Syed Akhtar Mahmood is an economist, previously with an international development agency
Irrespective of whether LDC graduation is delayed or not, we must face the music sooner or later. It is time to bite the bullet and focus on productivity. Understanding how firms increase productivity must be at the top of our agenda.
The economy is busier, but not necessarily more capable. After presenting eight charts, they tell basically one story. On the economic front, Bangladesh’s achievements are real. But the transformation is still incomplete.
As we chart our future as an innovating nation, we must ask ourselves: Will we continue to be a nation that tolerates and even encourages heresy, heterodoxy and esoterism, or will we ignore the lessons of history and become a closed society, one that is hostile to new ideas?
What happens when the interests of the elite class collide with those of an ever more assertive aspiring elite? We're about to find out.
Bangladesh's future prosperity depends in large part on enhancing our productivity, but we still lag behind when it comes to gathering the data needed to address the issue, let alone making it a policy priority
