Publications

FES Bangladesh and the University of Dhaka jointly published this collection which contains a micropaedia on events related to Bangladesh’s foreign policy and macropaedia on several topics. Volume 1 includes an overview of events related to Bangladesh’s foreign policy in six areas: political, economic, socio-cultural, environmental, technology and education, from January 1, 1972 to December 31, 1975. The volume might be of interest for investigative minds from home and abroad, particularly researchers, policymakers, academics, journalists, and students.

Only hard copy is available at Pathak Shamabesh.

Volume 10 is a gendered look into mainstream international relations. The volume examines the gender dimension of foreign policy. Engendering of foreign policy is not only the quest to locate the role and space of women in the different sectors and areas of foreign policy; but more critically, to examine and interrogate the power relations between and among gender in the mainstream IR discourse and practice.

Only hard copy is available at Pathak Shamabesh.

Volume 11 covers a broad spectrum of Bangladesh’s external sector performance and the economy’s interface with developments in the regional and global contexts. The seventeen chapters in the volume are organised under three interconnected thematic clusters – Domestic Policy and Sectoral Issues, Deepening Regional Cooperation and Towards Sustainable Global Integration. The chapters, contributed by leading scholars of the country, focus on how Bangladesh’s trade, investment and economic policies have evolved over the years, how these have impacted the external sector performance and how these need to be reformed and reframed as Bangladesh moves forward in the twenty-first century.

Only hard copy is available at Pathak Shamabesh.

Volume 16 offers a compilation of the messages and speeches of the then Prime Minister and later the President of Bangladesh, and other political executives concerning Bangladesh’s views on international affairs and foreign relations. This volume covers four years – from December 1971 to August 1975.

Only hard copy is available at Pathak Shamabesh.

Together with Professor Imtiaz Ahmed, the editor of this book “Imagining Post-COVID Education Futures,” this book was taken to create a conversation around access, quality, time, place, space, and conceptualisation of post-COVID education futures. The volume is a nudging provocation for readers to reflect, deconstruct and reconstruct in the multiverse playground of educational futures. While the playground to write within is very open, the 11 Chapters in this volume cover a range of dimensions. This includes the futures of learning spaces, play, blended education, storytelling, educational technology, educational skills, narratives around parent engagement, cross-border education, education for sustainability, Anthropocene education, educational epistemology, and so on. International educationists and experts from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Germany, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States have written chapters for this volume. Despite being exposed to various sources of knowledge, the authors take recourse to ‘imagination’ and bring alternative perspectives to the futures of education. Under the partnership between the Centre for Genocide Studies, University of Dhaka and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bangladesh, this book has been published by Nymphea Publication.

The book “Globalisation and Cultural Transformations among the Youth: Tertiary Institutions under the Spotlight” addresses an overriding research question “Does globalisation cause cultural transformation among the youth?” To get response to the question, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh and the Editors engaged young and established scholars from Bangladesh. The authors reveal the multiplexity of dimensions that globalisation has and the impact of these on the youth. A remarkable feature of the volume is the ‘nearness’ and the ‘lived in’ experiences of the authors and the editors, with the issues of changing nature of universities, critical pedagogy and academic curriculum of higher education, blended learning, social media, migration of higher education, contemporary Bangladeshi films and television dramas, hybridisation of spaces and agencies of social movements, online anti-rape movements, and violent protest in higher education. This book is a collaboration of FES Bangladesh and the Centre for Genocide Studies, University of Dhaka. University Press Limited, a renowned publishing house in Bangladesh, has published it. This book is an outcome of a collaboration of FES Bangladesh and the Journal Committee of the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. University Press Limited (UPL) has published it.

The European Union (EU) is by far Bangladesh’s largest export market, taking almost half of Bangladesh’s exports. More than 80 per cent of all Bangladesh’s exports that receive any tariff preferences is obtained from European markets. In addition, the EU has been one of the most important development partners as well as one of the major sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh still has huge export potential in the EU as it is estimated that currently only 60 per cent of export potential is utilized. But will this bilateral tie be remained same in the coming days and years? What challenges Bangladesh may encounter to keep this long partnership intact? In this paper, Mohammad A. Razzaque and Jillur Rahman analysed Bangladesh’s dependence on EU trade preference, EU’s recent policy shifts regarding environmental, social and governance compliance, current potentials and needs of EU’s cooperation while graduating from LDC, implications of other countries’ trade agreements with the EU and impact of the EU green deal in the Bangladesh’s industries. At the end the authors provided some specific way forward so that Bangladesh can move forward to a strengthened Bangladesh-EU cooperation.

