BIDS RESEARCH ALMANAC 2019 HELD.
"BIDS Research ALMANAC 2019” was held with the theme of “Tracking Bangladesh’s Development” on 1-2 December, 2019 at Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka. The aim of this annual flagship event of BIDS is to share research that has been completed or are at an advanced stage of completion and to undergo public scrutiny of BIDS work. “BIDS Research Almanac” has now become a premier conference of its kind and attracts a wide range of audience including scholars, policy makers, development practitioners, activists, advocacy groups and journalists.
Spread over a total of five technical sessions, this year’s ALMANAC had 15 papers presented by BIDS researchers with 9 of the studies being conducted under Bangladesh Government’s Special Research Programme for BIDS, sponsored by the Ministry of Planning. It covered topics on Agriculture and Rural Non-farm Sector, Poverty and Unemployment, Macro Model, Industry and Firm Performance, Urbanization and Social Change and Renewable Energy, and Climate Change Adaptation.
The Conference was inaugurated by Mr. Abul Maal A Muhith, Former Minister for Finance, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Dr. Shamsul Alam, Senior Secretary & Member, General Economics Division (GED), Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and Mr. Nurul Amin, Secretary, Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh were present as Special Guests.
The closing session titled “Reviewing Bangladesh’s Development Strategy”, was chaired by Dr. K.A.S. Murshid, DG, BIDS. Mr. M. A. Mannan, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was present as the chief guest for the session. The distinguished panelists of the round table discussion included Dr. Rizwanul Islam, Former Special Adviser, Employment Sector, ILO, Geneva, Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman, PRI, Dr. Zahid Hussain, Former Lead Economist, World Bank and Dr. Binayak Sen, Research Director, BIDS
The presentations and videos of the program are available below.
Inaugural Session: Tracking Bangladesh’s Development 
Chair: Dr. K.A.S. Murshid, Director General, BIDS
Chief Guest: Mr. Abul Maal A Muhith, Former Minister for Finance,
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Special Guest:
Dr. Shamsul Alam, Senior Secretary & Member, General Economics Division (GED), Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Mr. Md. Nurul Amin, Secretary, Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Technical Session 1: Agriculture and Rural Non-farm Sector
Paper 1: Dynamics of Rural Nonfarm Sector in Bangladesh: 2000-2016
Kazi Iqbal, Kazi Ali Toufique, Nazneen Ahmed, Nahid Ferdous Pabon, and Wahid Ferdous Ibon
Paper 2: Holy Cows and Unholy Institutions: Analyzing the Pattern of Growth of Cattle Population in India
Kazi Ali Toufique, Kazi Iqbal and Wahid Ferdous Ibon
Paper 3: Rice Market in Bangladesh: Role of Key Intermediaries .
Nazneen Ahmed, Md. Mainul Hoque and Nahian Azad Shashi
Technical Session 2: Poverty and Unemployment
Paper 1: S-Curve, Mini Big-Push and Escape from Poverty: Insights from a Micro Panel Data
Binayak Sen and Mohammad Riaz Uddin
Paper 2: Why is poverty so pervasive and increasing in some districts in Bangladesh?
S.M. Zulfiqar Ali and K.A.S. Murshid
Paper 3: Employment and Unemployment Amongst Educated Youth – A Study Based on a Large Online Survey in Bangladesh
K.A.S. Murshid, Tanveer Mahmood and Nahian Azad Shashi
Paper 4: Urban Informal Sector: Dualism, Growth and Employment
Binayak Sen, Mohammad Harunur Rashid Bhuyan, Shahidul Islam, Anwara Begum and Iqbal Hossain
Technical Session 3: Macro Model, Industry and Firm Performance
Paper 1: A Macro Model of the Bangladesh Economy
Mohammad Yunus, Nazneen Ahmed, A.K Enamul Haque, M Salimullah and Rizwana Islam
Paper 2: Impact of Compliance Standards on Firm Performances and Risks of Workplace Hazards: Evidence from the RMG Industry in Bangladesh
Monzur Hossain, Kazi Iqbal and Tahreen Tahrima Chowdhury
Paper 3: Pharmaceutical Industry in Bangladesh: Prospect and Challenges
Nazneen Ahmed, Kazi Iqbal, Rizwana Islam, and Nahid Ferdous Pabon
Technical Session 4: Urbanization and Social Change
Paper 1: A Glimpse into the Lives of Dhaka City Dwellers
S.M. Zulfiqar Ali, Abdur Razzaque Sarker, Maruf Ahmed and S.M. Zahedul Islam Chowdhury
Paper 2: What makes you a smart user of Smartphone
Mohammad Golam Nabi Mozumder
Technical Session 5 : Renewable Energy, and Climate Change Adaptation
Paper 1: Does Renewable Energy Increase Farmers' Well-being? Evidence from Solar Irrigation Interventions in Bangladesh
Monzur Hossain and Azreen Karim
Paper 2: Adapting to Climate Change: Migration, Vulnerability and Livelihoods in the Bengal Delta- The Search for Effective Policy Options
Anwara Begum , Mohammad Harunur Rashid Bhuyan, Azreen Karim and Maruf Ahmed
Paper 3: Atmospheric Particulate Matter and Black Carbon in Dhaka City- A Contributor to Climate Change
Mitali Parvin
Closing Session:Reviewing Bangladesh’s Development Strategy
Chair: Dr. K.A.S. Murshid, Director General, BIDS
Chief Guest: Mr. M. A. Mannan, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Special Guest: Dr. Shamsul Alam, Senior Secretary & Member, General Economics Division (GED), Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Distinguished Panelists:
Dr. Rizwanul Islam, Former Special Adviser, Employment Sector, ILO, Geneva
Dr. Mohammmad Ali Taslim, Former Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka
Dr. Zahid Hussain, Former Lead Economist, World Bank
Dr. Binayak Sen, Research Director, BIDS
Dr. M. A. Razzaque, Research Director, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh