Effect of Public Investment on Economic Growth in Bangladesh: An Econometric Analysis

This paper explores the role of public investment in the process of economic growth, in the context of Bangladesh economy. Due to lack of recent official statistics, necessary datasets were derived by the author for the period 1973-2011. For the estimation purposes several econometric method are used. The results show that Public Investment has positive effects on GDP in Bangladesh. So increases in public investment should have a positive net impact on economic growth which augments our economic development in future. Findings point out that keeping the high public investment level in Bangladesh together with improvement in institutional surroundings would be beneficial for economic growth. This paper concludes with a number of policy recommendations arising from the research findings. Kewords: Public Investment, Economic Growth, Unit Root Test, Co-integration test, Jarque-Bera test, Multicollinearity test, Heteroskedasticity, Likelihood Ratio Test

Determinants of Capital Flight in Bangladesh: an Econometric Estimation

This study investigates the causes of capital flight from Bangladesh during the study period ranging from 1973 to 2013. Linear regression  model has been used  and  the  method  of  least  squares (OLS)  has  been  applied  to estimate  the  various  determinants  on  capital flight. The results illustrate external debt, foreign direct investment inflows, and foreign reserves to be the main causes of capital flight. Apart from Econometric Analysis, we have also shown that the other reasons of capital from Bangladesh includes economic crimes that generated through huge illegal incomes, whether from the willful default of bank loans, corruption in tax administration, manipulation in stock exchanges, over-invoicing and under-invoicing in trade settlements, leakage in public development expenditure, or illegal financial deals in the running of state-owned enterprises.  Statistically we have proved that External Debt is the major cause of Capital Flight from Bangladesh. In future proper external debt management and utilization will be key strategy for Bangladesh Govt. to combat the capital flight from Bangladesh and also improving the foreign reserve can balance the lost capital or wealth from Bangladesh.         Keyword: Flight Capital, Unit Root Test, Multicollinearity Test, Heteroskedasticity, Correlation Matrix, ARCH Test

An Alternative Proposed Method for Solution of Assignment Problem

The assignment problem is a particular type of linear programming problem. In this paper, we analyzed the standard and existing proposed methods.  After studying these methods, we proposed a new alternative method for solving the assignment problem. We examined the newly proposed method by a couple of numerical examples and compare this result with the standard method. The main characteristic of this newly proposed method is that it constructed a very easy logical and arithmetical algorithm. Here we point out some advantages and limitations of the new proposed method. Programming code for the newly proposed method has been added in this paper

Hydrogen-rich syngas fermentation for bioethanol production using Sacharomyces cerevisiea

Bioethanol is an eco-friendly biofuel due to its merit that makes it a top-tier fuel. The present study emphasized on bioethanol production from hydrogen-rich syngas through fermentation using Sacharomyces cerevisiea. Syngas fermentation was performed in a tar free fermenter using a syngas mixture of 13.05% H2, 22.92% CO, 7.9% CO2, and 1.13% CH4, by volume. In the fermentation process, effects of various parameters including syngas impurity, temperature, pH, colony forming unit, total organic carbon and syngas composition were investigated. The yield of bioethanol was identified by Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry analysis and further, it was confirmed by Nuclear magnetic resonance (1H) analysis. From GC-MS results, it is revealed that the concentration of bioethanol using Saccharomyces cerevisiae was 30.56 mmol from 1 L of syngas. Thus, hydrogen-rich syngas is suited for bioethanol production through syngas fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This research may contribute to affordable and environment-friendly bioethanol-based energy to decrease the dependency on fossil fuels. © 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LL

Production and characterization of pectinase enzyme from rhizopus oryzae

The research was conducted with the production of pectinase enzyme by fungal fermentation using Rhizopus oryzae and characterization of produced enzyme with respect to pH, temperature, incubation time, and substrate specificity. Carbon source was optimized replacing sugar with different concentration of pectin (0.5, 0.75, and 1.0%) during submerged fermentation. The outcomes of the fermentation process showed that media containing carbon source of 1% pectin replaced dextrose at pH 6.0 incubating for 72 hours at 35 °C were the best condition for pectinase production. The maximal activity for pectinase enzyme produced from Rhizopus oryzae by fermentation was 3.16 U.mL-1 and it was found at 40 °C and pH 6.5. The produced pectinase enzyme was found thermo stable up to 60 °C for 50 min. The activity of the enzyme was increased with the increasing pectin concentration in the media and maximum activity was found at the pectin concentration of 5 mg.mL-1. The km and Vmax values were found 0.84 mg.mL-1 and 5.294 mg.mL-1 respectively at optimized condition. The outcomes of the research may be useful for further research in low cost production of pectinases from R.oryzae for domestic consumption in many industries

Monolithic ontological methodology (MOM): An effective software project management approach