Entrepreneurship is developing rapidly in Bangladesh, but SMEs need more skills and knowledge. The government is prioritising skill gaps in its development agenda. With this understanding, in collaboration with FES Bangladesh, SME Foundation developed a training module on 'Leadership and Management Skills Development for SMEs in Bangladesh'. The 'Institute of Professional Training and Management (IPTM)' has drafted the training module. Training comprehends a basic concept of human resource development, how to start a business with legal entities and leadership development. The content of this training module is designed to benefit start-ups, potentials and running entrepreneurs to engage and hold the information it contains. The objective is to equip trainees with the necessary skills in leadership and management by providing them with the materials, tools and techniques required to promote a decent working environment in pursuit of labour standards. Through this module, entrepreneurs' leadership and management skills will be enhanced to build the capacity of SME entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. This module is written in Bangla.

Follow the link below for the complete publication, or download it.

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh and Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation (SMEF) create resources and discourses for the development of SMEs in Bangladesh. As a part of this collaboration, a training module on "Labour Rights and Gender equality promotion in SMEs" has been produced with the technical support from the Institute of Professional Training and Management (IPTM).

This module equips trainees/SMEs with the necessary skills to understand labour rights and gender equality by providing the essential materials, tools, and techniques to improve the quality of the work environment and labour standards.

This training module helps the existing, or potential SME entrepreneurs by introducing them to the necessary rights of being an SME entrepreneur, so that they can promote themselves in this sector. We hope this effort will foster the capacities of SMEs in Bangladesh.

Please follow the link below for the complete publication or download it.

SMEs are an integral part of Bangladeshi economy. It creates approximately 7.86 million direct jobs. Despite the thriving economic progress, SMEs are reluctantly adopting ICT. The study explores the push and pull factors, challenges and the inability to adopt ICT among business owners, and presents three case studies that clearly show the benefits of ICT adoption in SMEs. A review of policies related to SMEs and digital commerce provides a critical reflection of policy gaps and compliances. It also critically analyses the factors and policy trends to boost ICT adoption in global SMEs and has formulated recommendations.

Innovation Consulting Private Limited in support of SME Foundation and FES Bangladesh conducted the study.

Please follow the below link to read the complete study or to download it.

The book “Women and Work in South Asia: Rights and Innovations” examines the discourse of South Asian women’s work and employment trends through a feminist lens. The contributors from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan take a broad geographical canvas and diverse thematic areas to study how various changes in the world of work influence women’s rights and what requires to create more opportunities of work for women. In addition, it reflects how women innovate and adopt innovative ways to steer their personal and professional lives.

This book demonstrates the renewed demands for implementing a right-based framework due to excelled automation in the industries and different work sectors and also generates a set of policy lessons for the state, private sector, non-profit organisations, and international development partners.

This book is a collaboration of FES Bangladesh and the Journal Committee of the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. University Press Limited (UPL) has published it.

This is a policy brief based on a study titled “Skills Gap and Youth Employment in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Analysis”, conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh. This policy brief explores the most highly demanded skills in Bangladesh’s current labour market. It emphasises on policy options to resolve labour-related challenges which restrain achieving economic growth. In addition, it recommends specific skills required for Bangladesh, especially in the context of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).

Which skills are the most highly demanded by employers in Bangladesh? Are Bangladeshi university students graduating with the right skills for the current labour market? Is there any skills gap in Bangladesh's labour market that affects youth employment? These questions, among others, are answered in this study, which aims to identify the skills which have value for the labour market of Bangladesh. In collaboration with FES Bangladesh, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) initiated this study to identify the reasons behind this situation. As a part of that, CPD conducted two online surveys - one with employers, and another with university students and recent graduates) to analyse the required skills as well as to explore the level of expertise of university students and recent graduates have in these skills. The findings will help to allocate resources efficiently in developing market-relevant skills for the youth of Bangladesh.

The bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and Germany has grown in depth and dimension over the past half-century. The two countries have enjoyed long and fruitful cooperation on most international issues and platforms. Germany committed 3.03 billion euros in financial and technical assistance to Bangladesh between 1972 and 2020. Germany has also contributed to renewable energy, energy efficiency, good governance, the rule of law and human rights, and climate change adaptation as part of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda and Bangladesh’s Five-Year Development Plans. The paper has not only analysed trade and development cooperation between the countries but also looked into the potential roles of Germany and the European Union to mitigate current challenges of Bangladesh in the near future. The author clearly concludes that a strong Bangladesh is good for Germany and the European Union. The circumstances are evolving, and it is time for Bangladesh and Germany and the rest of the European Union to find ways to take their relationships to a higher level of strategic partnerships.

