long way. In this context, Bangladesh needs to consider
cloud services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), undertaking serious policy measures and firm-level
Microsoft Azure, Google Drive, and Dropbox, artificial preparations to promote competitiveness. The Kearney
intelligence (AI) services such as digital virtual agents, Global Services Location Index (GSLI) 2021, which
chatbots, automated financial investing, and image evaluates the competitiveness of outsourcing locations,
processing, and data analytics which is the analysis of ranks Bangladesh 33rd out of 60 nations. In contrast,
data-sets to find trends and draw conclusions. comparator countries such as India, Malaysia, and
Vietnam are among the top performers ranked at 1st,
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital 3rd, and 6th, respectively. Bangladesh had the lowest
transformation at both the business and consumer score in workers' skills and availability component
levels throughout the world. According to the 2020 among the mentioned countries. Industry stakeholders
McKinsey Global Survey of executives, companies have in Bangladesh also noted the lack of skills (both

Development Letters 7
 technical and soft), as well as an out-of-date curriculum technologies/languages benefits larger customer bases
as notable reasons for this deficiency. Overall, and is good for securing revenue consistency.
Bangladesh offers a very low cost of operations but
lags in other areas. According to the survey, the most common
programming languages in Bangladesh are JavaScript,
To identify the useful technical and soft skills demanded Java, Node.js, PHP (including Laravel), ASP, Python, C#,
by Bangladesh-based IT outsourcing firms to supply C/C++, Flutter, MySQL, and Angular (TypeScript). The
high-value and high-growth (in terms of revenue) most used application softwares were found to be
services to the global outsourcing market, Research Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Autodesk, and
and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) with Final Cut Pro.
the support from United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), Bangladesh Accelerator Lab Taking a look at the most popular programming
recently surveyed 54 firms which are either members of languages in India, the IT outsourcing leader, provides
Bangladesh Association of Software and Information some clues to what Bangladesh might be missing. It is
Services (BASIS) or Bangladesh Association of Call found that Kotlin, R, and ABAP are among the most
Center and Outsourcing (BACCO). used technologies/programming languages among
Indian IT firms; however, it is not the case for their
The exercise divided the IT outsourcing industry into Bangladeshi counterparts, indicating that the former
three segments: i) BPO (business process outsourcing provides more high-end services. The use of Kotlin by
services), ii) KPO (knowledge process outsourcing), and Indian firms shows that they are strongly involved in
iii) IT and ITes (information technology and information various Android and cross-platform mobile app
technology-enabled services). BPO usually comprises development in the IT and ITeS segment, and the use
low-end services, and IT and ITes medium-to-high-end of R and ABAP suggest their substantial involvement in
services, with KPO being at the top of the spectrum. market intelligence and asset management related KPO
The survey assessed the skills required by the firms services.
operating primarily in the IT and ITes and KPO
segments. Some interesting results have been noted The most frequent technology/programming language
from the survey, and these have great importance for on which freshers were trained was found to be Java,
adopting policies for improving the competitiveness and followed by PHP, JavaScript, and Python. In the
efficiency of the sector. previous two years, more than 40 per cent of the
surveyed firms had retrained new employees using
Around 65 per cent of the surveyed firms export at web-based learning platforms.
least one service within the 4IR areas (such as ML/AI,
cloud computing, data science, and big data analytics). When it comes to recruiting freshers, a considerable
On the other hand, about 95 per cent of the surveyed gap between the skill levels demanded by the
firms that have not yet exported such services aim to employers and the level of skills possessed by the
do so within the next two to three years. This finding freshers has been found. The gap becomes more
indicates the intention of the surveyed firms to provide profound when only firms operating in the higher-end
high-end services. segments are considered. A similar trend has also been
observed for employees with a few years of experience
Most clients of the surveyed firms operate in the IT, but to a lesser degree. The experience and skill gap for
telecom, e-commerce, and retail industries. A mid-level managers have been also found to be
considerable portion of the firms are taking significant.
concentration risk, putting their investments/services in
just a few industries; however, they positively view such Soft skills such as English fluency, teamwork, effective
concentration, considering it as a reflection of and engaging presentation skills, and problem-solving
specialisation leading to attracting new clients. are critical in the outsourcing market. According to most
firms in the survey, when freshers are employed, they
Employee attrition, i.e., the departure of employees typically lack two soft skills: English speaking and
from the firm for any reason, has been identified as a presentation skills.
major concern for Bangladeshi outsourcing firms. As
firms invest a substantial amount of resources in training The surveyed firms believe that government training
new employees, especially freshers, a high attrition rate aids and incentives can be highly beneficial to
is costly for them. Over the past year, the average businesses since they save a lot of resources (money
attrition rate for the surveyed firms is estimated at 22 and time). They also suggest that it is important to
per cent. For the mid-level manager group, this figure is strengthen the industry-academia collaboration to
slightly higher, at around 26 per cent. design a labour-market-responsive curriculum.

The surveyed firms have differing opinions on the range Women's participation in the IT sector is quite low. The
of technologies/languages that they should use. While survey found that only around 15 per cent of the
some believe that clients prefer a proven track record employees were female. Segment-wise, the share was
in a limited number of technologies/languages (a proof found to be the highest for BPO and the lowest for
of specialisation), others argue that expanding the KPO. This participation issue could be due to their

8 Development Letters
 lesser representation in science, technology, engineer-
ing, and mathematics (STEM) subjects, particularly IT.
How the ensuing gender gap in the digital workforce
market can be addressed thus constitutes one crucial
policy issue.
“Industry stakeholders believe
Industry stakeholders believe that accreditation of
online courses is needed to enhance access to that accreditation of online
high-quality education and training. To strengthen
accreditation and ensure the smooth operation of courses is needed to enhance
online courses, an online education institute could be
established that integrates both the industry and access to high-quality
academia and would be responsible for the design and
delivery of online courses as well as the online course education and training.
marketplace. However, employers think that blended
courses (which include online and offline learning However, employers think that
activities) are better than fully online courses; they
prefer some level of in-person interactions, especially in blended courses (which
the case of assessment of the participants. Hence,
blended courses should be provided instead of fully include online and offline
online courses.
learning activities) are better
Given the industry's immediate technical skill demands,
training on Angular (TypeScript), ASP, C#, C/C++, Django than fully online courses; they
(Python), Flutter (Dart), Go, HTML/CSS, Java, JavaScript,
Laravel, MySQL, Node.js, PHP, and Python should be prefer some level of in-person
beneficial, with a focus on Java and Python. Moreover,
it is necessary to raise awareness among both interactions, especially in the
international and domestic clients about the skills
available at local enterprises. The government could case of assessment of the
establish IT promotion cells at embassies/high
commissions to not only publicise the skills of domestic participants. Hence, blended
IT enterprises but also to explore equivalent overseas
market prospects and connect them to domestic firms. courses should be provided
This article is an outgrowth of a study conducted by Research and
instead of fully online
Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) with support from the
UNDP Bangladesh Accelerator Lab. A version of this article was courses.”
published by The Financial Express on 10 February 2022.