Due to rapid changes in software applications, especially incorporating the demands of self-regulating technologies becomes a major challenge in software projects. This research focuses on technological, managerial, and procedural challenges, which are believed to be the most significant factors contributing to projects failure. To address these issues, this study proposes Monolithic Ontological Methodology (MOM) which addresses the weakness in the existing benchmark methodologies including PRINCE2, Extreme Programming, and Scrum in terms of project management, quality control, and stakeholder involvement. The MOM consists of seven phases and each phase has the required number of iterations until it is approved by management. The updated information is recorded and shared with the respective teams. The standard documentation with control language is structured by descriptive logic (DL) that reduces ambiguity and technical debate. Furthermore, the illustration of the MOM includes figures, logical expressions, and descriptions. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was performed. The findings indicate the validity of MOM concerning considered performance metrics. Although the applicability of the proposed methodology involves relatively more documentation and formalities. The adaptive nature of MOM makes it suitable for the standard organization and brings sustainability to the organization by implementing distributed project management

Volatility Estimation in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) returns by Garch Models

This study aimed at understanding the volatility of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). The daily and monthly average DSE General Index (DGEN), from the period January 1, 2002 to July 31, 2013 has been used. The study has been made by using the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models to estimate the presence of volatility. Though volatility is a common phenomenon in the capital market, the study recommends careful monitoring of volatility by the concerned authority if necessary. It is also recommended that activities of corporate insiders should be properly checked and information should become available for all of the interested investors and to ensure adequate supply of stock through active participation of the government and giant national and multinational companies and so forth

Examining Bangladesh's responses to COVID-19 in light of Vietnam : lessons learned

This review aimed to examine the extent of Bangladesh's COVID-19 preparedness and control measures up to 20 January 2021, and to draw some lessons for informing the current and future pandemic responses in Bangladesh in light of Vietnam's responses, which had successfully controlled the pandemic. We performed a content analysis of data to identify similarities and critical discrepancies in epidemiological features and COVID-19 responses between the two countries. Findings indicated that Vietnam reported lower COVID-19 incidence (15 cases per million) and death rate (0.4 cases per million) than Bangladesh, with 3,129 cases per million and a death rate of 46 cases per million. Vietnam reported only 35 deaths, with 22 older individuals (>60 years) compared with 7,950 deaths in Bangladesh, with the highest death rate in older people (45%). An integrated approach combined with widespread contact tracing, better health investment, vaccine development, and strong political commitment enabled Vietnam to control the disease and mitigate its impacts. In contrast, Bangladesh seemed to adopt inadequate and untimely measures in the same domains, potentially contributing to relatively high COVID-19 infections and death rates. To control COVID-19 or inform responses to future pandemics, Bangladesh and similar countries can learn eight lessons from Vietnam. Such transferable responses could prepare health systems and populations for an appropriate global response to the next potential pandemic

Integrated technique to produce sustainable bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass

This study focuses on the utilization of mostly available renewable energy resources, such as lignocellulosic biomass, to generate syngas and bioethanol through a hybrid gasification and syngas fermentation process. The lignocellulosic biomass was characterized using TGA, XRD, FESEM with EDX analysis, and gasifying parameters were optimized using Aspen Plus®. In the first stage of this integrated process, hydrogen-containing syngas was generated, and the final product was bioethanol. The forest waste-based syngas produces higher bioethanol than EFB and coconut shell in the presence of biocatalyst. Therefore, bioethanol will be a sustainable biofuel that will satisfy the world's future energy demands

Examining Bangladesh’s responses to COVID-19 in light of Vietnam: Lessons learned

This review aimed to examine the extent of Bangladesh’s COVID-19 preparedness and control measures up to 20 January 2021, and to draw some lessons for informing the current and future pandemic responses in Bangladesh in light of Vietnam’s responses, which had successfully controlled the pandemic. We performed a content analysis of data to identify similarities and critical discrepancies in epidemiological features and COVID-19 responses between the two countries. Findings indicated that Vietnam reported lower COVID-19 incidence (15 cases per million) and death rate (0.4 cases per million) than Bangladesh, with 3,129 cases per million and a death rate of 46 cases per million. Vietnam reported only 35 deaths, with 22 older individuals (>60 years) compared with 7,950 deaths in Bangladesh, with the highest death rate in older people (45%). An integrated approach combined with widespread contact tracing, better health investment, vaccine development, and strong political commitment enabled Vietnam to control the disease and mitigate its impacts. In contrast, Bangladesh seemed to adopt inadequate and untimely measures in the same domains, potentially contributing to relatively high COVID-19 infections and death rates. To control COVID-19 or inform responses to future pandemics, Bangladesh and similar countries can learn eight lessons from Vietnam. Such transferable responses could prepare health systems and populations for an appropriate global response to the next potential pandemic