Bangladesh has made significant progress on population and health indicators under the Sustainable Development Goal 3. Even though accessibility, coverage and quality of healthcare remain areas of concern. The health sector can be improved in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), to increase the speed of health services, the capacity to manage illnesses, and change the relationship between patients and healthcare service providers. But Bangladesh would require significant investments in technology from the government, national and international private sector, and international development partners to facilitate the full advantage. Without such investment in the health sector, the targets under SDG 3 cannot be achieved by 2030. This study has utilised nationally representative microdata of 1,600 health facilities and 5,400 health service providers from the Bangladesh Health Facility Survey 2017 to describe the impact of the use of technology and information services. This study is a joint collaboration of Centre for Policy dialogue (CPD) and FES Bangladesh that identifies areas where investments in technology can help improve the quality and increase the affordability of healthcare.

Information technologies (IT) have led to in array of innovations and opportunities which are increasing nationally and worldwide, . the most significant being artificial intelligence (AI). Over the past few years, Bangladesh has seen tremendous growth and prosperity in the IT services industry. In this context, Centre for Policy dialogue (CPD) in cooperation with FES Bangladesh has conducted this study that examines the 4IR’s penetration and impact on the workforce in the country’s IT services sector, especially in regard to the use of AI. This study also discusses the challenges of Bangladesh’s IT sector and provides several recommendations to prepare Bangladesh for the next developments in the digital age in terms of access to technology and policy frameworks.

The gender wage gap in the labour market is a widely discussed issue in relevant discourses and literature. Societal attitude, occupational segregation, vertical segregation, barriers to entry and retention, and discriminatory practices at workplace are often cited as factors contributing to women getting lower wages compared to men. However, the ILO’s recent publication titled “Global Wage Report 2018/19: What lies behind gender pay gaps” singles out Bangladesh as an outlier where women’s average wages, both raw and factor-adjusted, were higher than those of men. These counter-intuitive findings have raised a lot of interest and queries regarding the underlying causes leading to these results. Centre for Policy dialogue (CPD) in association with FES Bangladesh conducted this research which undertakes a thorough investigation of the methodology deployed by the ILO study and critically examines the factors contributing to the reverse gender gap as found in the case of Bangladesh.

Limited access to financial institutions, lack of a credit guarantee scheme, screening out of small entrepreneurs during financing appear to be some of major constraints for Small and Medium Enterprises’ (SME’s) development. What ought to be done to address the issue of access to finance? In Bangladesh, small enterprises contribute a little over three per cent and SME’s all together around 25 per cent to the GDP while micro and small enterprises constitute almost 99 per cent of all enterprises. Statistics show that SMEs' contribution to the GDP has increased, but only at a slow pace. To improve the access to finances for SMEs Bangladesh could draw lessons from other countries. SME financing in Germany might be a good example, as it is considered to be the second most prosperous country due to its SME development. Germany’s financing schemes for SMEs includes pro-SME institutional mechanisms, strong role of specialised public sector banks, subsidised credit to SMEs and institutionalised credit guarantee. The policy paper includes recommendations based on the experiences from Germany to tackle the constraints and policy or institutional obstacles of financing SMEs in Bangladesh.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) create opportunities for employment creation, economic growth and developing economic resilience. The most important element of SME successes is that a skilled workforce is created through technical and vocational education and training (TVET). The institutional arrangement and the approach to TVET contributed to making the required capable work force. In 2016 there were 546,947 registered training places; 517,789 or 94.7% were company-based training places, and the remaining 5.3% were extra-company training places with a cumulative enrolment of about 2.5 million trainees (BIBB, 2018). Yet, these are not enough to build a skilled Bangladeshi workforce. In addition, TVET has been suffering from an absence of an apprenticeship scheme, lack of infrastructure, low reputation and thus low demand for TVET, limited number of specialised institutions, high teacher-student ratio. Thus, lessons from the German experiences can help the Bangladeshi TVET system and especially SMEs to grow faster, as Germany is known worldwide for its innovations and successes in TVET. The policy paper has reviewed TVET plans and policies of Bangladesh, and the German TVET experience and then suggested a way forward for Bangladesh.

