Credit
Programs for the Poor: Household and Intra-household Impact
and Program Sustainability
Project Coordinator: Muhammad
Abdul Latif
Funding Agency: The World Bank.
The study evaluated the impact of group-based credit programs
of the three agencies Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
(BRAC), Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB), and Grameen
Bank (GB). The broad objective of the study was to identify
the program effects on household outcomes such as income,
wealth, asset accumulation and hence poverty reduction; and
individual outcomes such as employment, education, health
and family planning, and nutrition; to examine the participation
of women in these credit programs and the ensuing effects
on household and intra household outcomes (such as decision
making, resource allocation and productivity by gender); and
to analyze the financial and economic efficiency of the credit
programs and to make comparative evaluations.
The study was primarily based on household and community
level sample surveys. The household sample comprised 1800
households from 87 villages in 29 thanas, all randomly selected.
The survey was conducted in three phases corresponding to
the three crop seasons of aus, aman and boro.
Ten separate reports were prepared on individual issues.
During August-September 1993, a series of seminars was presented
at different locations including the World Bank Headquarters,
the U.S. State Department and Brown University in the U.S.A.
A three-day workshop was arranged in Dhaka during March 19-21,
1995. The workshop was attended by important personalities
from home and abroad. The proceedings of the workshop were
published jointly by the BIDS and the World Bank.
An Evaluation of Barind Integrated
Area Development Project
Project Director: Muhammad Abdul
Latif
Funding Agency: The Barind Multi-purpose Development Authority.
The Barind Tract is spread over parts of the greater districts
of Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangpur and Bogra of Bangladesh, and
the Maldah district of West Bengal. In Bangladesh, it encompasses
an area of 8,720 square kilometers. The Barind Tract is characterized
by hard red soil with low moisture content. Farming is heavily
dependent upon rainfall, and large areas remain uncultivated
in those years when rainfall is scanty and not on time. In
order to increase income and improve the quality of life of
the people in the project area, as well as to support and
sustain agricultural growth and ecological balance, the Government
undertook a development program named "Barind Integrated
Area Development Project" in 1985. Given its importance,
the Government created an independent autonomous body named
"Bardind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA)"
to implement the project.
The main activities undertaken by the project included
Bringing 0.4 million acres of land under year-round cultivation
through sinking of deep tube wells
Augmenting surface water resources for fishery and duck farming
Raising cropping intensity from 117% to 167%
Constructing 110 kilometers of feeder roads linking production
areas to important growth centers
Electrification of irrigation equipment and agro-based industries
in the project area
Large scale afforestation and expansion of nurseries to achieve
ecological balance.
The study was undertaken in order to evaluate the progress
of the project and its overall socioeconomic impact on the
people of the area. Both primary and secondary data were utilized
to analyze the problems. The main sources of secondary data
were BMDA and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Primary
data were collected by conducting a sample survey in the area.
The final report of the project entitled "Barind Integrated
Area Development Project: An Evaluation" was submitted
to the BMDA in May 1995. The report was later published by
BMDA.
In-depth Socioeconomic Impact
Study of FRB Road Improvement of the
Rural Development Project-7 (RDP-7)
Team Leader: Muhammad Abdul
Latif
Funding Agency: The World Bank.
Based on the overall development strategy of the Government
of Bangladesh, the Local Government Engineering Department
(LGED) has undertaken to implement a series of projects aimed
at improving the rural transport and trading infrastructure
in different parts of the country. The Rural Development Project-7
(RDP-7) is one such program which comprises the implementation
of the following physical components: (i) improvement of 500
km of Feeder Roads Type-B (FRBs) to bitumen-surfaced standard;
(ii) upgrading of 65 Growth Center Markets, and (iii) construction
of culverts and small bridges on rural roads. The RDP-7 covers
eight districts from the northwestern part of Bangladesh -
Bogra, Joypurhat, Rajshahi, Naogaon, Natore, Nawabganj, Pabna
and Sirajganj.
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the short-term impact
of the FRB improvement and the resulting increase in efficiency
of the transport system, on economic and social development
in the area. The study is based on primary data collected
through household and community level sample survey conducted
within the areas of FRBs that were to be improved in 1995/96.
In order to capture the socioeconomic changes resulting from
road improvements, the sample survey was conducted in two
phases before and after the road improvement work was completed.
Long-term Socioeconomic Impact
Study of the Rural Roads and Markets
Improvement and Maintenance Project-2 (RRMIMP-2)
Project Coordinators: Zaid Bakht/
Muhammad Abdul Latif
Funding Agency: The World Bank.
Rural Roads and Markets Improvement and Maintenance Project-2
(RRMIMP-2) is a development project under the Local Government
Engineering Department. The project is spread over those districts
where Rural Development Project-7 is being implemented. In
addition it covers the districts of Greater Dhaka.
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the impact of Feeder
Roads Type-B (FRB), market and ghat improvements, and the
resulting increased efficiency in the transport and trading
systems, on economic and social development within the influence
area of the project. Specifically, the objectives of the study
are:
To analyze and quantify the effects of the FRB improvements
on transport;
To analyze and quantify the effects of the market improvements
on marketing;
In respect of economic development, to evaluate and quantify
the impact of the different categories of transport and market
investments on agricultural production, business activity,
employment, income generation and poverty alleviation, and
consumption and investment
In respect of social development, to focus on evaluating
the impact of the road improvements on the efficiency and
use of rural health (including family planning) and education
services.
