In the backdrop of looming uncertainties in the recent political arena and their possible implications for the economy of the country, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) organised a dialogue titled “Bangladesh 2013: Assessing Economic Implications of the Present Political Shocks”. The Dialogue was held on 13 April 2013 at the Lakeshore Hotel, Dhaka, and was attended by Members of Parliament, business leaders, representatives from civil society, academia and various political parties. The event was chaired by Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, CPD.Mr Tofail Ahmed, MP, Member, Awami League (AL) Advisory Council; Dr Osman Farruk, Former Minister, Ministry of Education & Member, Advisory Council to the BNP Chairperson; Mr Abdul Awal Mintoo, Former President, FBCCI; and Mr A K Azad, President, BCI and Former President, FBCCI were present as the panelists at the event. Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow, CPD presented the keynote paper where he elaborated that the increased frequency of country wide Hartals has put detrimental consequences on the economic stability for short, medium and long term as they might lead to further economic slowdown and weaken the attained socio-economic achievements. The CGE modeling exercise revealed that a major long term impact arising from Hartalsis the loss of capital stock, and 1 per cent decline in supply of capital costs the loss of about .9 per cent GDP at market price. Participants at the discussion agreed with CPD’s suggestion to create an enabling environment for dialogue among the political parties. They cautioned that in the absence of a consensus-based solution of the current impasse, the country could face serious consequences which would be detrimental not only to the interest of the economy but would also undermine democratic institutions in the country. The event was widely covered by print and electronic media.
Keynote paper
Bangladesh 2013: Assessing Economic Implications of the Present Political Shocks