M Abu Eusuf, PhD, is a Professor, Department

of Development Studies and Director, Centre on
Budget and Policy, University of Dhaka &
Executive Director, Research and Policy
Integration for Development (RAPID).

Nazneen Ahmed, PhD, is the Country Economist

and Head of Policy & Strategic Advisory Cluster,
UNDP Bangladesh.

M M Zimran Khan, is the Head of Exploration,

UNDP Bangladesh Accelerator Lab.

For correspondence, email:

eusuf101@gmail.com

Development Letters 9
 Is Sustainable Urban
Development Affected by
Climate-induced Migration
and Informal Settlements?
Nobinkhor Kundu

Why are Climate-induced Migration Is Rapid Urbanisation Forcing

and Urbanisation Crucial Issues in Informal Settlements into Urban
the World? Slums?
Climate change is a global observable fact and various Rapid urbanisation is indeed a result of rural people's
risks (such as floods, heavy rain, storms, and droughts) impoverished economic situations and environmental
are associated with the livelihoods of rural people, degradation, which have forced them to reside in slum
especially in areas with limited economic opportunities areas. It is being enhanced owing to not only climate
(Giri et al., 2021). This is particularly a significant issue change but also rapid industrialisation, which is related
because it means people have limited opportunity to to productivity, employment, and urban growth.
do work in the climate-affected coastal areas of a However, rapid urbanisation process has already faced
country. Obviously, climate change is exacerbating the several problems, such as poverty, unemployment,
vulnerability of poor urban residents to natural hazards. environmental degradation, and a lack of living
The impact of climate change emphasizes on the infrastructure (Williams et al., 2019). Rapid urban
crucial need for adaptation strategies in urban informal population growth has resulted in informal settlements
settlements. Besides, climate risks have compelled in slum areas. According to UN-Habitat (2018), there are
vulnerable rural people to migrate to informal about 1 billion poor people who live in slums. Without
settlements in urban slum areas. Informal settlements basic necessities, millions of urban slum dwellers in the
are taking place due to the climate-impacted risks, country continue to suffer for a prolonged period of
where poverty, inequality, and deprivation are common time. Without effective policies, the quality of life of
phenomena in urban areas across the underdeveloped vulnerable groups is not secure. Rapid urbanisation has
and developing world. been a major concern in recent decades, particularly in
developing nations like Bangladesh. The rapid
Climate-induced migration and urbanisation are urbanisation of Bangladesh has driven the country to
integrated throughout the globe. Urbanisation has been become one of the world’s five fastest expanding
an increasing trend, and it is expected that climate- economies (World Bank, 2019).
affected people will gradually migrate to cities across
all regions in the coming decades. Much of the devel- Informal settlements of the urban poor are particularly
oping world's urbanisation has evolved not as a result vulnerable to variability and high exposure to climate
of different rates of population expansion, but rather as risks, with a lower adaptive capacity of livelihood
a result of increased rates of urban migration due to factors in South Asian countries, such as Bangladesh,
the vulnerability of climate change. Currently, more than India, Pakistan, and Nepal (Giri et al., 2021).
half of the world’s population is settled in urban areas, Consequently, Bangladesh's infrastructure development
and urban areas are hotspots of climate change risks. has lagged behind this urbanisation, resulting in the fast
It is expected that 66 per cent of the world's population expansion of slums and informal squatter communities.
will move to cities by 2050 (UN-Habitat, 2018). Climate-affected people are informally settling in the
two largest cities in Bangladesh, Dhaka and Chittagong

10 Development Letters
 (Uddin, 2018). In addition, many climate-impacted References
people are seeking refuge in informal settlements in
Dhaka's Korail neighbourhood owing to poverty and Birtchnell, T., Gill, N., & Sultana, R. (2019). Sleeper cells
frequent natural disasters (Birtchnell et al., 2019). for urban green infrastructure: Harnessing latent
competence in greening Dhaka’s slums. Urban Forestry
Inhabitants of informal settlements struggle with and Urban Greening, 40, pp. 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1
inadequate drinking water, lack of sanitation, power and 016/j.ufug.2018.05.014
gas, and proper drainage system. (Satterthwaite et
Degert, I., Parikh, P., & Kabir, R. (2016). Sustainability
al., 2020). Furthermore, inefficient expansion of urban
assessment of a slum upgrading intervention in
areas and urban population growth have put pressure
Bangladesh. Cities, 56, pp. 63–73. https://doi.org/10.1016
on basic utility and environmental issues that which has
/j.cities.2016.03.002
impinged biodiversity across the cities. GHG emissions
have been increasing due to rapid growth of Giri, M., Bista, G., Singh, P. K., & Pandey, R. (2021).
population and their carbon emission activities. Climate change vulnerability assessment of urban
informal settlers in Nepal, a least developed country.
Is Informal Settlement Challenges to Journal of Cleaner Production, 307, pp. 127-213.
Sustainable Urban Development in https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127213

