HEALTH, NUTRITION, RURAL HOUSEHOLD INCOMES AND LABOR ALLOCATION: ECONOMETRIC EVIDENCE FROM BANGLADESH

This paper estimates the returns to health and nutrition in both farm and off-farm activities of agricultural households in rural Bangladesh. The findings of this paper indicate that the health of adults in rural Bangladesh influences the households' choice of employment activities as well as their incomes given their participation decisions. Adult height has a significant positive effect on off-farm self-employment incomes as well as total household incomes. Higher adult BMIs also appear to increase total household incomes.Consumer/Household Economics,

Everyday forms of collective action in Bangladesh: Learning from Fifteen Cases

"This paper examines fifteen cases of collective action in six villages in rural Bangladesh. Collective action was defined broadly and identified from significant episodes in previous life-history research in the same villages. The types of collective action identified were catalyzed by marriage; dowry and domestic violence; disputes over land; illness, injury and death in accidents; and theft and cheating. The role of development NGOs was less significant than would be expected considering their visibility in rural Bangladesh. The study suggests that ‘everyday forms' (Scott 1985) of collective action often occur spontaneously and informally, with significant impact on peoples' wellbeing, but with ambiguous outcomes for some poor people involved. This is a different picture that is usually understood in Bangladesh – due to the visibility of NGOs – particularly by outsiders. Local government elected chairs and members play a key role in collective action events, which often include local arbitration, or shalish, hearings. A deeper understanding of how collective disputes and struggles are commonly managed in everyday life should help us to hold a more realistic view of the empowerment potential of interventions aimed at fostering collective action in rural Bangladesh." authors' abstractCollective action, Disputes, Social norms, Gender, Poverty,

Book review: Village ties: women, NGOs, and informal institutions in rural Bangladesh by Nayma Qayum

In Village Ties: Women, NGOs, and Informal Institutions in Rural Bangladesh, Nayma Qayum explores the role of non-governmental organisations in involving women in the political and development process in rural Bangladesh. This book contributes to scholarship that attends to ordinary people’s lived experiences to understand how marginalised communities solve political and social problems, finds Ritwika Patgiri. Village Ties: Women, NGOs, and Informal Institutions in Rural Bangladesh. Nayma Qayum. Rutgers University Press. 2021

How can Bangladesh utilise human security for rural development?

For safeguarding human security in rural Bangladesh, people-centred development is at the core of discourse: focusing on self-reliance, community living, social justice, and participatory decision-making. Unfortunately, it is missing in the context of rural Bangladesh, writes Mohammad Tarikul Islam

Does Micro-credit Program in Bangladesh Increase Household’s Ability to Deal with Economic Hardships?

It is often argued that micro-credit program intervention at the grassroots level increases the ability of the poor to deal with crises. This paper examines the relationship between households’ involvement in micro-credit programs and their capacities to deal with economic hardships by focussing on BRAC, one of the largest micro-credit providers in Bangladesh. Using RAND data collected in one region of rural Bangladesh, the paper addresses a key question: Do micro-credit programs increase the ability of the poor to deal with crises? The findings in this paper indicate that BRAC’s micro-credit program in Bangladesh may increase participating households’ abilities to cope with economic hardships but further research to much more systematic information needs to be conducted about micro-credit program before conclusive results can be reached.Micro-credit, Economic Hardships, Rural Bangladesh

Analysing perceptions of English in rural Bangladesh

Drawing on research analysing perceptions of English in rural Bangladesh, the paper explores the ideological and practical issues involved in the promotion of English in this context, with respect to the language's former and current associations with colonial and imperialist agendas, and the politico-cultural situation of present-day Bangladeshi society. The analysis – which is underpinned by a blending of world Englishes and postcolonial theory – reveals how dominant discourses of English as a language of global opportunity persist in these rural communities, despite the limited opportunities for using the language or developing proficiency in it. By representing these ‘subaltern’ views on English in what is an under-researched context, the paper offers critical insights into the impact of English-language education on rural Bangladeshis’ social prospects, communities and cultural identities

How does local government cope with disaster in Bangladesh?

Successful coordination is an essential ingredient for Disaster Management. In the first of a two article series on human interactions with environment in rural Bangladesh, Mohammad Tarikul Islam examines the coordination in the comprehensive disaster management approach in rural Bangladesh under the auspices of local government (Union Parishad) and potential impediments to this approach

Book review: gendered lives, livelihood and transformation: the Bangladesh context edited by Meghna Guhathakurata and Ayesha Banu

In Gendered Lives, Livelihood and Transformation: The Bangladesh Context, editors Meghna Guhathakurata and Ayesha Banu bring together contributors to explore women's lives and livelihoods during the transition from a subsistence economy in rural Bangladesh. This well-written volume communicates the sense of belonging, interpersonal bonds and new hopes for continuing survival among the marginalised social groups in rural Bangladesh, finds Sajal Roy

English for economic development: a case study of migrant workers from Bangladesh

This report investigates the relationship between English language learning and economic development among workers from rural Bangladesh who emigrated to the Middle East in search of employment. It provides first-hand accounts of language and other needs of those living and working in contexts of this sort, and provides valuable insights which can feed into the design and implementation of English language education policies and programmes

Intergenerational Wealth Mobility in Rural Bangladesh

Unique residential history data with retrospective information on parental assets are used to study household wealth mobility in 141 villages in rural Bangladesh. Regression estimates of father-son correlations and analyses of intergenerational transition matrices show substantial persistence in wealth even when we correct for measurement errors in parental wealth. We do not find wealth mobility to be higher between periods of a person's life than between generations. We find that the process of household division plays an important role: sons who splinter off from the father's household experience greater (albeit downward) mobility in wealth. Despite significant occupational mobility across generations, its contribution to wealth mobility, net of human capital attainment of individuals, appears insignificant. Low wealth mobility in our data is primarily explained by intergenerational persistence in educational attainment.intergenerational inequality, household wealth, occupational mobility, schooling mobility, transition matrix, Bangladesh