The Covid-19 pandemic has not only had a devastating impact on the economic condition of most countries, but also exposed the structural weaknesses of their economies. The pandemic has been a major blow increasing poverty, unemployment, and financial insecurities. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) experienced some of most severe impacts of this pandemic. This publication includes two papers – one highlights the current challenges of the SMEs in Bangladesh and their coping strategies, and the other focuses on the future of SMEs in post-pandemic period in Germany. This publication is an outcome of an international webinar that engaged national and international experts, entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers, association leaders, and civil society representatives to develop policy options for the SMEs during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The youth of Bangladesh is an important group with diverse socio-economic array. In various discussions, the youth has been identified as the main driving force of the country's development. But it is undeniable that the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic has hit the youth community the hardest, especially the marginalised and financially backward youth, which is alarming. Adverse effects on education, employment and mental health, and technological inequalities are creating a sense of isolation among young people. This isolation of the youth is giving rise to various problems and inconsistencies in the society. Considering the socio-economic context of Bangladesh, it is time to analyse the disunity of the youth in more depth. In this context, with the International Youth Day in mind, the Citizen Platform organised a virtual dialogue. This briefing note is a documentation of the discussion on, the ‘detached’ youth society of Bangladesh: who, why and how?

The youth make up for more than half of Bangladesh’s population, much higher than the global average of about 16 per cent. The Bangladeshi youth face many challenges, on several fronts like unemployment, child marriage, high rates of adolescent fertility, low education completion rates and skills deficit etc. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework has explicitly referred to youth as a key constituency and has underlined the importance of youth participation in SDG implementation as a crucial drive of expected outcomes. With the objective to explore opportunities and scope of youth involvement in SDG implementation and accountability processes, a virtual session was organised by the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh. This is the briefing note which presents the discussion on framing around mobilisation, localisation and accountability experiences, from global and national standpoints, with a view to raising the efficacy of the implementation of the SDGs through more active participation of the young generation.

Since the adoption of the SDGs, the role of youth has been emphasized in its implementation. Young people were expected to play a major role in the accountability process of the Voluntary National Review (VNR) and the reaching of the SDGs. Although they have been consulted at various times, there is ample scope for questioning whether their views and suggestions were properly reflected. The reality is that there are many weaknesses in the effective participation of youth in achieving the SDGs and ensuring accountability at the national and especially local level and the necessary framework has not been established. In this context, a virtual dialogue titled 'Accountability in SDG Implementation: Local Perspectives and Youth Society' was organised at the Citizens' Platform. This briefing note is compilation of the discussion of the role of youth in SDG implementation, their experiences and tasks.

Since 2015, FES Bangladesh has been offering the Economy of Tomorrow (EOT) fellowships to students and young researchers. With this fellowship, FES wants to encourage young people to develop policy proposals and disseminate their new and innovative ideas to a broader audience including policymakers. Their papers reflect their passion and strong motivation to propose changes. Therefore, we publish this volume entitled “Technology, Innovations and Work: Policy Options for Bangladesh” including nine chapters in which the fellows aimed to investigate transformative trends of social and economic development, technological and social innovations, factors of social balancing, ecological sustainability, and gender equality. The policy papers offer alternative strategies in their respective areas and propose the formation of inclusive platforms for fostering the implementation of a future economy.

The paper provides evidences that the industrial safety in the readymade garments (RMG) sector in Bangladesh has been passing a critical phase with a lack of proper coordination, monitoring and enforcement which are likely to be the reasons behind rising industrial accidents. It analyzes that during the post-Accord-Alliance period, industrial safety in the RMG sector could not maintain the standard of the Accord-Alliance period. Different kinds of accidents including electrical, fire, structural happened mainly in medium and large-scale factories. The paper not only reviews the nature and trend of industrial accidents but also examines the state of monitoring and inspection carried out by the public and private agencies on workplace safety of RMG enterprises.

In the paper, Dr Razzaque points out that there could be a prolonged period of uncertainty as some of the leading economies scramble for their economic and geopolitical gains. As Bangladesh is set to graduate from the group of least developed countries (LDCs) to lose critical trade preferences within the next few years, consolidating its economic success while exploring new trading opportunities amid the unsettling global trade environment is of particular concern. Having provided a brief analysis of some of the major relevant trends, Dr Razzaque presented several broad recommendations for Bangladesh to navigate the unfolding geoeconomics landscape while advancing its economic development and minimising any backlash from hegemonic tensions.