Bangladesh? Satterthwaite, D., Archer, D., Colenbrander, S., Dodman,

D., Hardoy, J., Mitlin, D., & Patel, S. (2020). Building
Informal settlements are exposed to high levels of Resilience to Climate Change in Informal Settlements.
vulnerability in urban areas, which has a negative One Earth, 2(2), pp.143–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onee
impact on sustainable development. Informal ar.2020.02.002
settlements in the cities are no exception. Urban slum
communities have developed living conditions based on Sifat, R. I. (2020). Social Safety Net (SSN) Programs in
the assets of Community Development Committees Bangladesh: Issues and Challenges. Journal of Social
(CDC). UNDP and Khulna city corporations have jointly Service Research, 0(0), pp.1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/01
adopted CDC programs that address reducing climate 488376.2020.1839627
change vulnerability and improving the poverty level of
slums (Hossain & Rahman, 2020). Similarly, Uddin, N. (2018). Assessing urban sustainability of slum
community-driven development programs have a settlements in Bangladesh: Evidence from Chittagong
dominant poverty reduction function in Rajshahi, city. Journal of Urban Management, 7(1), pp.32–42.
Bangladesh (Walters, 2018). The urban partnership for https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2018.03.002
poverty reduction project (UPPRP) is being undertaken
for slum improvement and socioeconomic condition UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements
improvement in Korail, Bangladesh (Degert et al., 2016). Programme) (2018) UN-Habitat thematic guide on
Furthermore, government-led social safety net “Addressing the most vulnerable first - climate action in
programs are contributing to address the poverty and informal settlements”. Nairobi, November 2018
vulnerability situation in these settlements.
Walters, P. (2018). The limits to participation: Urban
It has been demonstrated that there is an interlinkage poverty and community-driven development in Rajshahi
between climate-induced migration and urban informal City, Bangladesh. Community Development, 49(5), pp.
settlements in Bangladesh. Rural livelihoods in coastal 539–555. https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2018.1537296
areas are affected by environmental degradation and
are informally settled in urban areas in Bangladesh. This Williams, D. S., Máñez Costa, M., Sutherland, C., Celliers,
study reveals a series of critical factors that are required L., & Scheffran, J. (2019). Vulnerability of informal
for designing and implementing interventions to address settlements in the context of rapid urbanization and
challenges of climate change adaptation, sustainable climate change. Environment and Urbanization, 31(1),
formal settlements, poverty alleviation, and ensuring pp. 157–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247818819694
public services for slum inhabitants in Bangladesh;
instead of the typically used determinants of poverty World Bank. (2019). Bangladesh Poverty Assessment:
and slum dwellers’ livelihoods. In various informal Facing Old and New Frontiers in Poverty Reduction,
settlements of Bangladesh, the government should take Volume 2 Background Papers. Washington, DC: World
an initiative to mobilise the community and provide Bank. Retrieved from https://openknowl edge.world
basic quality health care and public services for bank.org/handle/10986/32755
sustainable urban development.

Nobinkhor Kundu is an Associate Professor of

Economics at Comilla University.

For correspondence, email at:

kundunobin@gmail.com.

Development Letters 11
 Making the
Most of Market Access
in China: What Needs
to be Done?
Abdur Razzaque

Background Why are Bangladesh's exports not

picking up?
China has emerged as a global economic powerhouse,
having achieved remarkable transformations in its Despite enjoying duty-free market access, Bangladesh's
economy; and in the process of becoming the world's exports to China are not picking up. There are several
largest exporter. With a GDP of about $20 trillion, China reasons for it:
is the world's second-biggest economy. When GDP is
measured in purchasing power parity terms, China has ● The imported apparel market in China is quite
already become the largest economy in the world. small: about $10 billion. This is in comparison with
China is now the second-largest importer of merchan- $180 billion in the EU, and almost $90 billion in the
dise goods with a market of $2.7 trillion. USA.

In over 100 cities, China has more than one million ● The Chinese domestic market size for clothing is
residents with considerable purchasing power. The worth $330 billion, catered by highly competitive
country is set to be the world's most crowded retail domestic manufacturers. Due to the small import
marketplace very soon. In addition, its 700 market for apparels, it is difficult for Bangladesh to
million-strong online community is the largest globally. achieve export success based on clothing items
A large majority of Chinese consumers demand only. It is worth noting that China is also the largest
high-quality goods. Also, China is the centre of the exporter of apparel, shipping more than 140 billion
globe's supply chains in manufacturing. Partnering with worth of garment items in 2021 and capturing
Chinese companies can therefore provide access to almost 30 per cent of the world’s apparel market.
funding, new markets, and cutting-edge technologies.
Since 2021, China has provided Bangladesh duty-free ● While Bangladesh's export is concentrated on
market access in almost 98 per cent of tariff lines. Prior RMGs, China mainly imports electrical machinery
to that, Bangladesh used to get similar market access in and equipment(25% of total imports), mineral
61 per cent of Chinese tariff lines. Nevertheless, fuels(15%), ores, slag, and ash, (10%), mechanical
Bangladesh's exports to China have seen setbacks appliances(9%), and plastics(3%). Comparator
coinciding with the Covid-19 outbreak. After reaching a countries, including India, Malaysia, Myanmar, and
peak of $950 million, exports to China fell to $680 Vietnam, have done well in China by diversifying
million in FY21. China accounts for less than 2 per cent these items.
of Bangladesh's total exports. This is in sharp contrast to
its accounting for about a quarter of Bangladesh's ● Furthermore, other comparator countries, including
imports. Mostly Bangladesh exports readymade Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, and
garments, jute and jute products, fish and some basic Vietnam, have duty-free access to the Chinese
leather items to China. Bangladesh's share in total market under ASEAN-China FTA, causing Bangla-
Chinese goods import is a minuscule 0.04 per cent. desh to be less competitive.
Raising this share to just 1 per cent could lead to $27
billion worth of additional exports for Bangladesh. ● The extended duty-free access was provided in

