Mohammad Yunus

Population Pressure and Livelihood Dynamics: Panel Evidence from Bangladesh

Since the publication of the World Development Report 2008, two related strands of research have emerged—one on the validity of smallholder-led development strategy and the other on agricultural intensification under population pressure. The former casts doubt about the role of agriculture in economic development in smallholders dominated countries and the later provides evidence that are contrary to earlier findings on induced innovation theory. Using a unique panel dataset, we examine whether these arguments are valid for Bangladesh—a densely populated country that has experienced significant growth in recent decades. The results suggest that (1) agriculture as a source of income declined significantly over the past two decades; (2) the operated farm size stopped declining in the late 1980s; and (3) that population density relates positively with a host of agricultural intensifications indicators with no evidence of threshold. Historical data on real prices, domestic surpluses, and other macroeconomic variables lend further support to these results. Thus, the paper concludes that small-holding was not a deterrent to structural changes in Bangladesh thus far and that agricultural intensification continued amid intense population pressure.

Bangladesh: Market Force Supersedes Control

Bengal was once an advanced area in the Indian subcontinent. Since the age of Buddha there have been numerous births and collapses of kingdoms in the Bengal region (Islam 1997). In the late eighteenth century, British India made Kolkata its capital, and this remains the capital of the West Bengal state of India. The region was also advanced in terms of industrialization, led by the textile industry. Cotton textiles symbolized by Dhaka muslin and jute products were the items produced and exported (Iftikhar-Ul-Awwal 1982, 1997).

Integration of ICT Industries and its Impact on Market Access and Trade: The Case of Bangladesh and India

This book considers the leadership of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the interaction with civil society in the process of South Asian regional cooperation and integration, and discusses how the emerging urgency in the provision of regional public goods provides an excellent opportunity to add to the successes in South Asian regional integration.