Digitalization has made the local and international trade in services much easier. The expanding cross-border tradability of services is opening new opportunities for national economies and individuals. Trade in digital services is important for Bangladesh’s economic growth. The pandemic has expedited the adoption of digital technology almost everywhere. This paper explores how Bangladesh can benefit from digital trade in services and what it will take for Bangladesh to adapt to the new trade regime in the digital age. By looking at the preparedness in terms of access to technology and policy framework, the paper makes a number of recommendations for enabling the country to expand digital trade in services. In order to reap the full potential of digital trade in services, the policymakers should play a proactive role in the national and global policymaking process, particularly in the context of multilateral trading system.

The present study assesses the COVID-19 implications for SDGs from the lens of the marginalised population in Bangladesh. This paper presents a scenario based on an analytical framework of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the livelihood conditions of vulnerable groups in Bangladesh. It refers to the 28 SDG indicators grouped under economic, social, environmental and governance pillars. The study suggests policies based on the impact intensity, duration, linkages and disaggregation, which aims to forecast the indicators ensuring SDG accomplishment and inclusive development through the pandemic recovery.

Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh is an initiative which aims to contribute to reaching the SDGs and enhance accountability in its implementation process. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bangladesh, is one of its members, along with 104 other organisations.

This paper explores the concept and manifestation of 'disengaged youth' in Bangladesh. As per The National Youth Policy 2017 of Bangladesh, individuals aged 18-35 are defined as youth. Youth "not in education, employment or training (NEET)" is a practical approach to explaining the disengagement of youth in the context of Bangladesh. In this paper, the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh identified determinants like skills mismatch, locational adversity, digital divide, traditional patriarchal norms, and lack of legal rights and discriminatory practices. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Estiaque Bari, Towfiqul Islam Khan, Fahim Subhan Chowdhury, and Najeeba Mohammed Altaf jointly worked on this paper. This paper explores several experiences from different countries dealing with "disengaged" youth and stipulates programmatic and policy interventions.

Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh is an initiative which aims to contribute to reaching the SDGs and enhance accountability in its implementation process. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bangladesh, is one of its members, along with 104 other organisations.

This exploratory study spotlights the experiences of the previously left-behind (Leave No One Behind - LNOB) and newly pushed-behind (Push No One Behind - PNOB) communities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A face-to-face household survey of 1,600 vulnerable households among the marginalised communities across. The Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh considered Bangladesh carrying out the derivatives regarding trends and relationships based on existing literature and findings. The survey respondents were chosen based on division-wise stratification, geo-locations, diversity and susceptibility to experiencing natural disasters. The study shows that vulnerable households faced considerable challenges due to the COVID19 pandemic. Based on the ground-level evidence, economist and public policy analyst Debapriya Bhattacharya et al. emphasise policies to address solutions in this regard.

Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh is an initiative which aims to contribute to reaching the SDGs and enhance accountability in its implementation process. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bangladesh, is one of its members, along with 104 other organisations.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the key objective of the paper is set to explore the contemporary concerns of the youths in the context of the pandemic in order to illuminate the national recovery agenda. The paper highlights the aggravated challenges of the young people in the following three areas: i) employment, ii) education and skill development, and iii) digital access. Perception surveys and structured investigations have revealed that the opportunity for job placement and skills development have further narrowed for the youths during COVID-19. The pandemic has fast-tracked the digitization of many essential services, including education and employment opportunities. Regrettably, the youth population, who previously did not have digital access, have become further marginalized in the process. The slowdown of economic activities, leading to a significant drop in family income, has also resulted in a higher dropout from educational establishments, particularly for female students.

Globally the COVID-19 pandemic has generated new vulnerabilities among the young generation. Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh conducted a study considering Bangladesh as a case study to analyse the facts and figures in this regard. Policy actions towards recovery and resumption must be informed and deviated based on research. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Sarah Sabin Khan and Towfiqul Islam Khan pointed out the necessity of conceptual, analytical and methodological clarity on relevant issues. They explore the current state of knowledge on the topic more in-depth to analyse these issues.

Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh is an initiative which aims to contribute to reaching the SDGs and enhance accountability in its implementation process. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bangladesh, is one of its members, along with 104 other organisations.

In this paper, the author attempts to discuss the prospects of liberal democracy in Bangladesh after the COVID-19 pandemic on the basis of scrutinizing several ongoing problems and shedding lights on a number of long-lasting issues. The ongoing problems include a growing culture of self-censorship, feeble and ineffective opposition, subtle depoliticization and compromise with the basics of democracy and minimum effort for institution-building. It is also mentioned that lack of enthusiasm for democratic values at the societal level and democracy deficit in the regional and global political landscapes also work as a hindrance in the flourishing of the chance of liberal democracy in the country.

