BIDS RESEARCH ALMANAC 2023
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) organized a two-day long conference titled “Development Prospects and Challenges: BIDS Research ALMANAC 2023” on May 17-18 2023 at Lakeshore Hotel, Gulshan, Dhaka. This conference is one of the main annual flagship events of the institute.
The purpose of this event was to introduce the research work undertaken by BIDS researchers to the broader audiences including scholars from home and abroad, academicians, donor agencies, development practitioners, media, civil society, and the government.
M. A. Mannan MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, was present as Chief Guest, Dr. Shamsul Alam, Honorable State Minister, Ministry of Planning, attended as Special Guest, and Mr. Satyajit Karmaker Secretary Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, was present as the Guest of Honor in the inaugural session of the event.
A total number of twenty papers was presented over the six technical sessions in two days. The session themes covered Macroeconomic issues, Human Development and COVID-19, Skill and Labour Market Outcomes, Poverty and Health Equity, and lastly Emerging Development Issues.
The event was concluded with an expert panel discussion on “Development Prospects and Challenges”, taking cue from the lessons learned from the event. Dr. Binayak Sen, Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies was the moderator of the session and Dr. Kazi Iqbal, Senior Research Fellow, BIDS Presented the paper titled, “What Did We Learn from the BIDS Research ALMANAC 2023”. In this closing Session, Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Economic Affairs Advisor to the Honorable Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, graced the event as the Chief Guest, Md. Abdur Rouf Talukder, Governor, Bangladesh Bank, and, Dr. Shamsul Alam, Honorable State Minister, Ministry of Planning attended as Special Guest.
Ten distinguished panelists of the panel discussion included, Dr. Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, Member (Secretary) Physical Infrastructure Division, Planning Commission, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Abdul Baki, Member (Secretary), Industry and Energy Division, Planning Commission, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Abul Kashem Md. Mohiuddin, Secretary, Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dr. Md. Abdus Sattar Mandal, Professorial Fellow, BIDS, Dr. Sultan Hafeez Rahman, Director, BGSE, Dr. Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, Executive Director, Policy Research Institute (PRI), and Dr. Monzur Hossain, Research Director, BIDS.
Inaugural Session: Welcome Remarks and Keynote Speech 
"Urban Poverty Dynamics during Covid-19: Anatomy of Resilience"
Dr. Binayak Sen, Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Chief Guest: Mr. MA Mannan, MP, Hon'ble Minister of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Special Guest: Dr. Shamsul Alam, Hon'ble State Minister of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Guest of Honor: Mr. Satyajit Karmaker, Secretary, Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Technical Session 1: Rural Dynamics and Employment
Paper 1
: Rural Livelihood Dynamics in the Haor Region of Bangladesh
Mohammad Yunus, Binayak Sen, Mainul Haque, Md. Zabid Iqbal,Mohammad Riaz Uddin, and others
Paper 2: Paddy E-procurement Program in Bangladesh: Effects and Efficacy
Taznoore Samina Khanam, Kazi Iqbal, and M. Mehrab Bakhtiar
Paper 3: Gender Differences in Time Use and Labor Force Participation: Evidence from Labor Force Survey in Bangladesh
Nahian Azad Shashi, Mahir A. Rahman, and Sajeda Amin
Session Chair: Quazi Shahabuddin, Former Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Discussants:
1. M. Asaduzzaman, Former Research Director, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
2. Munshi Sulaiman, Director, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD)
Technical Session 2: Macroeconomic Issues and Firms
Paper 1: Impact of Ukraine Crisis on Bangladesh Economy Using
Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model
Tahreen Tahrima Chowdhury, Angga Pradesha, Paul Dorosh, and Rizwana Islam
Paper 2: Sustainable Financing Strategies for SMEs: Two Alternative Models
Monzur Hossain, Naoyuki Yoshino, and Kenmei Tsubota
Paper 3: Impact of Accord & Alliance-led Compliance Measures on RMG Firm Performances in Bangladesh
Tahreen Tahrima Chowdhury, Monzur Hossain, and Kazi Iqbal
Session Chair: Sajjad Zohir, Executive Director, Economic Research Group (ERG) Discussants:
1. Deen Islam, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka
2. Javed Hossain, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, North South University
Technical Session 3: Human Development and Covid-19
Paper 1: Where Do We Stand after Almost Two Years of School Closure due to COVID-19: Assessment of Learning of Primary School Students in Bangladesh
Zulfiqar Ali, Siban Shahana, and Rashd-e-Matina
Paper 2: How Do Institutional Development Grants (IDGs) Affect Student Satisfaction at the National University Affiliated Tertiary Colleges in Bangladesh?
