Bangladesh Journal of Public Administration

Understanding Poverty from the Perspective of the Poor

Ranjan Guha — 2023-11-09

The concept of poverty has expanded in recent decades to encompass its multidimensionality, rather than focusing solely on monetary aspect. Social exclusion and insecurity are among the most pressing issues in understanding poverty; however, efforts to understand the social exclusion and insecurity process in light of the lived experiences of impoverished people remain scarce. The contextual issues surrounding the poverty of the very poor in various geographically vulnerable settings are the focus of this article. Six Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted in three geographically vulnerable areas. The discussions were analyzed using content analysis. The study's findings reveal that fear of being isolated from family and society and distressful feelings of uncertainty and insecurity are considered dimensions of poverty. A sense of isolation is triggered by the fear of being embarrassed and disappointed by others' behavior, the fear of developing relational distance, and the fear of deteriorating empathic relationships. Conversely, feelings of uncertainty and insecurity are caused by income irregularity and the inability to save, the lack of a supportive environment for children, and the loss of physical assets and earning capacity. Although the feelings are similar in different geographical locations, the underlying causes of these feelings vary from one area to another. The study recommends analyzing the context of the lives of the very poor and addressing their concerns as a precondition to finding practical solutions to fight poverty.

Recruitment and Selection of Civil Servants in Bangladesh:

Adila Reza Hasan — 2023-11-16

The insightful understanding of the recruitment and selection process of civil servants in Bangladesh is crucial as it manifests the idiosyncratic nature of civil service in enrolling the talents in the highest echelon. The modern civil service system in Bangladesh is influenced by three pressing traditional legacies: Colonial Legacy, Pakistan Legacy, and Post-Independence Legacy. In the past, recruitment and selection in civil service exemplify as apolitical and elitist. Max Weber’s prescriptions for neutral, permanent, talented, and salaried public officials assumed almost a universal acceptance. Public Service Commissions were established to select and induct meritorious recruits. However, over the years, the apolitical and the elitist nature of civil service has been disintegrated due to political polarization and embedded culture of clientelism. The invasion of politics and option for a representative bureaucracy resulted in the formulation of various types of quotas for some groups which made a serious dent in the concept of merit. The experience of last fifty years suggests that traditional examination system and the recruitment of all cadres through the same examination, effects of quota system, interference of political forces and corruption has damaged the efficiency of the civil service.

The civil service system in Bangladesh is currently afflicted by ‘Gresham’s Law Syndrome’ (where the bad drives out the good), ‘Humpy Dumpty Disorder’ (design flaw and wrong staffing) and ‘Isomorphic Mimicry’ (which look like modern institutions on paper but prove to be ineffective) which creates an unsuited administrative structure delineated as maladministration. A robust recruitment and selection system is imperative for enlistment of flair and professionals within the service for institutional effectiveness.

Against this backdrop, this paper briefly reviews the merit versus representation debate, the policy and process of recruitment and selection, the examination system, and the role of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC), (shortly referred to as PSC) as a recruiting agency, followed by a discussion on the consequences of political pressure placed on the PSC, based on secondary data and content analysis.

The Prospect of Integrated Land Administration and Management System (ILAMS) for Improving Land Related Service Delivery in Bangladesh

Jahir Emam — 2023-11-09

The Integrated Land Administration and Management System (ILAMS) is a unified administration of land records, land registration, and land management, which has the potential to align land-related service delivery in a synchronized manner. These three separate service delivery points are required to sync without any mismatching of documents or loss of data. This study has examined the prospect of ILAMS for improving the land administration system of Bangladesh and land-related service delivery. To achieve the objective, relevant secondary data from different sources were used. The land administration of Bangladesh is not efficient, reliable and corruption free, despite the number of initiatives of the government. In addition, records, registration, and management of land are operated through three detached and independent authorities under two different ministries. It creates possibilities of miscoordination and information errors. Registering Property which has been used in Doing Business Ranking is a crucial indicator of economic development and helpful for understanding the business environment of any country. Registering Property consists of six dimensions, which are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. These six dimensions were used for this study to analyze the land administration system of Bangladesh and to explore and establish the prospect of ILAMS. This study however suggests that a single-digitized platform ILAMS can improve land-related delivery in Bangladesh.