The Digital platform, though a new phenomenon, has been spreading widely in the society and economy of Bangladesh. At the wake of the digital transformation of the service sector, the improvements in internet, access as well as the increase in the availability of smartphones, had led to the growth of digital platforms in the country. Therefore Uber, Pathao, Food Panda, Daraz, and so many others have become household names in urban Bangladesh especially in Dhaka. Nationally, Bangladesh has become the second largest source of online labour in the world. Thus, there are immense opportunities for exploring the scope generating employment among the large number of youths in Bangladesh through the digital platform economy. As it is a new sector and not yet explored and regulated, the paper analyzes the opportunities and challenges of the platform economy to utilize it to the maximum during the fourth industrial revolution.

The corona pandemic has been transforming the global order, and Bangladesh is one of the players. There are lots of changes happening in geopolitics – e.g. global powers are weakened, new alliances are built, regionalism is getting more momentum, vaccines have become an issue of global politics, etc. In this situation, some critical questions such as where Bangladesh stands, how Bangladesh is managing the socio-economic and health loss, how effective are those policy and administrative initiatives to manage the crisis, which countries and actors are beside Bangladesh in this unprecedented situation, and why are they with Bangladesh – are circling on our mind. This paper by Prof Ali Riaz analyses the context of Bangladesh and responds to those questions, and at the end, the author provides four alternatives in moving ahead in the post-corona global political environment: status quo, muddling through, revising the course, or a radical realignment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the ready-made garment industry and on garment workers’ livelihoods. In the first two months after Bangladesh identified the first COVID-19 patient on 8 March 2020, US$3.16 billion worth of orders for 1,140 factories were cancelled, according to BGMEA. This media tracking study was conducted to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the ready-made garments industry. The media tracking followed coverage by print and online media on the situation of the ready-made garment sector during COVID-19, with special focus on female-led trade union activities. The tracking began on 15 March and ended on 15 August 2020.

Like the rest of the world, Bangladesh has adopted measures to address the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led and continue to lead to an unprecedented economic crisis affecting employment and labour markets. While the lockdown measures imposed from March to May 2020 hit the economy hard, economic recovery took time. The deep recession of the global economy is also having an adverse effect. There are already visible signs of the financial crisis's impact on employment and livelihoods. The combined health and economic crisis's adverse effects are being transmitted to the labour market through two broad channels: Domestic and external.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have long been globally recognised as engines of growth. In recent times, a growing emphasis on inclusive development has drawn further impetus on SME development since SMEs' growth contributes to GDP growth, employment creation, poverty alleviation, and vertical and horizontal expansion of firms. These SME enterprises are very dynamic and can adjust better with the changes. In Germany, 99.4% of the enterprises are micro, small and medium enterprises. It accounts for 63% of all employment and contributes to over 54% to value addition. In emerging economies, SMEs contribute up to 45% of total employment and 33% of GDP. Over 98% of the enterprises are SMEs in Bangladesh. More than 84% of rural non-farm employment was generated through cottage and micro-enterprises in 2013.

Bangladesh has seen a significant increase in women's participation in the workforce in recent years. According to the International Labour Organization, it increased by 35 percent between 2008 and 2017, while male employment increased by only 11 percent. However, women still face many barriers in the job market. One important issue is their limited participation in trade unions. Although the potential to improve the situation for women is huge, women are still severely underrepresented - on average, only 6.3% of trade union members are women. The purpose of this report is therefore to look into women's participation in trade unions and the issues they face as well as how women's roles in trade unions can be strengthened.

The 7th Anniversary of Rana Plaza tragedy (24 April 2020) was observed in a completely different context in Bangladesh – particularly with regard to the world of work. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the shutdown of all kinds of economic activities in the country since late March 2020 which severely affected businesses, employment, workers’ wages and earnings, occupational safety and health (OSH) and workers’ rights. The country’s world of work would be affected further in the coming days in view of the grim outlook on the economy for the rest of the period of 2020 and partly for 2021.

Over the last few years, despite economic growth and declining poverty levels in Asia, inequality has continued to grow with large groups of society becoming marginalised, not least women. In Bangladesh, despite significant progress on women’s rights in recent years, women still compose a far smaller share of the labour force, and continue to face structural societal challenges towards education, higher level jobs and better work conditions. In addition, automation within the ready-made garment sector as well as the agricultural sector presents a big risk for women’s labour participation. Upcoming sectors, such as within Information and Communication Technology, risks limiting women’s access to the labour market even further.

