At the time of its formation in 1972, Bangladesh had to develop from ground zero, with little to no resources or labour power at its disposal. Today, Bangladesh has overtaken Pakistan’s growth levels on several indicators. In this episode, Dr. Sadiq Ahmed and Dr. Ijaz Nabi talk about the development journey of Bangladesh and how it has come to become a success story by highlighting key turning points, and concluding what lessons Pakistan should take away from Bangladesh’s success.
Dr. Ijaz Nabi is the Country Director Pakistan at the International Growth Centre (IGC) and the Executive Director at the Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR). He is also part of the visiting faculty at the Department of Economics, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). He has formerly worked at the World Bank.
Dr. Sadiq Ahmed is a development economist and co-founder of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, established in 2009, where he worked with a team to develop the Bangladesh Sixth Five Year Plan and the Bangladesh National Social Protection Strategy. He has previously worked as a Country Director at the World Bank for Pakistan and Afghanistan and Chief Economist for the South Asia region.