Weekly Bangladesh Policy Outlook: Analysis, Truth, Debate.
Over the past few weeks, one headline has been dominating news publications across Bangladesh: “The World Bank has predicted job losses in Bangladesh induced from the war in the Middle East to climb up to 600,000, with 1.2 million fewer people escaping poverty”. While it has primarily been known through newspaper articles, the insights originate…
Few global rankings stir as much domestic unease in Bangladesh as the annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published by Transparency International and given local reach through Transparency International Bangladesh. The index sets out to estimate perceived levels of public sector corruption across 182 countries, relying on expert assessments and business surveys rather than any direct…
Read More “Measuring the Immeasurable: What the Corruption Perceptions Index Actually Tells Us” »
Bangladesh sends hundreds of thousands of workers abroad every year, and the remittances they send home, which topped thirty billion US dollars in the 2025 financial year, are routinely presented by politicians and economists as proof that the country’s labor export strategy is working. A 2026 analysis published in The Oniket Bulletin by Sheikh Selim…
Read More “Exporting Labor, Importing Debt: Rethinking Bangladesh’s Migration Strategy” »
Introduction Between 2009 and 2015, Greece endured repeated bailouts, harsh austerity, economic contraction, and social upheaval, a crisis that remains a defining example of how fiscal mismanagement, opaque data, political calculation, and external dependency can converge into national emergency. Though Bangladesh and Greece differ greatly in structure and development, aspects of Greece’s experience remain instructive….
Read More “The Greek Government Debt Crisis and Its Lessons for Bangladesh” »
In 2024, Bangladesh’s summer turned bloody, not because of the intense heat, from a protest that turned streets into a battleground, leaving 1,400+ dead by the United Nations’ own estimate, a number that still defines how the country sees its politics today. The same ‘heat’ has gripped the region, Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya movement that toppled…
Read More “Can SAARC be revived, and if so, under Bangladesh’s Leadership?” »
Bangladesh has emerged as one of the most passionate cricketing nations on the planet, and the economic dimensions of that passion are becoming impossible to ignore. From a modest cricketing outpost that only gained test status in 2000, the country now commands a sports market estimated at roughly 40 to 43.5 million dollars annually, with…
Bangladesh cut its rural poverty rate faster than almost any country in the region. Pakistan cut its poverty rate too, then watched much of that progress unwind. The two stories look opposite but they are not. This article argues that both countries grew rural incomes the same way: by pulling more people into work, not…
What if the world’s perception of corruption and informality is only telling half of the story? Bangladesh and Nigeria are often judged by corruption rankings and headlines that portray them as economies crippled by graft and informality. However, beneath these narratives, both countries demonstrate economic dynamism, innovation, and adaptation. Their reality reveals that we cannot…
In reference to Dr Umaima Imran’s article published in the Oniket Bulletin, Pakistan and Bangladesh are both met with the enticing opportunity of engaging in trade, through a cooperative bilateral relationship, despite their history of conflict and genocide. However, this article also raised one key question. Why is now the time for Bangladesh and Pakistan…
Beyond Participation: The Challenge of Productive Inclusion Bangladesh’s economic transformation over the last three decades is one of the most remarkable development stories in South Asia. While discussions often focus on export growth, poverty reduction, and industrial expansion, a crucial component of this success has been the growing participation of women in the labour market….
