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The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh's Unexpected Success

Author

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  • Hossain, Naomi

    (Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex)

Abstract

From an unpromising start as 'the basket-case' to present day plaudits for its human development achievements, Bangladesh plays an ideological role in the contemporary world order, offering proof that the neo-liberal development model works under the most testing conditions. How were such rapid gains possible in a context of chronically weak governance? The Aid Lab subjects this so-called 'Bangladesh paradox' to close scrutiny, evaluating public policies and their outcomes for poverty and development since Bangladesh's independence in 1971. Countering received wisdom that its gains owe to an early shift to market-oriented economic reform, it argues that a binding political settlement, a social contract to protect against the crises of subsistence and survival, united the elite, the masses, and their aid donors in the wake of the devastating famine of 1974. This laid resilient foundations for human development, fostering a focus on the poorest and most precarious, and in particular on the concerns of women. In chapters examining the environmental, political and socioeconomic crisis of the 1970s, the book shows how the lessons of the famine led to a robustly pro-poor growth and social policy agenda, empowering the Bangladeshi state and its non-governmental organizations to protect and enable its population to thrive in its engagements in the global economy. Now a middle-income country, Bangladesh's role as the world's laboratory for aided development has generated lessons well beyond its borders, and Bangladesh continues to carve a pioneering pathway through the risks of global economic integration and climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Hossain, Naomi, 2017. "The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh's Unexpected Success," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198785507.
  • Handle: RePEc:oxp:obooks:9780198785507
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ali, Tariq Omar & Hassan, Mirza & Hossain, Naomi, 2021. "The moral and political economy of the pandemic in Bangladesh: Weak states and strong societies during Covid-19," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. David Lewis & Abul Hossain, 2022. "Local Political Consolidation in Bangladesh: Power, Informality and Patronage," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(2), pages 356-375, March.
    3. Naomi Hossain, 2018. "How the international media framed ‘food riots’ during the global food crises of 2007–12," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(3), pages 677-688, June.
    4. Katy Gardner, 2024. "Intimate Extractions: Demand Dowry and Neoliberal Development in Dhaka, Bangladesh," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 55(1), pages 76-96, January.
    5. Wahiduddin Mahmud, 2020. "Socio-Economic Progress with Poor Governance: How are Amartya Sen’s Thoughts Relevant for Contemporary Bangladesh?," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 14(3), pages 359-371, December.
    6. Md. Ashiqur Rahman, 2018. "Governance matters: climate change, corruption, and livelihoods in Bangladesh," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 313-326, March.
    7. David Lewis, 2017. "Organising and Representing the Poor in a Clientelistic Democracy: the Decline of Radical NGOs in Bangladesh," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(10), pages 1545-1567, October.
    8. Mathilde Maîtrot & Geof Wood & Joe Devine, 2021. "Understanding resilience: Lessons from lived experiences of extreme poverty in Bangladesh," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(6), pages 894-910, November.
    9. Urmi Sengupta, 2023. "Geopolitical priorities, governance gaps, and heritage subjectivities: The perils of heritage-making in the post-disaster reconstruction in Nepal," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 41(3), pages 523-547, May.

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