Annual BIDS Conference on Development (ABCD) on the occasion of 50 years of Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies celebrated the 50 years of independence by launching the Annual BIDS Conference on Development (ABCD) which was held on December 1-3, 2021 at the Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka. This was the first annual flagship event of the institute- a platform to disseminate national and international research on different socio-economic issues and engage the wider community in discussion and debate for the next phase of Bangladesh’s development journey.
Mr. M. A. Mannan, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh honored us with his presence as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the conference titled ‘Bangladesh at 50.’ Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Economic Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh was present as the special guest of the inaugural session. Dr. Binayak Sen, the Director General of BIDS inaugurated the conference by reading out a letter signed by the Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. After that he presented his opening remarks titled ‘Bangladesh in a Comparative Perspective’.
A total of 27 papers and 13 keynote speeches spreading over 10 sessions from Bangladesh and abroad was presented at this conference. The sessions covered topics on macroeconomic policy, the effect of Covid-19 on industry, enterprises, workers and policies, political economy of climate change adaptation, spatial dimensions of development, surviving and thriving of women through major shocks, human capital and public policy, nutrition and well-being, and income and employment diagnostics and drivers. In addition, the keynote presentations presented insights from prominent international researchers and scholars like Martin Ravallion, David Hulme, Yusuyuki Sawada and Geof Wood for their work on the development of Bangladesh.
The panel discussion titled ‘Contemporary Agrarian Transition’, was chaired by Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman where Professor Mahbub Ullah, Professor Shapan Adnan, Professor Abhijit Sen, Arif Naveed, Professor Ratan Khasnabis and Emeritus Professor Dr. M. A. Sattar Mandal were the discussants.
The closing session titled ‘Turning Points in 2020s: Analytical and Policy Challenges (Roundtable)’ was virtually chaired by Professor Sultan Hafeez Rahman. Dr. Shamsul Alam, Honorable State Minister, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh attended this session as the Chief Guest and Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Economic Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh attended as the special guest of this session. The distinguished panelists of this roundtable session included M Syeduzzaman, Former Finance Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus, Principal Secretary to the Honorable Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Fazle Kabir, Governor, Bangladesh Bank, Abdur Rouf Talukder, Senior Secretary, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty, Secretary, Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Md. Jashim Uddin, President, The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Dhaka, Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman, Policy Research Institute (PRI), Syed Akhtar Mahmood, Former Lead Economist, World Bank, Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Barrister Nihad Kabir, President, Metropolitan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Dhaka, Asif Saleh, Executive Director, BRAC and Dr. Binayak Sen, Director General, BIDS.
The presentations and videos of the program are available below.
Inaugural Session: Bangladesh at 50 
Opening Remarks: Bangladesh in a Comparative Perspective
Binayak Sen, Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) 
Keynote Speech 1:
Speaker: Nurul Islam, Emeritus Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) & Former Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission (1972-75) 
Chief Guest: M. A. Mannan, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Planning, Government of the people’s Republic of Bangladesh
Special Guests: A H M Mustafa Kamal, FCA, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Finance, Government of the people’s Republic of Bangladesh
Mashiur Rahman, Honorable Economic Affairs Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister, Government of the people’s Republic of Bangladesh
Keynote Speech 2:
Speaker: Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) & Former Director General, BIDS
Session 1: Macroeconomic Policy, Covid-19 and Economic Recovery: Lessons and Future Pathways
Paper 1: ICTs and Economic Growth in Bangladesh: Rethinking Digitalization Strategies for Faster Economic Recovery 
Monzur Hossain
Paper 2: Covid-19, Public Expenditures and Fiscal Sustainability: Implications for Recovery
Zahid Hussain
Paper 3: Covid Impact and Macroeconomic Policy in Asia
Calla Weimer
Paper 4: Migrant Labor and Remittances: Macroeconomic Consequences and Policy Responses
Sokchea Lim; A. K. M. Mahbub Morshed; Stephen J. Turnovsky
Session Organizer: Monzur Hossain, Research Director, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Session Chair: Calla Weimer, President, American Committee on Asian Economic Studies and Former Editor, Journal of Asian Economics
Keynote Speech 3:
Speaker: S.R. Osmani, Professor of Development Economics, University of Ulster, UK
Session 2: COVID-19 and Firms
Paper 1: How has COVID-19 Affected Micro Enterprises and Workers in Bangladesh?
