The Asia Foundation

A Case Study of Bangladesh

Occasional Paper No. 1, July 2010

In the midst of the recent financial and economic crisis, factory owners in Bangladesh showed remarkable confidence in the future of their industry in Bangladesh....

A Case Study of Bangladesh

Occasional Paper No. 1, July 2010

In the midst of the recent financial and economic crisis, factory owners in Bangladesh showed remarkable confidence in the future of their industry in Bangladesh. But, if the country wants to expand and remain competitive, this paper finds, it will need to make investments in human capital and technology, rather than just reduce input costs. The paper offers policy recommendations to improve efficiency at the factory level and suggests reforms to the business environment that could provide an overall boost to the economy as a whole. Research for this paper included extensive interviews with factory workers and government officials, and seven focus-group discussions with 33 factory workers.

Dr. Sanchita Banerjee Saxena, Associate Director, Center for South Asia Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Véronique Salze-Lozac'h, Regional Director for Economic Programs, The Asia Foundation

Occasional Paper No. 2, July 2010

The processes of development are fundamentally shaped by powerful political, economic, and security actors in aid-recipient countries. These actors use their influence to shape formal governance...

Occasional Paper No. 2, July 2010

The processes of development are fundamentally shaped by powerful political, economic, and security actors in aid-recipient countries. These actors use their influence to shape formal governance institutions, policies, and the distribution of development assistance to advance their interests. The political settlements framework is an important new approach that may help international development organizations to better understand and respond to this reality and the challenges to developmental progress that is often affected by political dynamics in developing countries. This paper seeks to translate the concepts underlying political settlements into principles, strategies, and guidelines for practical action by donors and other development assistance organizations.

Thomas Parks, Regional Director for Governance and Conflict, The Asia Foundation
William Cole, Senior Director, Governance, Law, and Civil Society Programs & Program Strategy and Development, The Asia Foundation

Worldwide, Gender Based Violence (GBV) is the leading cause of death of women between the ages of 19 and 44 – more than war, cancer, or car accidents. Apart from the individual suffering, it carries high a cost for society and is a major...

Worldwide, Gender Based Violence (GBV) is the leading cause of death of women between the ages of 19 and 44 – more than war, cancer, or car accidents. Apart from the individual suffering, it carries high a cost for society and is a major obstacle to development. This mapping is expected to inform the Gender Based Violence Complaints Handling and Monitoring Unit set up under the Office of the Prime Minister, government ministries, organizations working in the field of GBV, and various other stakeholders on the activities being carried out on GBV around the country and the key actors involved. Thus, this preliminary mapping is expected to set the groundwork for more extensive research to ensure that overlapping and duplication is considerably avoided and to contribute towards the designing of a holistic plan and support for effectively addressing GBV in Nepal.

Occasional Paper No. 3, September 2010

This paper sketches out the operational features of emerging political economy-based approaches to sectoral economic policy reform. Section 1 traces some of the literature on the political...

Occasional Paper No. 3, September 2010

This paper sketches out the operational features of emerging political economy-based approaches to sectoral economic policy reform. Section 1 traces some of the literature on the political economy analysis of reforms. Section 2 outlines the international development community’s increasing recognition of the political economy aspects of economic governance, and their efforts to undertake sharper political economy analysis of reform challenges. Finally, in Section 3 the paper identifies elements of operational reform approaches that move beyond disengaged political economy analysis towards on-the-ground implementation of political strategies in policy reform processes.

V. Bruce J. Tolentino, Director, Economic Reform and Development, The Asia Foundation

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

Occasional Paper No. 4, October 2010

To examine the critical issues surrounding the global challenge of food security, The Asia Foundation joined with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),...

Occasional Paper No. 4, October 2010

To examine the critical issues surrounding the global challenge of food security, The Asia Foundation joined with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for a major conference, "Food for All: Investment Forum for Food Security in Asia and the Pacific," at the ADB headquarters in Manila from July 7-9, 2010. Douglas Bereuter, president of The Asia Foundation, moderated a key plenary session on "Fostering Food Security Through Regional Cooperation and Integration." Eminent food security economist Peter Timmer laid out the challenges, opportunities, and likely action points for achieving shared food security. We are pleased to reproduce his remarks in this, the fourth in our continuing series of Occasional Papers.