The study is based on primary data collected through a sample
survey in the project areas. The survey is being conducted
in three phases: Phase-I collects benchmark data, Phase-II
analyzes the short-term impact, and Phase-III analyzes the
long-term impact.
Joint Study on Japanese Economic
Cooperation with Bangladesh
Project Director: Zaid Bakht
Funding Agency: Institute of Developing Economies, Japan.
The basic objective of the study was to assess the development
performance of Bangladesh and examine how Japan should extend
development cooperation to Bangladesh in future. In this connection,
a critical appraisal who made of past Japanese assistance
to Bangladesh in the form of commodity aid.
Study on Japanese Cooperation
in Industrial Policy for Bangladesh
Project Director: Zaid Bakht
Funding Agency: Institute of Developing Economies, Japan.
The basic objective of the study was to evaluate the performance
of the past industrial policies of Bangladesh and identify
the scope of Japanese policy cooperation in the future.
An Evaluation of the Export
Processing Zones in Bangladesh
Project Director: Zaid Bakht
Funding Agency: Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority
(BEPZA).
The objective of the study was to carry out a critical appraisal
of BEPZA in the light of the overall development perspective
of the country.
A Study of the Cross-border
Illegal Trade
Project Director: Zaid Bakht
Funding Agency: The World Bank.
The broad objective of the study was to assess the volume,
composition, and the terms of cross-border illegal trade in
Bangladesh and to identify the changes that have taken place
in this respect since a BIDS study carried out earlier in
1990. The objectives also included relating these changes
to trade policy reforms both in Bangladesh and in the neighbouring
economies.
Network of Trade Related Institutions
in Asia and the Pacific
Project Coordinator: Zaid Bakht
Funding Agency: ESCAP.
With a view to promoting research on intra-regional trade
issues in Asia and the Pacific, ESCAP/UNDP under the Regional
Trade Programme initiated the networking of trade related
institutions. A regional network of focal point institutions
was set up, and BIDS was selected as the national focal point
for Bangladesh. It was the responsibility of BIDS to form
the local network of institutions concerned with intra-regional
trade. BIDS was also required to organise a two-day national
seminar to discuss the status of national network, research
inventory and data base, and also to deliberate on four commissioned
papers on various aspects of intra-regional trade.
Tripartite Study on the Expansion
of Regional Co-opertion
Project Director: Zaid Bakht
Funding Agency: Ministry of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh.
The tripartite study involving the business community, academia
and the government, aimed at recommending measures for expansion
of regional cooperation under SAARC. For this purpose a day-long
brainstorming session was held at BIDS. The report on the
deliberations of the brainstorming session was presented at
the meeting of the SAARC Expert Group in New Delhi. The report
of the SAARC Expert Group was prepared on the basis of the
country reports of the participating member nations.
Study on the Impact of Fertilizer
Industry in Bangladesh
Team Leader: Debapriya Bhattacharya
Funding Agency: Overseas Economic Development Fund (OECF),
Japan.
The study attempts to generate a comprehensive picture of
the fertilizer sector in Bangladesh from the vantage point
of production, external trade, distribution and availability,
and seeks to assess contribution of the sector to the productivity
and growth of agricultural productivity as well as employment
and income.
Towards Industrial Competitiveness
in Bangladesh: Addressing the
Technology Factor
Team Leader: Debapriya Bhattacharya
Funding Agency: Royal Netherlands Government.
The broad objective of the study is to provide insights into
the present status of technological capabilities (TC) of the
manufacturing sector in Bangladesh, as well as to identify
a number of pertinent measures for building industrial competitiveness
by addressing the technology factor. The TC of the manufacturing
sector will to be appraised at three levels: the firm, this
sector and national. The study is based on a collation of
secondary data/information as well as primary data generation
at firm level. A survey has been carried out on three most
important export-oriented industries of Bangladesh: (a) wearing
apparels (b) leather and leather products, and (c) fish and
seafood.
Experience from Bangladesh
with ethical trading initiatives (CMI Report R 2003: 7)
Team Member: K.A.S. Murshid,
Salma Chaudhuri Zohir,
Anna Milford and Arne Wiig
Funding Agency: Chr. Michelsen Institute
Since the 1990s there has been increasing concern in the
North about products from the South and the conditions under
which they are produced. In least developed countries labour
conditions are considered to be at a very low level. Ethical
trading initiatives, where importers impose codes of conduct
on producers supplying Northern markets, are aiming at improving
working conditions in factories in the South.
This study uses the example of the ready made garment sector
in Bangladesh to go through and evaluate the process of codes
implementation. It also looks at the impact of ethical trading
initiatives in Bangladesh. Based on interviews with Bangladeshi
producers and importers with experience from Bangladesh, the
study produces a set of recommendations for codes implementation.
This includes the process of elaborating and presenting the
codes, auditing the firms and making a corrective plan.
In Bangladesh ethical trading has had a positive impact on
the workers in factories that are compliant with codes of
conduct. Working conditions have improved in large factories
that receive direct orders from retailers. But small and medium
firms, often operating as subcontractors, find it too expensive
to comply with the codes. They are losing out in competition
with larger factories, where costs of compliance are easier
to handle. Many workers have lost their jobs as a result of
this.
Due to ethical trading there seems to be a change in importing
strategies towards larger factories and longer lasting trading
relationships. But this change in strategy can also be explained
by an increased preference among importers for higher quality
products.
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