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9781137542540.Pdf Governance for Development Governance for Development Political and Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh S. Nazrul Islam GOVERNANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT Copyright © S. Nazrul Islam 2016 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2016 978-1-137-54253-3 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 2016 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004-1562. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. ISBN: 978-1-349-71292-2 E-PDF ISBN: 978-1-137-54254-0 DOI: 10.1057/9781137542540 Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave Macmillan®, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. To my eldest sister, Dr. Rokeya Khanam Contents List of Figures ix List of Tables xi Preface xiii 1 Objectives, Concepts, and Overview 1 2 Bangladesh Politics: A Brief History 27 3 Salient Features of Bangladesh Politics 77 4 Approaches to Improving Bangladesh Politics 93 5 Proportional Election as a Way to Stabilize Democracy in Bangladesh 115 6 Reduction of the Government Term for Stable Democracy 141 7 Governance and Civil Service in Bangladesh 161 8 Salary Rationalization as Key to Effective Civil Administration 181 9 Prospects of Reforms 201 Notes 211 Bibliography 247 Index 265 List of Figures 1.1 Structure of public governance at the national level 4 1.2a Good governance equilibrium 8 1.2b Bad governance equilibrium 9 1.3 GDP growth rates—Bangladesh compared with other countries 11 1.4 Bangladesh GDP growth rates in recent years 12 1.5a Control of corruption—Bangladesh compared with other countries 13 1.5b Regulatory quality—Bangladesh compared with other countries 13 1.5c Rule of law—Bangladesh compared with other countries 14 1.5d Government effectiveness—Bangladesh compared with other countries 14 1.5e Political stability—Bangladesh compared with other countries 15 1.5f Voice and accountability—Bangladesh compared with other countries 15 2.1 Total number of migrant workers from Bangladesh, 1976–2013 59 2.2 Migrant workers from Bangladesh by country of destination, 1976–2013 59 2.3 Total volume of remittances, 1985–2013 60 2.4 Remittances to Bangladesh by country of origin, 2008–2013 60 x ● List of Figures 2.5 Growth of Quami Madrasahs in recent decades 62 3.1 Boycott of Parliament by the Opposition (as of September 17, 2013) 84 3.2 Vicious circle of money and politics 87 4.1 Per capita income in East Asian industrialized economies, 2013 97 4.2 Circular relationship between democracy and industrialization 100 5.1 Prevalence of the two election systems across the world 117 5.2 Share of votes and seats of Awami League in recent elections 122 5.3 Share of votes and seats of BNP in recent elections 122 5.4 Cost and benefit of manipulation under Proportional Election 123 6.1 Number of hartals days per year during different periods 143 6.2 Percentage of parliaments with short tenure across the world 146 6.3 Various functions of a government 152 6.4 Financing of investment in Bangladesh 153 8.1 “Bad” and “Good” equilibria regarding quality of civil administration 186 8.2 Different types of public sector output 194 List of Tables 1.1 Different contexts of governance 3 2.1 Reported results of the election to the First Parliament held in 1973 31 2.2 Reported results of the election to the Pakistan National Assembly held in 1970 33 2.3 Reported results of the election to the Second Parliament held in 1979 41 2.4 Reported results of the election to the Third Parliament held in 1986 44 2.5 Reported results of the election to the Fifth Parliament held in 1991 46 2.6 Reported results of the election to the Seventh Parliament held in June 1996 47 2.7 Reported results of the election to the Eighth Parliament held in 2001 48 2.8 Reported results of the election to the Ninth Parliament held in 2008 51 3.1 Average declared income of MPs and defeated MP candidates of the Ninth Parliament (elected in 2008) 87 5.1 Share of votes and seats received by major parties in recent elections 121 5A.1 Elections systems across the world 136 6.1 Tenure of parliaments across the world 145 6A.1 Tenure of parliaments by country 157 Preface Good governance is now recognized widely as a crucial determinant of develop- ment. In many countries in the world, development is faltering due to lack of good governance. Achieving good governance however is not easy. A distinctive feature of this book is that it not only diagnoses the problems of governance, but also offers suggestions about how governance can be improved, focusing on the specific case of Bangladesh. In a few years, Bangladesh will celebrate fifty years of its independence. These were eventful years, with respect to both politics and direction of socio- economic policies. In recent years, Bangladesh has shown good potential for development, but most observers think that governance problems are con- straining the full realization of this potential. This book examines the con- crete nature of Bangladesh’s governance problems, analyses these problems in the light of the international experience, and offers several political and administrative reform proposals aimed at achieving good governance. The ideas presented in this book germinated over time, in response to political and socio-economic events, as they unfolded. This book extends these ideas and brings them together in an integrated analytical framework. In doing so, the book adopts a comprehensive view of governance, including its both political and administrative sides. In writing and publishing this book I had to incur debt to many persons and organizations, and it is not possible to mention them all. First of all, I would like to thank the reviewers who read the manuscript and provided valuable comments and suggestions, helping me to improve the book. Sec- ond, many ideas discussed in this book were expressed earlier in the form of journal articles. I would like to thank again the editors of these journals for publishing the articles. Special thanks are due to Ms. Nicole Hunt, who helped me with the graphs and tables of the book and in many other ways to prepare the manuscript. I would to thank Sara Doskow and Chris Robinson of Palgrave Macmillan for their professional and yet friendly handling of the manuscript. xiv ● Preface Finally I would like to thank the members of my family, both immediate and extended, for their cooperation and support. Much of the time devoted to this book actually belonged to them. Bangladesh has made good progress in recent years and can do even bet- ter if it can overcome the governance problems. Adoption and implementa- tion of the reforms proposed in this book will require mobilization of public opinion for them. The purpose of this book will be served well if it helps to generate the discussion that can build the necessary public opinion. The views expressed in this book are the author’s and they should not be ascribed to the organizations to which he belongs. CHAPTER 1 Objectives, Concepts, and Overview 1.1 Introduction Governance is now widely recognized as a crucial determinant of develop- ment. Looking around the world, it is easy to see how lack of good gov- ernance is hindering development in many countries. However, achieving good governance is not easy. The development literature generally stops at pointing to governance as a determinant of development and does not take the next step of discussing how good governance can be achieved. This book extends the general analytical discussion of governance and its relationship with development and takes into account the international experience in order to suggest several concrete reform proposals about how governance can be improved in Bangladesh. Bangladesh, the eighth largest nation in the world in terms of population, arose as an independent nation in 1971 with high hopes and aspiration. It has done relatively well in recent years in terms of economic growth and has announced the goal of becoming a prosperous middle-income country in the near future. Most observers, however, believe that Bangladesh has to improve governance in order to accelerate its rate of economic growth. This book examines the concrete nature of Bangladesh’s governance prob- lems and shows how several political and administrative reforms can help it improve governance. Among the suggested reforms are: switch to the pro- portional system of election, reduction of the government term, and ratio- nalization of the size and compensation (salary) of the civil service personnel, beginning with a change from the current fragmented and partially in-kind method of compensation to the lump-sum, cash method of payment.
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