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Economic gains to vanish without good governance

Akbar AH Khan says at a book launching ceremony

Star Business Report
Bangladesh's socio-economic gains over the past decades will not be sustainable without ensuring good governance, Akbar Ali Khan, former adviser to the caretaker government, said yesterday.
"There are many countries that suffered for deteriorating economic conditions after registering progress. It may happen to our country if we cannot establish good governance, " said Khan at a book launching ceremony of two books on rural development and transformation of rural economy at Brae Centre.
Mahabub Hossain, adviser to executive director of Brae, and Professor Abdul Bayes, a teacher at the economics department at Jahangirnagar University, authored the books, "Leading issues in Rural Development Bangladesh Perspectives" and "Tales ofTwenty Villages".
The first one is written in English and the second in Bangla. The University Press Ltd published the books that highlight major changes in livelihoods, transformation and
development in rural areas.
Based on data from 62 villages in 1988 and oral history shared by elderly people, the two books take into account drivers of rural development - modernisation of agriculture and expansion of high yielding varieties (HYV) of rice, farm mechanisation, development of rural road networks, and reducing fertility or household size -over the past decades.
In his foreword in the book, Leading Issues in Rural Development, Khan said he noticed a few distinct areas where the book stands unique.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of Brae, said the book Tales ofTwenty Villages is a fiction on socio-economic changes and transformation.
Both Khan and Abed find the inclusion of oral history in explaining socio-economic progress 'rare'.
"This is perhaps the most nontechnical but highly meaningful glimpse of the turnaround in rural spectrum. The authors have reportedly visited some randomly selected villages to listen to the views of the
rural people on transformation.
"Interestingly, the feelings of the people seem to fit the quantitative evaluation of the social scientists," said Khan.
He said the books were written avoiding economic jargons and presented observations to reach a large audience He said Bangladesh's rural economy and society witnessed transformation that many could not imagein 1972.
"There is no debate about the achievements but there is a big weakness in the economy,” he said, adding that a lack of good governance remains the main problem.
"Newspaper reports show that the law and order situation has deteriorated. As a result, parents (in many rural areas) do not want to keep their daughters unmarried," he said, citing the reasons behind early marriages.
MM Akash, a professor at the economics department at University of Dhaka, said the book, Leading Issues in Rural Development, identified five drivers of rural transformation, such as increasing agricultural
productivity by adopting HYV rice, and expansion of non-farm activities for development of rural road networks.
He said apart from long term issues, the book also focuses on contemporary issues such as mechanisation of agriculture and climate change. "The main feature of the book is its authenticity."
Co-author Hossain said there has been a change in perception of rural people in keeping the size of their families small. The average size of a family is now 4, which was 6 earlier, he added.
■ It has made big contribution to the rural economy," he said, adding that a reduction in the number of dependants facilitates people in generating surplus and invest in non-farm activities. Some 90 percent of croplands have come under HYV cultivation; as a result, surplus foods are produced and are sent to urban areas, he said.
Hossain said government's policy and investment in rural road networks facilitated expansion of non-farm activities.