Free trade agreement (FTA)

Mohammad Abu Yusuf — 2023-11-09

Bangladesh is set to graduate from Least-Developed Country (LDC) status in 2026. After graduation from LDC status, Bangladesh will lose duty-free quota-free (DFQF) market access to export markets. Bangladesh’s export performance and robust economic growth record in recent times will be threatened due to the loss of preferential market access. The objective of this paper is to find the possible benefits, challenges and needed policy interventions for Bangladesh to sign and implement Free Trade Agreement (FTA) under Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) Policy 2022. A qualitative research design was applied for the study/evaluation. A mixed method of data collection has been followed where data from both primary and secondary sources have been collected. The study reveals that FTA results in preferential market access for exportable goods, attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and economic development. Lack of negotiation skills, possible revenue loss involved with FTA, resistance by industry groups, the unwillingness of counterparts to sign FTA with Bangladesh and geo-political sensitivity are major challenges at negotiation stage. Limited product basket, inadequate compliance and Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) are the major challenges at the implementation stage. Enhancement of negotiation skills, lower dependence on customs duty and generation of more revenues from other sources, political commitment, obtaining private sector support through inclusive approach, and proper coordination among agencies are found necessary for the successful negotiation of FTAs while diversification of export basket and facilitation of trade, and improved standards and certifications for compliance are vital to confronting implementation challenges.

Factors Influencing Public Policymaking Process in Bangladesh

Muhammad Ferdaus — 2023-11-16

Public policymaking is not just a bare of administrative actions taken by the government but a series of activities that are driven by various social and political factors. Public policymaking in developing nations like Bangladesh is influenced by a complex socio-political context and experiences a variety of difficulties and obstacles. This attempt seeks to understand the policymaking process in Bangladesh taking into account factors of ‘change’ and ‘stability’ in policies and to explore the issues working behind policy formulation. This study adopts a qualitative research approach through case study analysis following different theories of policymaking. The findings reveal an interactive policy process where each policymaking process varies depending on its nature. The type of policy, interests of the stakeholders, calculation of resource gain (political and financial), organizational and political interests and utility of the policy have played key roles in the formulation of policy in Bangladesh.

An Advocacy Coalition Framework to Policy Analysis:

Muhammad Ferdaus — 2023-11-16

The advocacy coalition framework (ACF) was established to analyse complex public policy processes involving several actors. This framework has been applied to the "Detailed Area Plan (DAP)” of Bangladesh's urban development policy, in which government ministries, bureaucracy, non-governmental organizations, the business sector, and other informal organizations were major actors. This paper discusses the ACF as a viable framework for understanding the policymaking context through analysing actors. The analysis of actors under the framework broadens the focus of policy analysts on subsystem-wide patterns involving several actors who are motivated by their views, aggregate their interests into coalitions, and strive to persuade policy via the use of a variety of tools and platforms. Here is demonstrated the ACF framework to policy analysis in a scientifically debatable policy matter involving the creation of a decorated and liveable Dhaka metropolis. This article also discusses the strengths and drawbacks of conducting an ACF actor analysis, as well as recent contributions to the ACF literature.

Targeted Poverty Alleviation: China’s Ingenuity to Defeat Poverty

Xiaoyun Liu — 2022-06-06

2020 was not an easy ride since the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on economies and dragged around 120 million people into the pit of poverty and despair. Although the pandemic posed daunting challenges to its final fight against poverty, China fulfilled its promise of eradicating extreme poverty by the end of 2020 as scheduled. This article reviews China’s achievements in poverty alleviation, and examines how and why China can end extreme poverty by adopting targeted poverty alleviation. The context that is characterized by economic restructuring, regional disparity and income inequality calls for individualized attention to people in poverty. Thus, the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation was introduced to push forward poverty elimination in China by reaching the poor. To roll out the strategy nationwide, China identified all the poor households by door-to-door investigation, dispatched officials to the frontline of poverty eradication, and conducted wide-scale and multi-faceted evaluation of the poverty elimination results. In addition, multi-pronged anti-poverty measures are introduced, which include infrastructure, developing local industries, relocation, eco-compensation, education, social security and special initiatives for vulnerable groups. At the end of the article, future challenges and formidable obstacles are listed. Findings suggest that China should start focusing on the people who may slip back into poverty, on the urban poor and on regional inequality. This is a review and analysis has been done based on the available secondary sources of data collected from government publications, research articles, and international organization statistics.

Editorial

2023-11-16