BANGLADESH IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERA : RELEVANCE OF EXPERIENCES OF EAST ASIAN NIES

This article assesses how experiences of the East Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs) can inform Bangladesh’s strategy in the post-Cold War global economy. It distills lessons on export-oriented industrialization, macro stability, exchange-rate management and strategic openness to foreign direct investment. The analysis emphasizes complementary investments in human capital, technology absorption and logistics, and highlights the institutional underpinnings—credible bureaucratic autonomy, disciplined industrial policy and export finance—that enabled rapid structural change in the NIEs. It then interrogates which elements are transferable given Bangladesh’s endowments, politics and vulnerability to climate risk. The article argues that while replication is neither possible nor desirable, a pragmatic synthesis—streamlined trade facilitation, skills upgrading, deepening of backward linkages in apparel and diversification into light engineering and electronics—can raise productivity and resilience.

The body first compares macro frameworks: inflation control, fiscal discipline and competitive exchange rates that protected tradables profitability in the NIEs, drawing contrasts with periods of stop-go adjustment in South Asia. A production capabilities section traces how targeted credit, export processing zones and supplier development programs created dense manufacturing ecosystems. Human capital analysis focuses on basic education completion, technical and vocational training, and firm-level apprenticeships. A chapter on institutions explores performance contracts, anti-corruption norms and iterative policy evaluation. The Bangladesh application lays out a phased agenda: customs digitalization, bonded warehouse reforms, multimodal connectivity from ports to industrial belts, and policies to scale green compliance in garments. It also maps opportunities in pharmaceuticals, ceramics and ICT services, and proposes risk-pooling instruments for climate adaptation. The conclusion offers metrics—export sophistication, learning-by-exporting indicators, and logistics performance—to track progress and course-correct as global demand, technology and trade rules evolve.