Noble Laureate's prescription merits serious consideration
Friday, 31 October 2008
The piece of advice that came from Noble Laureate Professor Richard R Ernst at a seminar in Dhaka the other day about the need on the part of the Bangladeshis to go for local solutions to local problems using their own talent and intelligence should merit attention of all concerned. The exhortation is highly relevant also in the present time when so many examples are before us about putting starry-eyed unquestionable faith in everything that comes from developed western countries to the exclusion of any appropriate home-grown solutions that hold out prospects of more effectiveness in the local conditions.
Bangladesh over the years has developed considerable capacities in diverse sectors. There are some Bangladeshis in the fields of science and technology, specialized industrial skills, agricultural science, medical science, nutrition, etc., who made their marks even in the developed countries. Some of them are to be found in this country and have invented and tested inexpensive solutions for application in different areas with positive implications for the economy. But they are hardly given the chance to use their merit and know-how that would not only make the country self-reliant and boost its confidence but also save a great deal of precious resources now being drained on costly and sometimes irrelevant and also ineffective use of foreign consultants and expertise. Thus, what the noble laureate has prescribed for Bangladesh makes pre-eminent sense. It needs consideration by the policy planners leading to coordinated efforts to put it into practice in different spheres of economic and other activities.
Even it has been proved by the recent shattering experience of the financial turmoil in the developed countries that the theory of 'one size ought to fit all' is not a realistic or safe advocacy. The developing countries have continued to be showered with advice and directives over the years by the developed countries and the multilateral donor organizations, supported by them, about the sole virtues of a free economy, unfettered by any government regulation or intervention. But that is not necessarily the whole truth, though the quality of regulation or governance remains yet a matter of consequence. Now that the governments and leaders of the developed countries are having to eat their own words as they have involved the resources of the state massively to try and manage somehow the bailout of their financial institutions and a good number of giant businesses, in the face of hitherto unregulated derivatives' market, the need for proper regulation has come to the fore.
Thus, there is a clear message in this development that there is no absolutely refined model of economic practice to be blindly followed anywhere. It is best to think up and be sure of what is best for oneself than unhesitatingly and hastily gulping down any recommended solution of foreign origin. For example, in the Bangladesh context, it may be recalled that sometime ago the multilateral capital donors advised the Bangladesh authorities to go for restrictive monetary policies to tame inflation. But analyzing the field-level realities of what a tight credit squeeze would mean for economic growth or jobs and income at that stage, the Bangladesh Bank opted for an independent-minded policy and did not put so much of a brake on monetary expansion. The results were found to be favourable on the whole with inflation not shooting out of controls while, more significantly, economic growth was not restrained.
On its part, Bangladesh needs to draw lessons from other successful countries in addressing its problems. There are so many areas in Bangladesh such as from the successful applications of local research into building higher agricultural production capacities to building infrastructures and inexpensive appropriate technologies, that need encouragement from the government and people to steer the country on a path of successful and sustainable self development. Government and also the private sector should adopt policies and set them in motion to this end.
Bangladesh over the years has developed considerable capacities in diverse sectors. There are some Bangladeshis in the fields of science and technology, specialized industrial skills, agricultural science, medical science, nutrition, etc., who made their marks even in the developed countries. Some of them are to be found in this country and have invented and tested inexpensive solutions for application in different areas with positive implications for the economy. But they are hardly given the chance to use their merit and know-how that would not only make the country self-reliant and boost its confidence but also save a great deal of precious resources now being drained on costly and sometimes irrelevant and also ineffective use of foreign consultants and expertise. Thus, what the noble laureate has prescribed for Bangladesh makes pre-eminent sense. It needs consideration by the policy planners leading to coordinated efforts to put it into practice in different spheres of economic and other activities.
Even it has been proved by the recent shattering experience of the financial turmoil in the developed countries that the theory of 'one size ought to fit all' is not a realistic or safe advocacy. The developing countries have continued to be showered with advice and directives over the years by the developed countries and the multilateral donor organizations, supported by them, about the sole virtues of a free economy, unfettered by any government regulation or intervention. But that is not necessarily the whole truth, though the quality of regulation or governance remains yet a matter of consequence. Now that the governments and leaders of the developed countries are having to eat their own words as they have involved the resources of the state massively to try and manage somehow the bailout of their financial institutions and a good number of giant businesses, in the face of hitherto unregulated derivatives' market, the need for proper regulation has come to the fore.
Thus, there is a clear message in this development that there is no absolutely refined model of economic practice to be blindly followed anywhere. It is best to think up and be sure of what is best for oneself than unhesitatingly and hastily gulping down any recommended solution of foreign origin. For example, in the Bangladesh context, it may be recalled that sometime ago the multilateral capital donors advised the Bangladesh authorities to go for restrictive monetary policies to tame inflation. But analyzing the field-level realities of what a tight credit squeeze would mean for economic growth or jobs and income at that stage, the Bangladesh Bank opted for an independent-minded policy and did not put so much of a brake on monetary expansion. The results were found to be favourable on the whole with inflation not shooting out of controls while, more significantly, economic growth was not restrained.
On its part, Bangladesh needs to draw lessons from other successful countries in addressing its problems. There are so many areas in Bangladesh such as from the successful applications of local research into building higher agricultural production capacities to building infrastructures and inexpensive appropriate technologies, that need encouragement from the government and people to steer the country on a path of successful and sustainable self development. Government and also the private sector should adopt policies and set them in motion to this end.