Nobody expected Bangladesh to achieve high economic growth. Here’s how it proved them wrong

Bangladesh is now 50 years into its independence and it is worth asking: well, how has everyone done?

I can only comment on the economics of the matter. Things like national feeling and Bengali pride are not for me to have an opinion upon. The answer, as it concerns that economic development is, well, pretty damn well actually.

No one is saying that all can relax, the job is now done. Rather, that the direction of travel is in the right direction. Further, at 6%-8% a year gross domestic product growth, this road to a better and richer world is being travelled about as fast as anyone ever has done so.

Growth against odds

This is not what, 30 years or 40 years ago, anyone thought would happen. There is a comment from Paul Krugman in the 1990s where he talks about the advantages of sweatshops. No one likes them very much, but they are better than not having sweatshops in a poor place.

He then goes on to say something about “even in Bangladesh”. The general economic view was, well, what can anyone do here? There is nothing to do anything with! Just some vast number of people on the flood plains. How can this ever develop?

The standard belief back…

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