Badrun Nessa Ahmed, Zulfiqar Ali, Rizwana Islam, and Nahid Ferdous Pabon
Paper 3: Learning during the Pandemic: How Useful Was the RLS for the Young Learners?
Siban Shahana, Zulfiqar Ali, and Rizwana Islam
Session Chair: Manzoor Ahmed, Professor Emeritus, BRAC University Discussants:
1. Atonu Rabbani, Professor, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University
2. Salma Begum, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, BRAC University
Technical Session 4: Skill and Labor Market Outcomes
Paper 1: Skill Mismatch and Labor Productivity: Evidence from Two Emerging Sectors of Bangladesh
Kazi Iqbal and Maruf Ahmed
Paper 2: Skills Gap in the Leather and Footwear Sector in Bangladesh
Mohammad Harunur Rashid Bhuyan
Paper 3: Skill Gap in the Agro-Food Processing Sector in Bangladesh
Kashfi Rayan, Mohammad Harunur Rashid Bhuyan, and M Asaduzzaman Paper 4: Labour Market and Skill Gap Analysis for Readymade Garment Industry in Bangladesh
Rizwana Islam, Nazneen Ahmed, and Abdur Razzaque Sarker
Session Chair: Md. Sanwar Jahan Bhuiyan, Deputy Executive Project Director (Joint Secretary), Skills for Employment Investment Program (SEIP)
Discussants:
1. Sayema Haque Bidisha, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka
2. Subhasish Barua, Associate Professor, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka
Technical Session 5: Poverty and Health Equity
Paper 1: Nudging Escape from Poverty: Strengthening Women's Ability for Productive New Opportunities (SWAPNO) 3rd Cycle End-Line Evaluation
Binayak Sen, Abdur Razzaque Sarker, Tanveer Mahmood, Irfat Zabeen, and Quazi Towfiqul Islam
Paper 2: Annual Out-of-pocket Cost of Cancer among Bangladeshi Households: A Field Study
Abdur Razzaque Sarker
Paper 3: Revisiting Pavement Dwellers of Dhaka City in 2022: Exploring Expectations and Exclusions and SDG 11 Achievements
Anwara Begum
Session Chair: Syed Abdul Hamid, Professor, Institute of Health Economics, University of Dhaka
Discussants:
1. Syed Naimul Wadood, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka
2. Shehrin Shaila Mahmood, Associate Scientist, Health Economics and Financing Research Group, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)
Technical Session 6: Emerging Development Issues
Paper 1: Expert Adoption of Composite Indices: A Randomized Experiment on Migrant Resettlement Decisions in Bangladesh
Azreen Karim, Ivar Kolstad, Päivi Lujala, and Arne Wiig
Paper 2: Mobile Lives: The Quotidian Use of Mobile Phone
Mohammad Golam Nabi Mozumder
Paper 3: Accelerating Youth Entrepreneurial Growth: The Role of Composite Skills Development Programs in Bangladesh
Mahir A. Rahman, Azreen Karim, and Rizwana Islam
Paper 4: Time and Cost Overrun in Development Projects: Evidence from Audit Reports of Roads Projects
Jayed Bin Satter, Kazi Iqbal, and Md. Taibur Rahman
Session Chair: Enamul Haque, Professor, Department of Economics, East West University
Discussants:
1. Shahadat Hossain, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka 2. Asad Karim Khan Priyo, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, North South University
Closing Session : Development Prospects and Challenges
Chief Guest : Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Economic Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Special Guest : Md. Abdur Rouf Talukder, Governor, Bangladesh Bank
Presentation: "What Did We Learn from the BIDS Research Almanac 2023?"
Dr. Kazi Iqbal, Senior Research Fellow, BIDS
Moderator : Dr. Binayak Sen, Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Panelists:
1. AKM Fazlul Haque, Member (Secretary), Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Division, Planning Commission, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
2. Dr. Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, Member (Secretary), Physical
Infrastructure Division, Planning Commission, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
3. Abdul Baki, Member (Secretary), Industry and Energy Division, Planning Commission, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
4. Dr. Md. Kawser Ahmed, Member (Secretary), General Economics Division, Planning Commission, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh 5. Abul Kashem Md. Mohiuddin, Secretary, Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), Ministry of Planning, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
6. Dr. Md Abdus Sattar Mandal, Professorial Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), and former Vice-Chancellor, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU)
7. Dr. Sultan Hafeez Rahman, Director, BIDS Graduate School of Economics, (BGSE)
8. Dr. Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) 9. Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, Executive Director, Policy Research Institute (PRI)
10. Dr. Monzur Hossain, Research Director, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)