12 Development Letters
 July 2020 to assess the impact of such preferential chain; and so Chinese investors can significantly
coverage as export supply response can take time. increase the profit margins by taking advantage of the
Since receiving the extended preferential low cost of labour and potentially the large-scale
coverage, the covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc supply capacity. Bangladesh is a country that can offer
on global exports. China continues to maintain a economies of scale in production, given its large labour
zero-covid policy, and as such, no export force. As a part of the trade agreement, China can
promotional measures can be undertaken. therefore consider Bangladesh as a regional manufactur-
ing hub to supply to other markets. By investing in
● Less integration with retailers and lack of Bangladesh, China can even make use of the duty-free
participation in marketing, sales and after-sale market access in Canada, the EU, the UK and other
services are also major barriers to export success export destinations.
in the Chinese market. Research and Development,
design, branding; manufacturing; distribution; Secondly, Bangladesh should consider joining the
marketing; sales, and after-sale services are Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),
different stages of the value chain. Bangladesh which can be an alternative to an FTA with China. The
operates at the manufacturing stage of the value RCEP, being the largest trade block, can help
chain. Lower integration with the local agents and Bangladesh promote export and welfare by trade and
retailers, insufficient network on the ground, etc., investment facilitation. Results from GTAP simulation
hamper export promotion. suggests that Bangladesh's overall exports could
increase by 20 per cent by joining RCEP.
● Cultural and language barriers have posed a
severe challenge in boosting exports. When Thirdly, Bangladesh can adopt aggressive export
exporting to China, it is essential to communicate promotion strategies targeting the Chinese market.
with customers and handle logistics and clearance Setting up export pavilions in China (Vietnam and other
through Chinese customs in Mandarin. comparable countries have pavilions in China), forging
business-to-business (B2B) collaborations, engaging
● China's stringent labeling and packaging Bangladesh Embassy in China in export promotions,
regulations are of major concern. The Product and establishing links with retailers are some of the
Quality Law (2009 Amendment) mandates that strategies Bangladesh can deploy. Additionally,
labels on products and packaging in China must Bangladesh can participate in and host trade fairs with
display confirmation of product quality inspection the government's support.
certification and all labeling requirements in the
Chinese language.

Way Forward for Bangladesh

China will soon overtake the United States to be the
largest importing country. Therefore, Bangladesh must
recognize the significance of the Chinese market for “Bangladesh must expand its
export success. The points that Bangladesh should take
into account are: export beyond garments,
Firstly, Bangladesh should consider signing a trade paying special attention to
agreement to boost Chinese investment-backed export
expansion. Signing a trade agreement with China could other sectors including
help Bangladesh's exports grow faster. As China is a
developing country, even without a FTA, there is electric machinery &
enormous room for a more productive and meaningful
PTA. The trade agreement with China must be equipment, plastic, leather
complemented with trade and investment facilitation.
Under a trade agreement, Bangladesh can negotiate to items, footwear, iron and steel
continue the current market access while opening the
Bangladeshi market with a longer implementation based manufacturing. This will
period. A GTAP based simulation shows that a
Bangladesh-China FTA might enhance Bangladesh's not only boost overall export,
exports by about a quarter. It would quadruple if the
FTA is supported by 10 per cent trade facilitation. but will also improve
A trade agreement also promotes business-to-business production capacity.”
(B2B) and government-to-government (G2G) collabora-
tions. This will create an opportunity to engage with
Chinese businesses to invest in Bangladesh. China has a
high interest in diversifying its production and supply

Development Letters 13
 Concluding Remarks
Traditional LDC-style duty-free market access alone will
not be enough to promote exports to China. A trade
agreement can help boost investment-backed export
promotion. To stimulate the supply response,
Bangladesh must attract Chinese investment.
Bangladesh must develop an export development and
“Bangladesh must develop an
promotion strategy targeting the Chinese market. Due
to the growing geopolitical competition, China must
export development and
also diversify its supply networks. With the support of
Chinese finance, Bangladesh must expand its product
promotion strategy targeting
line beyond apparel paying special attention to
developing export supply capacities in electric
the Chinese market.”
machinery & equipment, plastic, leather items, footwear,
iron and steel based manufacturing. Bangladesh could
also take additional measures to increase exports to
China. For export success in China, aggressive export
promoting activities, building a solid B2B linkage,
establishing a local presence, participating in online
sales etc., can help tremendously.

Abdur Razzaque, PhD, is Chairman, Research

and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID)
and Research Director, Policy Research
Institute (PRI) of Bangladesh.

Email: m.a.razzaque@gmail.com

14 Development Letters
 IPEF:
Prospects for the Region
and Implications for
Bangladesh
Rasheeq Ahmed

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity morphed into Comprehensive and Progressive
(IPEF) is an economic initiative introduced by United Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) under
States President Joe Biden in Tokyo on May 23, 2022. Japan, one of the largest trade-bloc in the world (Tan,
Originally launched with 13 nations, the Framework was 2022).
later joined by Fiji with an open invitation to join at any
time. The grouping represents about 40 per cent of The current US administration has designed the
global GDP which includes 7 out of 10 members of framework for multilateral talks based on what could
ASEAN, all four Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) reasonably be achieved with a deeply divided congress.
countries, and New Zealand. By being a non-trade agreement, such a framework has
reduced value. Without free market access, The IPEF
The IPEF seeks to strengthen economic partnership cannot be compared to RCEP or CPPTP. It is more
amongst participating countries with the objective of focused on flexibility and policy adoption. IPEF can be
cooperation, stability, prosperity, development, and seen as the US attempt to restore influence in the
peace in the Indo-Pacific region (The White House, region with a credible and reliable economic strategy
2022). The US-led framework is seen as a counter to instead of just a military and political one.
China’s ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP)’ in the Asia-pacific region. However, the RCEP is Four negotiating pillars of IPEF
a free trade agreement among 14 nations focused on The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is designed to
reducing tariffs and red tape. IPEF is focused more on introduce new regulatory baselines in the region. The
labour, environment protectionism, and anti-corruption Initiative is in its early stages, a precursor for later
commitments with an incentive for investment. negotiations. The IPEF can produce a wide-range of
outcomes depending on the support from different
Context of Changing US Strategy: groups of countries on the negotiating table, depending
on their interests in each initiative (Goodman et al.,
From Trans-Pacific Partnership 2022). The Framework focuses on four major pillars:
(TPP) to Indo-Pacific Economic ● Connected Economy: Trade that will have labour
commitments, environment standards, trade
Framework (IPEF) facilitation, transparency along with good
regulatory practices and corporate accountability
Home to 60 per cent of the world population, The
will be prioritised. It will also focus on the digital
Indo-Pacific Region is a hotspot for economic activity
economy and emerging technology with higher
and growth with an extreme need for infrastructure
standards for cross-border data flows and data
investment estimated at around $26 Trillion between
localisations.
2016 and 2030. With a vested interest in this region, the
US tried to influence this future growth through an
● Resilient Economy: Supply chains that can better
ambitious multilateral trade agreement, Trans-Pacific
anticipate and prevent disruptions like the
Partnership (TPP). However, With the US withdrawal
pandemic by creating a more resilient economy
from TPP by then president Donald Trump in 2017, TPP
and guard against price spikes through establishing