Asadul Islam, Atiya Rahman, Rafia Nisat
Paper 2: The Performance of Value Chains During the Pandemic: Evidence from Bangladesh
Reshad Ahsan and Kazi Iqbal
Paper 3: Have Clustered SMEs Performed Better than Non-clustered SMEs during the Pandemic in Bangladesh? Evidence from Three Rounds of Worker-Linked Enterprise Surveys
Kazi Iqbal, Tanveer Mahmood, and Mohammad Rezoanul Hoque
Session Organizer: Kazi Iqbal, Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Session Chair: Sajjad Zohir, Executive Director, Economic Research Group (ERG)
Keynote Speech 4:
Aspiration, Freedom and Economic Development
Speaker: Mohiuddin Alamgir, Former Director, United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (UN-IFAD), Rome & Former Research Director, BIDS
Session 3: Political Economy of Climate Change Adaptation
Paper-1: Digging in. Evolving Migration Preferences in Communities Affected by Climate Change: Evidence from Bangladesh
Arne Wiig, Minhaj Mahmud, Ivar Kolstad, Paivi Lujala, and Sosina Beju
Paper-2: How do Host-migrant Proximities Shape Attitudes towards Internal Climate Migrants
Päivi Lujala, Sosina Beju, Ivar Kolstad, Minhaj Mahmud, and Arne Wiig
Paper 3: Does Changing the Narrative Improve Host Community Attitudes to Climate Migrants? Evidence from Bangladesh
Ivar Kolstad, Sosina Beju, Paivi Lujala, Minhaj Mahmud, and Arne Wiig
Session Organizer: Minhaj Mahmud, Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Session Chair: Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Chairman, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF)
Keynote Speech 5:
Speaker: David Hulme, Professor of Development Studies, and Executive Director, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester
Keynote Speech 6:
Speaker: Martin Ravallion, Edmond D. Villani Professor of Economics, Georgetown University, USA
Session 4: Spatial Dimensions of Development
Paper 1: Dhaka’s Overgrowth and Its Costs
Ahmad Ahsan
Paper 2: Convergence in Income, Poverty, and Inequality across Districts of Bangladesh
Mohammad Yunus
Paper 3: Risk, poverty or politics? The determinants of subnational public spending allocation for adaptive disaster risk reduction in Bangladesh
Azreen Karim
Paper 4: Rural Development in Bangladesh over Three Decades: Findings from Mahabub Hossain Panel Data and the Way Forward
Mohammad Abdul Malek, Aiko Kikawa, Abul K Azad and Yasuyuki Sawada
Session Organizer: Mohammad Yunus, Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Session Chair: Quazi Shahabuddin, Former Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Session 5: Surviving and Thriving of Women through Major Shocks
Paper 1: Maternal Depression, Parental Investment, and Child Development
Victoria Baranov
Paper 2: The Power of Lakshmi: Monetary Incentives for Raising a Girl
Laura Zimmermann
Paper 3: Information Campaign and Marriage Market: The Case of Arsenic Exposure in Rural Bangladesh
Shyamal Chowdhury
Session Organizer: Shyamal Chowdhury, Associate Professor, University of Sydney
Session Chair: Binayak Sen, Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Keynote Speech 7:
Speaker: Yasuyuki Sawada, Professor, University of Tokyo and Former Chief Economist, Asian Development Bank
Session 6: Human Capital and Public Policy
Paper-1: Student Performance in Online Education in Bangladesh
Nazmul Hoque, Syed Basher, and A.K. Enamul Haque
Paper-2: Global Value Chains and Public Policy Dilemma in Covid Times: Evidence from Bangladesh
Abeer Khandker
Paper 3: Impact of Floods on Education Outcomes: Evidence from Bangladesh Using Satellite and Census Data
Mohammad Mainul Hoque, Kazi Iqbal
Session Organizer: A. K. Enamul Haque, Professor, Department of Economics, East West University, Dhaka.
