Bangladesh Sectoral Growth Diagnostic

Abstract

Despite Bangladesh’s transition from low- to lower-middle-income country status in July 2015, over 40 million Bangladeshis are still living below the poverty line. This has fuelled a debate on whether the consistent 6% or above growth rate in Bangladesh has been ‘inclusive’ or has led to the generation of enough stable jobs for the growing number of citizens entering the labour force each year. The research paper identifies three sectors that could potentially stimulate inclusive growth in Bangladesh. Their selection is based on their capacity to meet three principle criteria: growth drivers, diversification and government buy-in. Agro-processing, leather and leather goods and information and communication technology (ICT) are the three sectors selected.