Development Letters 15
 early warning systems, mapping critical mineral The IPEF’s signature achievement would be to form
supply chains, improving traceability in key digital economy regulations. If reached consensus, it
sectors, and coordinating diversification efforts. can promote trade and investment by lowering business
costs. However, issues like cross-border data flows and
● Clean Economy: Infrastructure, clean energy, and data localisation, online privacy, and ethics of AI are
decarbonisation efforts that will include political minefields. While some countries with US
agreements on renewable energy targets, carbon export interests might pursue talks on the matter, a
removal purchasing commitments, energy majority of the IPEF countries do not share US interests
efficiency standards, and new measures to combat in this regard.
methane emissions.
The IPEF goal of clean energy and decarbonisation
● Fair Economy: Promoting fair competition by could create a difference among developed and
enacting and enforcing effective and robust tax, developing countries. Despite the less certain impacts
anti-money laundering, and anti-bribery regimes in of initiatives in the supply chain, digital economy, and
line with existing multilateral obligations, standards, clean energy, the objectives of IPEF reflect a broad
and agreements by sharing expertise and array of interests from the participating countries. With
supporting capacity building to advance the commitment towards reaching agreements, it may
accountable and transparent systems. change how businesses work in this region by bringing
in new trade and investment.
Some of the initiatives are not breaking new ground
Promise and perils for Bangladesh
such as corporate accountability and anti-money
The IPEF could potentially form new regulatory
laundering. However, supply chain commitments are a
baselines in the region. Businesses will likely need to
new feature of such multilateral economic dialogue in
conform to the new compliance standards for
this region stemming from the unanticipated events over
continued operations in IPEF nations (Pitman, 2022).
the last few years such as the US-China Trade War,
New contracts, trade and investments would require
Covid-19 pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
adoption of standards that could affect economic
aspirations and the feasibility of new trade agreements
The future of IPEF
for Bangladesh.
The IPEF led by the US can be said to be a soft-law
framework that opens the gateway for future possible
With LDC graduation in 2026, bilateral and multilateral
agreements between US and other Indo-Pacific nations.
agreements have become ever more important for
Unlikely to return to CPTPP, this multilateral framework
Bangladesh. With current emerging variables,
keeps the door open for the US for future
Bangladesh is likely to take a wait-and-see approach to
collaborations as well as counterbalancing major
IPEF. However, it could be an opportunity to advance
Indo-Pacific power China.
Infrastructure and renewable energy production using
investments from IPEF in clean energy and
Many uncertainties remain regarding the IPEF’s future
decarbonisation. Bangladesh also needs to accelerate
course. The participating nations of IPEF have their own
the timeline for agreements with IPEF countries focused
economic interests and political constraints. Many larger
on the proposed reforms. The government could
economies have already adopted similar standards
launch a study on the possible impacts of IPEF on
stated in IPEF. However, small economies like Indonesia
bilateral and multilateral agreements in the Indo-Pacific
and Vietnam have just begun adopting such laws.
Region.
Outliers like India have long resisted multilateralism and
Fiji shares little in common with other participating
Bangladesh is facing new challenges with rising inflation
nations. Despite the diversity in legislation, ability, and
and geopolitical uncertainty as China-US tension and
willingness, IPEF has the capability to integrate these
Ukraine-Russia conflict continues. Considering
standards.
Indo-Pacific power play between US, China, and India,
Bangladesh needs to be careful in possible negotiations
The IPEF can potentially change the flow of trade and
for IPEF considering repercussions from China.
investment in the region with integrated regulatory
Bangladesh needs to pursue such an agreement with
standards and a resilient supply chain. These
prudent strategy and maneuvering.
commitments could take on the form of a newly
centralised institution, or loosely structured working
group amongst governments. Developed countries
could pursue a more centralised institution provided Rasheeq Ahmed is a Research Assistant at
competitive edge and protection from disruptions Research and Policy Integration for
(Pitman, 2022). Despite benefits from such institutions, Development (RAPID).
developing countries may resist regulatory compliance
and enforcement, especially on labour, environment, Email: rasheeqahmedpro@gmail.com
and corporate accountability standards. This may make
or break the core foundation of IPEF’s agreements.

16 Development Letters
 References

Goodman, M. P., & Reinsch, W. (2022). Filling In the

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS). http://www.jstor.org/
stable/resrep39408 “The IPEF can potentially
The White House. (2022, May 23). Statement on
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity [Press
change the flow of trade and
release]. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/stat
ements-releases/2022/05/23/statement-on-indo-pacific-
investment in the region with
economic-framework-for-prosperity/ integrated regulatory
The White House. (2022, May 23). FACT SHEET: In Asia,
President Biden and a Dozen Indo-Pacific Partners
standards and a resilient
Launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for
Prosperity [Press release]. https://www.whitehouse.gov
supply chain.”
/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/23/fact-sh
eet-in-asia-president-biden-and-a-dozen-indo-pacific-pa
rtners-launch-the-indo-pacific-economic-framework-for-
prosperity/

Tan, S. (2022, May 26). The Indo-Pacific Economic

Framework: What It Is - and Why It Matters. CNBC.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/26/ipef-what-is-the-ind
o-pacific-framework-whos-in-it-why-it-matters.html.

Pitman, A. (2022, July 17). How will the IPEF affect

Bangladesh? Dhaka Tribune. https://www.dhakatribune.
com/longform/2022/07/17/how-will-the-ipef-affect-bang
ladesh

Development Letters 17
 Is Data Localisation
Economically Pragmatic
for Bangladesh?
M Abu Eusuf & Jillur Rahman

