BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

GLOBALIZATION AND RECENT CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY OF BANGLADESH

Author: Munim Kumar Barai

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/ BIISSj2003v24n2a1

ABSTRACT

The economy of Bangladesh experienced gradual but fundamental shifts in the 1980s and 1990s. During this period, it underwent through a comprehensive programme of structural reforms aimed at restructuring the industrial sector, liberalizing the foreign trade and exchange rate regimes, strengthening fiscal and monetary management and privatizing the state owned enterprises (SOEs). These were also undertaken to minimize the market role of the government, to encourage private initiatives and market forces and to integrate itself with the world economy. An analysis of the outcomes of the changes for the last two decade indicates that Bangladesh achieved a degree of macro-economic stability with lower inflation, smaller fiscal and current account deficit and higher foreign exchange reserves. But its performance in terms of GDP growth did not reach the desired level. Growth in the industrial sector was far from satisfactory. The relative slower expansion of production in the economy made demand for labour slow as well. Growth of employment in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors marked no improvement while service sector employment increased. But overall the unemployment situation has rose to 36.6 percent of the total civilian labour force under extended definition in 2000. As the deadline for full implementation of WTO is approaching fast, policy-makers cannot be oblivious of the unsettling trends while drawing road maps for further globalization of the economy.