One Sunshine Doth Not a Harvest Make: An Examination of the Growth Momentum in Bangladesh

This paper revisits the issues and trends observed in M.G. Quibria’s new book (Quibria 2019) and attempts to re-examine and interpret the recent episodes of economic growth in Bangladesh, both in its quantity and, to a lesser extent, in its quality. Indeed, current estimates appear to put Bangladesh as the growth leader of South Asia. Touching the 8 per cent threshold, the recent growth pace has led to a significant reduction in poverty, a modest increase in inequality, and major advances in pertinent social and human indicators. Under what scenarios may the recent growth momentum survive and continue to unleash further growth in the quest toward reaching the higher middle-income status in the next several decades? We evaluate the task…