Bangladesh's Information and Communication resulted in the creation of new risks related to data
Technology (ICT) sector has shown phenomenal annual misuse. Several governments, including Bangladesh, are
growth after the launch of the Digital Bangladesh considering data protection and restriction policies.
initiative in 2010. The ICT, marked as a thrust sector, with Such rules govern the usage of data, including data
high growth opportunities, job creation, and positive privacy and security. Measures under consideration
spill-over effects on other sectors, has become include data localisation, restricting data transfers
instrumental in continuing robust economic growth. outside the country and conditional flow regime, and
Therefore, the Digital Bangladesh initiative has now imposing constraints on data flow, storage, and
been extended further under Vision 2041, with the processing.
enhancement of the ICT sector and the use of effective
technology for socioeconomic development. The Bangladesh government is gradually adopting data
governance through laws such as the Digital Security
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital Act of 2018 and the Information and Communication
trade has taken a central role around the world, Technology Act of 2018. The Data Protection Act is
facilitated by the free flow of cross-border data and currently being prepared. The Act aims to protect
digitalisation. With six out of 10 people worldwide personal data in terms of life, property, freedom of
utilising the internet, the world today is more connected opinion, speech, and conscience, as well as the right to
than ever, resulting in enormous data flows. This link is privacy, secrecy, and personal identification. While this
expected to expand further. Increased internet law will serve as a formal basis for the country's data
penetration and the emergence of IT-enabled services protection and privacy and incorporate the rights of
(IT-es) are dramatically changing how people live, work, users. It includes data localisation provisions that require
trade, communicate, and practically do everything else, data controllers to store sensitive, classified and
eventually boosting cross-border data flows (CBDF). user-generated data within Bangladesh. Such restric-
Such flows generate the potential for capturing new tions may negatively affect trade and productivity. It is
markets without the need to physically enter them, imperative to assess the potential and issues posed by
enabling small companies to reach out to potential CBDF regulations.
clients all around the world by using internet platforms
such as eBay or Alibaba. Concerns about the localisation efforts increasing the
hazards of cyber-attacks, privacy violations, data
According to industry experts, Bangladesh is projected breaches, and reducing the breadth of services
to see a rise in CBDF because of the growing use of provided, and swelling the operating expenses of
IT-enabled services and the expansion of electronic enterprises are also there. On the other hand,
commerce (e-commerce) in the country. This signifies localisation is perceived to enhance data privacy and
that the influence of policies facilitating CBDF is not security, which is vital. However, such perceptions are
limited to the technology sector but also impacts contestable.
traditional industries. As a result of digital transformation
facilitating simpler global trade, new business models Any lop-sided regulatory position with CBDF could be
have emerged that increasingly rely on data. This has damaging to Bangladesh's ICT sector as the present

18 Development Letters
 infrastructure and human capital are not aligned with Similarly, to understand the effects of the impact of
the requirements of data localisation. CBDF restrictions on the economy, another exercise
was undertaken. It shows the existence of a positive
A study undertaken by the Research and Policy relation between digital services exports and the GDP,
Integration for Development has evaluated the impact meaning that digital service exports make a significant
of CBDF restrictions on Bangladesh's digital services contribution to the economy.
exports and the economy. Primarily, two scenarios were
considered: Bangladesh adopting more restrictive CBDF It is found that Bangladesh's GDP could decline by 0.58
policies akin to those of India and adopting substantially per cent as a result of CBDF restrictions, akin to those
restrictive CBDF policies comparable to those of in India, on digital services exports. A more restrictive
Vietnam. The two countries were selected because they policy similar to that of Vietnam could cause the GDP
are in the Asian region, and their data localisation and to fall by 0.76 per cent. Similar retaliatory actions by
data protection policies are regularly discussed in the trading partners may cause the GDP to fall further.
policy and public sphere. The objective of this analysis
is to provide a directional view, therefore, assessing all The reduction in GDP could adversely impact employ-
policy alternatives against the likely outcomes. ment, investment, and innovation growth in Bangladesh.
Although the econometric model provides evidence of
The study used a gravity modelling framework to the significant adverse impact of data restriction on
estimate the impact of the given scenarios. According digital exports and the economy, some possess the
to the analyses, CBDF restrictions are likely to have a view that such restriction on data could improve
negative impact on digital service exports. Estimates productivity and exports in the long run.
show that Bangladesh's digital services exports could
fall by 29 per cent and 38 per cent if it imposes Therefore, it is imperative for Bangladesh to judiciously
limitations like India and Vietnam, respectively. navigate the digital fields, carefully assessing the local
and global impacts of potential rules and regulations
related to data flows and streamlining such laws to the
country's current scenario so that socioeconomic
development is not hindered.

A version of this article was published by The Daily Star on 20

April 2022.

M Abu Eusuf, PhD, is a Professor, Department

“It is imperative for of Development Studies and Director, Centre on
Budget and Policy, University of Dhaka &
Bangladesh to judiciously Executive Director, Research and Policy
navigate the digital fields, Integration for Development (RAPID).

carefully assessing the local Jillur Rahman is an Assistant Professor of

Economics at Jagannath University and
and global impacts of Associate Director at Research and Policy
Integration for Development (RAPID).
potential rules and regulations
For correspondence, email:
related to data flows and eusuf101@gmail.com.
streamlining such laws to the
country's current scenario so
that socioeconomic
development is not hindered.”

Development Letters 19
 Productivity and
Working Poor in
Bangladesh
Mohammad Nazmul Avi Hossain

While evaluating Bangladesh’s labour market, often the To further explain the labour productivity of
focus is solely on the unemployment rate, which over Bangladesh, an analysis was done from which it
the past two decades has been mostly in the range of became evident that the country is one of the lowest
3-4 per cent. This is comparable to the so-called among countries with GDP per capita growth rate of
Natural Rate of Unemployment in the context of more over 6 per cent. In the government’s Productivity
matured and developed economies. Due to the Master Plan for 2021-2030, Bangladesh intends to keep
definition and methods used, open unemployment rates pace with the countries of Asian Productivity
in developing countries can appear quite low. Organisation (APO). (Figure 1) shows that Bangladesh is
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), among the bottom three in the APO, with Cambodia
the "unemployed" comprises the people in the labour and Nepal behind. The National Productivity
force who during the reference period are: (a) without Organisation's (NPO’s), Productivity Master Plan
work – not in paid employment nor self-employed, (b) 2021-2030 considers Sri Lanka and India as the
currently available for work, and (c) seeking work either reference framework for improving labour productivity,
paid employment or self-employment. Therefore, the but both countries are currently far ahead of
unemployment rate in Bangladesh over the past two Bangladesh. Looking at the labour productivity trends
decades is not an alarming labour market problem. In of countries with similar socioeconomic profiles, it was
an economy where about 86 per cent of the workforce found out that Bangladesh is at the lowest level for a
is in the informal sector, it is not that difficult to get decade.
involved in low-productive economic activities. As a
result, only a few get captured as unemployed.¹ Figure 1: GDP per hour worked/Labour Productivity
Challenges lie in getting decent work opportunities, as of 2021 (GDP constant 2017 international $ at
earning reasonable wages induced by higher levels of PPP)
GDP per hour worked (Labour productivity)
productivity. So, what needs to be investigated more
Sri Lanka 17.7
closely to better understand labour market
Thailand 15.2
performance of Bangladesh considering that the
China 13.8
country is about to leave behind the LDC status and
Fiji 12.5
soon become a middle-income country? Labour
productivity and working poor can be two more Philippines 9.9

meaningful indicators. The policymakers and India 8.3

development efforts should align labour market Viet Nam 7.3
performance with these two critical indicators, Lao PDR 7.1
alongside stylized tools such as unemployment rate, Pakistan 6.3
Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), youth Bangladesh 5.3
unemployment rate, and female labour force Cambodia 3.6
participation. Nepal 3.3
Source: ILO STAT (2022).
¹An unemployed person is without a job during a given week; available to start a job within the next two weeks; actively having sought
employment at some time during the last four weeks or has already found a job that starts within the next three months (ILO).