Session Chair: Mohammed Farashuddin, Chief Adviser, East West University, Dhaka.
Keynote Speech 8:
Speaker: Naila Kabeer, Professor of Gender and Development, Department of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science
Session 7: Nutrition and Well-Being
Paper 1: Trends and Inequality of Childhood Undernutrition in Bangladesh: A household level analysis (2004-2018)
Abdur Razzaque Sarker
Paper 2: Spatial and Social Dimensions of Poverty; A Multidimensional Approach
S.M. Zulfiqar Ali, Badrun Nessa Ahmed, Mathilde Maitrot, Joe Devine and Geof Wood
Paper 3: Adolescent Motherhood in Bangladesh; Trends and Determinants
Mohammad Mainul Islam, Md. Kamrul Islam, Mohammad Sazzad Hasan, and Mohammad bellal Hossain
Session Organizer: S.M. Zulfiqar Ali, Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Session Chair: Atiur Rahman, Bangabandhu Chair Professor, University of Dhaka and Former Governor, Bangladesh Bank.
Keynote Speech 9:nbsp;
Speaker: Sajeda Amin, Senior Associate, Population Council, New York
Keynote Speech 10:nbsp;
Speaker: Nazrul Islam, Chief of Development Research, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA), New York.
Session 8: Income and Employment Diagnostics and Driversnbsp;
Paper 1: Bangladesh Rural Income Diagnostics
Maria Eugenia Genoni, Mansur Ahmed, Pablo Tillan, and Madhur Gautam
Paper 2: From Jobs to Careers: Apparel Exports and Career Paths for Women in Developing Countries
Gladys Lopez-Acevedo and Mexico Vergara
Paper 3: How Selling Online is Affecting Informal Firms in South Asia
Maurizio Bussolo, Akshay Dixit, Anne Golla, Ananya Kotia, Jean N. Lee, Prema Narasimhan and Siddharth Sharma
Paper 4: Women’s Employment and Safety Perceptions: Evidence from Low-income Neighborhoods of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Tanima Ahmed
Session Organizer: Maria Eugenia Genoni, Senior Economist, Poverty Global Practice, World Bank
Session Chair: S. R. Osmani, Professor of Development Economics, University of Ulster, UK
Keynote Speech 11:
Speaker: Kunal Sen, Director, United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) nbsp;
Session 9: Contemporary Agrarian Transition (Panel Discussion)
Keynote Speech 12
Speaker: Geof Wood, Emeritus Professor of International Development, Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, UK
Distinguished Panelists:
Mahbub Ullah, Former Professor of Development Studies, University of Dhaka
Shapan Adnan, Professorial Research Associate, Department of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London
Abhijit Sen, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Arif Naveed, Lecturer, Education and International Development, University of Bath, UK
Ratan Khasnabis, Director, Economics, Commerce and Business Management, Sister Nivedita University, Kolkata
Abdus Sattar Mandal, Former Vice-Chancellor of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh
Session Organizer: Binayak Sen, Director General, BIDS
Session Chair: Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman, Power and Participation Research Center (PPRC) and Chairperson, BRAC Bangladesh
Session 10: Turning Points in 2020: Analytical and Policy Challenges (Roundtable)
Session Chair: Sultan Hafeez Rahman, Director, BIDS Graduate School of Economics.
Chief Guest:
Shamsul Alam, Honorable State Minister, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Distinguished Panelists:
M Syeduzzaman, Former Finance Minister
Ahmad Kaikaus, Principal Secretary to the Honorable Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Fazle Kabir, Governor, Bangladesh Bank
Abdur Rouf Talukder, Senior Secretary, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty, Secretary, Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, Government. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Zaidi Sattar, Chairman, Policy Research Institute (PRI)
Asif Saleh, Executive Director, BRAC
Syed Akhtar Mahmood, Former Lead Economist, World Bank
Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
Barrister Nihad Kabir, President, MCCI
Md. Jashim Uddin, President, FBCCI
Binayak Sen, Director General, BIDS
Keynote Speech 13:
Speaker: Wahiduddin Mahmud, Chairman, Economic Research Group (ERG)
Please Click here to read and here to view the media coverages of the conference.