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Bangladesh and Centre for Development and Employment Research are proud to present our new study "Employment, Labour Force Participation and Education: Towards Gender Equality in Bangladesh". The authors, Rushidan I Rahman, PHD and Rizwanul Islam, have conducted a quantitative study on the role of women and their possibilities in the labour force in the fast developing economy of Bangladesh. Based on the results, they have made a number of policy recommendations on how to reduce gender inequality in the country.

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Bangladesh and Centre for Policy Dialogue are proud of presenting a newly published study titled “Graduating LDCs in an Evolving WTO: Options and Strategies”. The authors analyse recent developments and reform initiatives in the WTO from the perspectives of "graduating LDCs" and made suggestions on how the WTO can safeguard their trade interests in the course of losing their LDC status. FES Geneva Office will launch the study in the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, October 2019.

This paper examines the livelihood issues of the workers in the readymade garments (RMG) sector of Bangladesh, and identifies the scope of determining a minimum wage that would address their requirements of a decent livelihood standard. The study observes a compositional change in workers’ household expenditure patterns, where non-food expenses have taken up the larger share. Workers of all grades were found struggling to meet their essential needs, which indirectly implies that their earnings are inadequate for spending beyond the subsistence level.

With a large youth population, Bangladesh faces the challenges of harvesting the benefits of a demographic dividend. However, in recent years, the labour market of Bangladesh has been struggling to absorb the increasing number of young job-seekers. This disconcerting trend remains a fault line in Bangladesh’s prospect of graduating from the least developed country (LDC) category with a momentum. In this context, this study, undertaken by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), provides an insightful exposure of the causes of youth unemployment in the country. It constitutes an analysis of the latest available empirical evidence.

The policy brief examines the nature and extent of dierences in the relative performance of EPZ and non-EPZ enterprises in the post-Rana Plaza period. Based on the data collected from the sample survey of 226 randomly selected non-EPZ area enterprises and 14 EPZ enterprises, the study undertakes a comparative assessment of these two types of enterprises of the RMG sector.

The Policy Brief presents a case study of a subcontractee enterprise which is not a member of any trade body but enlisted in the DIFE. The Brief highlights the benchmark level of social compliance and technological standards of this enterprise in order to understand its potentiality in undertaking necessary economic and social upgrading activities to make the enterprise sustainable.

The poor state of workers’ organisations at the enterprise level is the weakest part of a globally competitive readymade garment (RMG) value chain of Bangladesh. The situation did not improve even after undertaking various initiatives during the post-Rana Plaza period. The Policy Brief reviews the challenges of institutionalisation of workers’ organisations in the RMG sector and puts forward suggestions for better functioning of these organisations.

The objective of this policy brief is to review the problems identified in workplace safety and security in the RMG sector and to identify the gaps of the public monitoring system in contrast with that of international initiatives, and consequently putting forward a set of recommendations for developing a sustainable M & I system for factories.

The study aims to create a 'data universe' for the RMG sector of Bangladesh consisting of information on the RMG enterprises which are currently in operation. The study puts forward a set of recommendations on how to develop a comprehensive database for the RMG sector of Bangladesh. The data for this study has been compiled from various available sources including the internal databases of public and private organisations.

The title of the second version of the policy paper on Dhaka University is self-explanatory. The paper addresses a few pertinent issues, such as governance, faculty recruitment and student admission, campus politics, campus security, teaching and research, and soft power all of which are crucial towards achieving excellence.

This policy paper identifies and prioritises the key challenges faced by the students, teachers and management. Based on the real experience shared by the actors involved, the paper formulates a set of action-oriented policy recommendations.

Bangladesh's integration into the global supply chains is mainly linked to its liberalised trade. Free trade regimes such as the EU GSP have made significant contributions to the economic upgrading of the country, but have failed to upgrade its social development. Although freedom of association, freedom from forced and child labour and employment free of discrimination, are defined as the Core Labour standards (CLS), these ILO core conventions are rarely complied by all actors along the global supply chain. Furthermore, the aftermath of the Rana Plaza events tragedy revealed an urgent need for the inclusion of rights such as decent working hours, living wages and health and safety, which are regarded as the elements of CLS+. The study titled "Linking Trade and Decent Work in Global Supply Chains in Bangladesh" highlights power imbalances in the industrial and labour relations along the global supply chain and offers recommendations for all actors along the chain to alter the conditions prevailing at the bottom of the value chain. The study is a part of the regional project CLS+, which was launched by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Asia in 2016.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role for development. Germany is a role model for SMEs. This is due to several important factors: Germany’s local banking system, which is not profit oriented; the dual vocational system; the high social capital of strong employers’ associations and trade unions; government support of SME clusters and a big, government-owned development bank. SMEs in developing countries typically suffer from limited access to long-term and affordable finance, insufficient institutions for developing a skilled class of entrepreneurs and workers, a low income, and poor policies to support economic and social upgrading of SMEs. The study illustrates that economic upgrading in developing countries is necessary, but will not be successful without social upgrading. Germany – with its high social capital within the framework of a social market economy, its financial and education system, and its government support for SMEs – can stimulate debates about SMEs in developing countries.