20 Development Letters
 Where labour productivity is only a part of the story, Technological know-how will potentially vary at the
the productivity ecosystem at the firm and enterprise national level, thus influencing cross-national income
level is the handbook for higher economic growth and differences. Besides the low level of productivity,
inclusive development in Bangladesh. SMEs and MSMEs Bangladesh has been facing a declining and negative
are the fuel of the local economy as they account for real wage growth rate since the last decade. In 2021,
a large share of (mostly informal) employment where the average annual real wage growth rate in
productivity enhancement stands out as a major Bangladesh was -5.9 per cent, the lowest among all
constraint for the growth of enterprises. To comprehend countries in the Asia-Pacific region and also one of the
more on the productivity ecosystem, in the era of 4IR lowest in the world. The opposing trends in real wage
and technological transformation, it is crucial to study growth and labour productivity have several
how multifactor productivity affects growth at the firm socioeconomic consequences: Brain drain, increase in
level in combination with labour and capital. (Comin the working poor, and eventually a decline in
and Mestieri, 2018), for example, estimate that productivity and competitiveness; which can lead to a
differences in technology adoption at the firm level downward spiral of low productivity, low wages, and
account for up to 75 per cent of the income gap low competitiveness. If this trend of real wage growth
between advanced economies and developing continues to be negative and declining, there will be a
countries. Developing capabilities to maximize growth surge in the working poor with lower purchasing power,
opportunities arising from technological changes leading to lower levels of economic output, and greater
requires the right mix of worker skills, management inequality.
practices, innovation, training, and supporting
infrastructure. (Bloom et al., 2007), found a strong Bangladesh should focus more on these "two big
positive correlation between management practices elephants in the room" of the labour market;
and firms' performance in a cross-country study of productivity and the working poor- to study labour
6000 firms from 16 countries. Several other empirical market outcomes on the way to becoming a
studies have provided evidence that the following middle-income country. The unemployment rate, labour
factors affect the productivity of SMEs and force participation rate, and NEET are still the key
microenterprises in developing countries: indicators, but they can contribute "de facto" to more
● Age of the firm; effective policy analysis for better socioeconomic
outcomes.
● Organisational form of the firm (i.e. incorporated
companies, firms with only one establishment,
References
and firms with only one proprietary);
● Labour productivity; Acemoglu, D. and Zilibotti, F. (2001). Productivity
● Level of unionization in the industry and size; The differences. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(2),
business cycle of the sector; pp. 563-606.
● The level of formality of the firm
Why should policymakers pay close attention to the Bloom, N. and Van Reenen, J. (2007). Measuring and
productivity ecosystem to improve macroeconomic explaining management practices across firms and
outcomes associated with labour market outcomes? For countries. The quarterly journal of Economics, 122(4),
two reasons. First, if productivity is not increased, pp. 1351-1408.
Bangladesh risks falling into the middle-income trap.
Second, with lower productivity levels, there will be Comin, D. and Mestieri, M. (2018). If technology has
more and more working poor in the country. The key arrived everywhere, why has income diverged?
issues that policymakers should address are: American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 10(3),
pp. 137-78.
● How can a productivity ecosystem benefit the
demographic dividend or landscape of a country?
● How will an improved productivity ecosystem
influence the increase of active labour force Mohammad Nazmul Avi Hossain is working at
participation and help create more decent job the ILO Bangladesh, and a PhD researcher,
opportunities? Universite Libre De Bruxelles.
However, implementing the right policies and tools to
improve the productivity ecosystem does not Email: hossainmoha@ilo.org
necessarily lead to similar positive outcomes.
(Acemoglu et al., 2011), analysed cross-country and
intra-country differences in labour productivity and
showed the following significant results with solid
empirical evidence:
● Human capital of the workforce will differ across
countries and within countries, in part, because of
differences in institutions and policies that affect
access to schooling and the costs and benefits of
acquiring a marginal unit of education.

Development Letters 21
 Does the
Social Safety Net
Budget Prioritise
Marginalised People?
Humayra Anjumi Nabila

Background has been emphasized that governments must come up

with policies that will revitalize the economy and save
During this crisis period, the budget focus should have people from poverty and deprivation.
been given to taming the inflation rate and extending
social safety net programs (SSNPs) to protect the In the national budget 2022-23, the finance minister
vulnerable group of people from various types of allocated Taka 1,13,576 crore for reinforcing the social
economic and social hardships. Since Bangladesh has safety net programme, which is 2.55 per cent of the
been witnessing one of the highest inflation rates country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 16.75 per
during the budget proposal period, the budget should cent of the total budget. Unfortunately, this is less than
have considered the effects of high inflation on the revised budget FY2021-22, which allocates 18.78 per
people and their livelihoods. Regrettably, the budget cent to the social safety net.
did not take into account the effects of high inflation
on people and their livelihoods. The government Table 1: Increased allocation for the social safety
reduced allocation for the social safety net rather than net programmes
increasing it in light of existing high inflationary
pressures and an increase in the number of poor Name of the Social RBFY22 PBFY23 % Change
Safety Net Programme (BDT crore) (BDT crore)
following the Covid outbreak.
Allowances for the financially 1820 2429.18 33.5%
Allocation for Social Safety Net insolvent disabled

Programme in the National Budget Mother and child benefit 1041.04 1243.07 19.4%
program
2022-23
Honorarium for heroic 4603.35 4653.35 1.1%
The national budget 2022-23 has taken place in the freedom fighter
wake of an unprecedented economic crisis all over the
Medical treatment and 456.66 472.45 3.5%
world. The post-pandemic economic recovery has honorarium of martyred
come under tremendous pressure due to the disruption families and war wounded
in the global supply of goods and services, on the heroic freedom fighters
other hand, the Russia-Ukraine war has made the
overall situation out of control. According to the Pension for retired 23010 28037 21.8%
government employees and
International Monetary Fund (IMF), global growth is their families
anticipated to slow from 6.1 per cent in 2021 to 3.6 per
cent in 2022. Rising price of edible oil, wheat, fodder, Housing construction project 481.9 761.83 58.1%
and fuel oil have left low and middle-income people in for the insolvent freedom
dire straits as a result of instability in the international fighters
supply chain. Consequently, the poor are the most Source: Budget Speech 2022-2023.
vulnerable to the current economic crisis. Therefore, it Note: RB = revised budget, PB = proposed budget.

