A FRAMEWORK OF POLITICAL RESPONSE TO DEVELOPMENTAL CHALLENGES OF BANGLADESH

This article proposes a framework for how political institutions in Bangladesh can structure credible responses to persistent developmental challenges—low revenue mobilization, infrastructure gaps, human-capital deficiencies, and vulnerability to shocks. It argues that reform durability hinges on coalition-building that aligns short-term political incentives with long-term investments. The paper identifies three levers: rules that reduce discretion in public finance; performance-oriented service delivery with transparent metrics; and participatory mechanisms that raise the cost of reversal. By mapping the political economy of winners and losers from reform, it lays out strategies for compensation and sequencing that maintain momentum.

The body operationalizes the framework into programmatic steps. On public finance, it advocates medium-term expenditure frameworks, VAT base-broadening with targeted relief, and procurement modernization to cut leakages. On infrastructure, it recommends pipeline transparency, standardized PPP contracts, and independent tariff regulators to crowd in private capital. For human capital, it emphasizes teacher accountability, health supply-chain digitization, and targeted nutrition with local oversight. Cross-cutting enablers include civil-service incentives linked to outcomes, open data for citizen monitoring, and grievance-redress systems. The paper illustrates how small, visible wins—rural roads maintenance, immunization drives, and port digitization—can anchor broader coalitions for change. It concludes that political organization, not technocratic blueprints alone, determines whether reforms compound or unravel.