Since independence, Bangladesh has made significant gains in empowering women. It has formulated and implemented policies and programmes that improve the condition of women and girls. Maternal mortality and fertility rates have gone down, making Bangladesh attain gender parity in enrolment. Women’s movement played a critical role in bringing about these changes. However, the women’s movement faces many different challenges given the rapidly changing economic and political contexts at the national and global levels. For socially just and gender equal responses to these challenges, solidarity and coalitions among the various school of thoughts in Bangladesh are essential. The study is an attempt to trace the history of women’s movements in Bangladesh and to discuss its achievements and internal and external challenges for a sustainable movement. The author weaves in broader historical changes and discusses the nature of the current political context.

The changing nature of international trade, dominated by global value chains, has led to downward pressure on working conditions. Fundamental rights at work, such as the right to organise and bargain collectively, are not upheld. Child labour exists in many supply chains, and minimum wages, when paid, are not sufficient to ensure decent living standards. Forced overtime and lack of safety measures are also common. This publication wishes to draw attention to the imbalances in international trade and the asymmetric power relationship in global value chains, and to initiate a discussion on how to tackle these challenges. It is one of the outputs of the regional project Core Labour Standards Plus (CLS+), which was launched by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Asia in 2016.

Escaping the Middle-income Trap: Perspectives from Bangladesh. Development experiences of a number of countries bear out that these countries are not being able to come out of the middle-income status after having graduated from the low income group. They have fallen into what is often termed as the middle-income trap. Many factors underpin such an outcome. The study analyses on how Bangladesh may be able to avoid such a trap, how best she can take advantage of her strengths and how she could accelerate her pace of development to graduate from the middle-income status. The study has articulated a need for new coalitions of drivers, which have high stakes in bringing transformative changes in Bangladesh, to emerge.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reflect an ambitious development objective with a transformative vision. The new development agenda makes for a holistic developmental framework. Experts are forecasting that the new agenda could achieve more than its predecessor, the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). The SDGs bring enormous opportunities, but also immense challenges for developing countries around the world. This study identifies five key challenges of implementing the SDGs in developing countries: integrating the SDGs into national, sub-national and local-level development plans; establishing an institutional architecture that can deliver the development agenda; mobilising adequate financial and other resources; realising a “data revolution” with regard to monitoring and evaluation; and developing partnerships by creating platforms for multi-stakeholder participation.

The Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in April 2013 made global news. The accident also raised major concerns about the working conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry and questions about western companies’ lack of control and supervision of their supply chains. Beyond the news of April 2013 and the one-year anniversary, it is time to have a close look at what has happened since. This project was not designed to point fingers at people or specific companies. An online publication project by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Dhaka Office and Social Europe looks at the situation after Rana Plaza bringing together different experts on the subject.

The Economy of Tomorrow Project aims at constructing a new development path and enable the formation of “discoursive coalitions” in order to build momentum and power for its implementation. The regional dialogue between renowned academic thinkers from Asia and Europe is based on the assumption that there cannot be a one-size-fits-all blueprint in order to overcome the manifold crises both Asian and European societies are facing today. In all participating countries, renowned economists look at the challenges on the way to the economy of tomorrow.

FES published "Lagging Behind: Lessons from the Least Developed Countries for a Development Agenda Post-2015," based on the CPD study titled “Attaining the MDGs: How Successful are the LDCs?” The study is authored by CPD Distinguished Fellow Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, with co-authors Research Fellow Mr Towfiqul Islam Khan, Research Associate Ms Umme Salma and Programme Associate Mr Gazi Joki Uddin. Based on the study FES Bangladesh earlier co-organised a dialogue to discuss the delivery of the MDGs in least developed countries and reflect on Post-2015 issues on 21 September 2013.