22 Development Letters
 In the national budget 2022-23, the government has Inadequate Allocation for Food
increased allocation to provide support to marginalised
people. Specifically, the quantity of allocation and Security, Haor, and Coastal Areas
number of beneficiaries for financially insolvent disabled
people has increased. It is observed that the number of In the post-COVID-19 context, the government has
beneficiaries for disabled people has increased from scaled up many food security and employment
3.57 lakh to 23.65 lakh, up from 20.8 lakh. The monthly generation programmes to provide support to
allowance has been raised by Tk 100 from 750 to 850. marginalised people. Sadly, the allocation for such
Under the “Mother and Child Benefit program”, the programmes has decreased. In the FY 2022-23, the
number of beneficiaries increased by 2 lakh 9 thousand, allocation for “Food friendly program”, “Open Market
thus the total number of beneficiaries will be 12 lakh 54 Sales” have decreased by 10 per cent and 11.5 per cent
thousand in FY2022-2023 from 10 lakh 45 thousand in respectively. Due to lack of authentic data,
FY2021-2022. The total allocation for this programme in mismanagement of scarce resources, nepotism, lack of
FY2022-2023 is Tk. 1,243 crore and such initiatives are coordination among the ministries, and weak
praiseworthy to bring the eligible people under the implementation capacity, a large number of eligible
social safety net programme. people are still out of the coverage of the social safety
net programme.
However, prioritizing two to three programmes have
raised questions, particularly among those who are Table 2: Decreased allocation for the social safety
implementing the programmes on the ground. net programmes

Figure 1: Allocation to the Social Safety Net

Programme Name of the Social RBFY22 PBFY23 % Change
Safety Net Programme (BDT Crore) (BDT crore)

Coverage of Allocation for Open Market Sales (OMS) 1943.58 1720 -11.50
Social Safety Net Pension Scheme and
for Other Programmes Saving Certificate Relief works (flood, drought, 181.00 81.00 -55.25
Interest Assistance cyclone, and others)

Infrastructure and livelihood 151.55 70.55 -53.45

improvement in haor and
68% 32% coastal area

Flood management and 122.67 86.23 -29.71

livelihood improvement
project in char/haor area

Construction of flood shelter 385.00 290.00 -24.68

in the flood and river erosion
prone area
Under the social safety net programme 32 per cent of Poverty reduction of 140.46 106.41 -24.68
total allocation has been given to the “Pension for marginalized population and
Retired Government Employees and their Families” and ensuring employment of the
extreme poor in northern
“Saving Certificate Interest Assistance” which amounts areas/ production and
Taka 35,945 crore. Currently, there are 115 projects marketing of nutritious
under this social safety net programmes where the high-value cereals
government is spending 32 per cent of total allocation Source: Budget Speech 2022-2023.
for the two programmes whereas the remaining portion Note: RB = revised budget, PB = proposed budget.
is being spent on other 113 programmes. However, if the
government employees’ pension schemes, saving In addition, the annual impact of climate disasters such
certificate interest assistance under the social safety net as heavy rains and floods before the current season
programme are calculated separately, then the has caused a crisis of livelihood and financial loss to the
allocation for direct food and finance for the farmers and working people. In this context, while
unprivileged and marginal group becomes much less. medium and long-term social security strategies were
Moreover, while someone is being included in the required to get rid of this critical situation, the allocation
programme, then he/she is getting very little in portion for “Relief Works”, “Infrastructure and livelihood
to the need which is a long-term vicious circle in the Improvement in Haor and Coastal Area”, “Flood
history of social safety net programmes in Bangladesh. Management and Livelihood Improvement Project in
Consequently, a large number of people cannot be Char / Haor Area” have been decreased by 55.25 per
covered with the inadequate allocation of allowance. As cent, 53.45 per cent, and 29.71 per cent respectively in
discussed, the grim situation persists for most of the the fiscal year 2022-23. Given the nature of the crisis,
allowance recipients of social safety net programmes, such food security and relief work programmes should
specifically low income and, haor and coastal areas be scaled up to provide support to the marginalised
people/ population. people.

Development Letters 23
 Conclusion
Needless to say, there will be no qualitative change in
the current situation unless a right-based universal
social protection scheme is introduced by moving away
from the conventional project-based social security
“Food security and relief work
programme. Since the economy is growing, it is
expected that there will be a dramatic change in the
programmes should
need and demand for social security programmes.
Hence, necessary policy actions should be taken to
be scaled up to provide
strengthen the country's social protection system to
adapt to evolving circumstances. The scope of social
support to the marginalised
security strategy needs to be expanded to cover the
issues related to social insurance and employment
people.”
regulations. To get out of this, a right-based policy
framework is required to be introduced then no eligible
individual will be systematically excluded from the
given support.

References

Finance Division, Ministry of Finance. (2020).

Mof.gov.bd. https://mof.gov.bd/site/page/9ea7529b-c
8ef-49b5-8b8e-87ef72a2b3ec/Budget-Speech-

Humayra Anjumi Nabila is a Research Associate

at Research and Policy Integration for
Development (RAPID).

Email: humayra.nabila.duds@gmail.com

24 Development Letters
Issue
JUL-AUG ‘22
Development Letters, a quarterly periodical, focuses on bringing together issues, ideas,
and approaches that can be researched, refined, experimented, and investigated further.
This periodical intends to advance innovative research/intervention ideas so that
analytical work and evidence can meaningfully lead to practical actions and maximise
developmental impact.