The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated many problems that were inherent in our societies, e.g., poverty, inequality, and food shortages, to name a few. The pandemic has also brought to the surface other problems, some of which are valid in the context of the coronavirus: public panic, difficulty in getting the public to comply with issued guidelines, and the struggle to keep information separate from rumours. In such situations of uncertainty, it is crucial to be able to provide guidance for the public to follow, and equally important that the public believes the communication. So, it matters who the public trusts as a source of information. This paper is based on the premise that public trust in information sources translates into public compliance with issued guidelines to make communication count. Thus, we ask whether there is any association between peoples’ most trusted information source, and most followed information source, with their compliance, which we measure through a compliance score that we calculate. Using a sample of respondents that is urban-representative of Bangladesh, this paper finds that people who mostly trust international media, academicians, political leaders, and the World Health Organization are more compliant with issued guidelines. In contrast, people who mostly follow the police as an information source are less compliant. Based on the findings, the paper suggests that the increased involvement of certain trusted information sources is better than other sources in designing and implementing effective communication strategies during a pandemic in Bangladesh.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.57138/OJYB1696Date of Publication May 2023KeywordsBangladesh, Communication, Compliance, Covid-19, Information Source, TrustJEL Classification CodeI10, I18, I19, D83Recommended CitationUddin, M. R., Murshed, R., & Iqbal, M. Z. (2021). Does Higher Trust Mean Better Compliance? Covid-19 Evidence from Urban Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Development Studies, 44(3/4), 103-134. https://doi.org/10.57138/OJYB1696

Inadequate dietary intake is one of the causes of childhood undernutrition and associated morbidity and mortality in many low and middle-income countries, including Bangladesh. The study aims to identify the prevalence, associated factors, and socio-economic inequalities in minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and minimum acceptable diet among 6-23 month-children in Bangladesh. This study uses data from the latest round of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2017-18. Descriptive analyses have been conducted to report frequencies and percentages of the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of 6-23 months aged children. Bivariate and multiple logistic models are used to identify the predictors of each dietary indicator. In addition, we estimate concentration indices and use Wagstaff-based decomposition analysis to identify socio-economic inequalities in dietary diversity and their contributing factors. The study finds the prevalence of minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and minimum acceptable diet as 38%, 81%, and 36%, respectively. Education of mothers is a significant predictor of all three dietary indicators. In addition, household wealth status and administrative division are significant predictors of minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet. Children of working mothers are found to have higher odds of having minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet compared to their counterparts. We find concentration indices for minimum dietary diversity as 0.21 (p<0.001), for minimum meal frequency as 0.08 (p<0.05), and for minimum acceptable diet as 0.19 (p<0.001). Wealth status of household, mother’s and father’s education levels, and exposure to mass media are the major contributing factors to these inequalities. Therefore, policymakers and other stakeholders need to give prior attention to enhancing household wealth status, empowering women, and awareness-raising initiatives to improve the feeding practices of children in Bangladesh. DOI: https://doi.org/10.57138/HKFC5019Date of Publication December 2018KeywordsChildren, Dietary Diversity, Meal Frequency, Nutrition, BangladeshJEL Classification CodeC55, E61, I10, I14, I15Recommended CitationKhanam, M., & Sarker, A. R. (2021). Dietary Diversity among Children Aged 6-23 Months in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Development Studies, 44(3/4), 81-102. https://doi.org/10.57138/HKFC5019

Inadequate employment opportunities and child marriage are major challenges for female adolescents in many developing countries. Using panel data on a group of 14-18-year-old Bangladeshi adolescents receiving vocational skills training from BRAC and a group of non-participants, this paper analyses the impact of skills training on labour supply, earnings, and child marriage. The intervention is found to significantly increase adolescents' labour market participation and income, with the impacts being higher for girls. It also significantly reduces the possibility of female adolescents being married off before the minimum legal age, indicating that labour market participation is likely to reduce child marriage among them.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.57138/FFAC8708Date of Publication May 2023KeywordsSkills Training, Adolescent Development, Panel Data, Labour Market Participation, Child MarriageJEL Classification CodeJ12, J13, J24Recommended CitationRahman, A., Bhattacharjee, A., & Rahman, R. (2021). Labour Market Outcomes and Child Marriage. The Bangladesh Development Studies, 44(3/4), 57-80. https://doi.org/10.57138/FFAC8708

Climate change, through exposure to submergence, salinity, and droughts, affects crop production and leads to food insecurity, particularly in developing countries. Various climate-stress–tolerant rice varieties have been developed in many countries in the world to mitigate climate-related production losses. Despite the benefits of stress-tolerant rice varieties (STRVs), adoption rates are still low. This paper uses panel data from Bangladesh to analyse the factors influencing the adoption of STRVs. A random-effects probit model with the Mundlak approach is used to control for the farmer- and plot-level heterogeneities and to avoid the incidental parameters problem. The study finds that smallholder farmers are more inclined to adopt STRVs, proving that this technology is related to a type of adaptation in the form of adoption. The main drivers for adopting STRVs are information and knowledge transferred by extension workers, sharing knowledge by membership in an organisation, and learning from peers. Policy measures such as providing capacity enhancement activities, strengthening social capacity and local institutions, and implementing a site-specific policy are suggested to encourage the adoption of STRVs in climate-stress-prone areas.DOI: https://doi.org/10.57138/VQFL9457Date of Publication May 2023KeywordsTechnology Adoption, Submergence-tolerant Rice Varieties, Salinity-tolerant Rice Varieties, Climate Change, Panel Data, BangladeshJEL Classification CodeC33, O13, Q12, Q16Recommended CitationKhanam, T. S. (2021). Factors Affecting the Adoption of Stress-Tolerant Rice Varieties. The Bangladesh Development Studies, 44(3/4), 33-56. https://doi.org/10.57138/VQFL9457

This paper investigates the possibilities of subsistence homestead aquaculture producers to commercialise using a two-wave panel data of 518 households in Bangladesh. A binary endogenous switching regression model is applied to explore opportunities and constraints of commercialisation and a counterfactual analysis to estimate the effects of commercialisation on income and poverty. The study finds that while there is good potential for commercialisation, only a few households do that. Households who engage in commercial aquaculture achieve higher per capita income and are less likely to be poor. The study also finds that subsistence fish farmers who transform towards commercialised producers tend to receive support from non-government organisations, are members of fish farmers’ associations, and have better access to local fish markets. A major constraint to aquaculture transformation is the lack of government attention to the subsistence-oriented homestead fish producers, thus forgoing a huge potential for reducing poverty and increasing welfare. The paper suggests that fisheries extension services should develop and implement a specifically-targeted aquaculture commercialisation program in cooperation with the agricultural extension.  DOI : https://doi.org/10.57138/FCTX5528Date of Publication May 2023KeywordsAquaculture, Commercialisation, Household Welfare, Endogenous Switching Regression, Correlated Random Effect JEL ClassificationQ22, M31, D60, C34, C33Recommended CitationAhmed, B. N. (2021). Graduation from Subsistence to Commercial Aquaculture. The Bangladesh Development Studies, 44(3/4), 1-32. https://doi.org/10.57138/FCTX5528