Sector Of Bangladesh Research Articles

Determinants of Domestic Bank Credit to Private sectors in Bangladesh: An Empirical Investigation

This article examines the key determinants of domestic bank credit the private sectors receive in Bangladesh by using annual time series data over the period from 1974 to 2018. The ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag) model has been applied to identify the variables that contribute to the changes in domestic credit to private sectors from banks over time in Bangladesh. Empirical results reveal that broad money (M2), gross domestic product (GDP), real interest rate (RI), trade openness (TO), gross capital formation (GCF), and exchange rate (ER) have a significant impact on the amount of credit flowing to the private sectors from banks in Bangladesh, particularly in the long run. The findings also confirm that the long run relationship among the relevant variables is robust and stable. Any disequilibrium found in the short run seems to be eliminated with a speed of 40.96% per year. The findings of the research suggest that a stable growth of money supply, an increase in real interest rate, sustainable growth in GDP, and high degree trade openness are crucial for the growth of bank credit to private sectors. Gross capital formation and local currency depreciation, on the other hand, negatively influence bank loans to the private sector in Bangladesh. The significance of the study lies in the fact that it paves the way for a better understanding of the functionality of domestic bank credit flow in Bangladesh. The policy implications of the findings suggest that authorities pay special attention to stable money supply growth, expansionary monetary policy, and trade liberalization to strengthen the financial market in Bangladesh.

Prevalence and associated factors for elevated fear and depressive symptoms among the private service holders in Bangladesh during the Covid-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Background and AimsThe ongoing public health emergency has created incredible fear of getting the infection and a terrible psychological burden among all levels. The pandemic has severely affected private job holders' economic status and lifestyle factors in Bangladesh. Here we aimed to assess fear and depressive symptoms among private job holders in Bangladesh during the Covid‐19 pandemic and associated risk factors.MethodsWe conducted this online cross‐sectional survey between January 15, 2021, and March 15, 2021, among 510 private job holders aged above 18 years. We followed the convenience sampling method for data collection. We assessed sociodemographic factors and two psychometric parameters. We applied the Fear of Covid‐19 Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 to assess increased fear and depressive symptoms, respectively. Chi‐square test, independent sample t‐test, and binary logistic regression analysis were performed for data analysis.ResultsThe prevalence of increased fear and depressive symptoms were 86.27% and 42.16%, respectively. Factors associated with increased fear among private job holders during COVID‐19 were economic class, obesity, on‐time salary, company's downsizing policy, salary reduction, home office, and transportation facilities. However, depressive symptoms were associated with marital status, education level, residence area, the organizational practice of health safety rules, company performance, on‐time salary, health insurance, downsizing, salary reduction policy, organization type, transportation, and mental health support at work. The present study also noticed some interrelations among the above factors with mental health issues.ConclusionBased on the present findings, we recommend actionable items to improve the mental health of private job holders in Bangladesh due to the ongoing pandemic. Authorities can develop mental health support programs and efficient Covid‐19 response systems. The policymakers and regulatory bodies might take some initiatives to promote mental health in the private sector in Bangladesh.

The economics of deploying distributed solar photovoltaics in developing countries: Some insights from an analysis for Bangladesh

The application of distributed photovoltaics is growing in developing countries due to its declining costs and continued government support. This study analyzes the economics of stylized grid-connected distributed photovoltaics to be implemented in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors in Bangladesh. An economic model has been developed for the analysis. The model uses hourly data for solar irradiation and potential electricity exchanges between the consumers investing in distributed photovoltaics and the electricity utilities. The study finds that the economics of distributed photovoltaics vary across technology investors/owners, electricity utilities, and society. From consumers' perspective, the economics of distributed photovoltaics depends on the difference in electricity production costs between the photovoltaics technologies implemented and electricity generation technologies used by electricity utilities. The costs of distributed photovoltaics are, however, sensitive to their capital cost, discount rate, and the quality of solar resources. It is also influenced by the size of photovoltaics relative to consumers' electricity load and tariffs to exchange electricity between the electric utilities and the consumers owning distributed photovoltaics. From a national or societal perspective, the deployment of distributed photovoltaics is beneficial even if their environmental benefits are ignored. Considering the improving economics of the technology and the environmental benefits, particularly the climate change and local air quality benefits, countries like Bangladesh, which are endowed with rich solar resources, should enhance the deployment of distributed photovoltaics for their electricity supply.

Current Economic Performance and Export Potentialities of Fisheries Sector in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is endowed with extensive and highly diversified fisheries resources. More than 60% of animal-based food protein in Bangladesh comes from fish, which is an essential source of micronutrients and plays a significant part in the country's diet. This paper reviews the effectuation of the fisheries sector in the economic development of Bangladesh using data collected from secondary sources. Bangladesh is the world’s 5th largest producer of fish-culture products, outranked by China, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam. In FY 2018-19, the fisheries sector contributed 3.5% to Bangladesh’s national GDP. More than 18 million people are directly and indirectly involved in the fisheries sector. Fish is the most significant source of protein for the mass population and the per capita consumption was 21.8 kg in 2019. The fisheries sector has been growing steadily in the recent decade with a 5.3% growth over the period from 2009 to 2019. In FY 2018-19, 56.76% (2.49 million MT) of aquaculture fish was cultivated in closed water bodies. Out of the fisheries production, the majority (1.97 million MT) is cultivated in ponds, particularly carp, pangaus, and tilapia fish which jointly account for 93% of freshwater fish production. The average growth rate of fish production in ponds is 5.7%, while this is 8.9% for intensive production. Shrimp production from culture farms contributes 51.34%. This study also found that fish-culture has a profound impact on the income level, food security, and employment generation of the farming community. Bangladesh furthermore recognizes the shrimp sector as an important source of foreign trade contributing 75.8% of total agriculture trade. The majorly export markets are the EU, USA, and UK. Although, China is the chief importer of crabs there exists a potential market for shrimp (Bagda). Pangas and tilapia also possess relative advantages in export. Therefore, with the sustainable use of available resources with proper technological assistance, fish produced from fish-culture would efficiently meet the protein demand of the growing population and thus alleviating poverty with significant employment opportunities for the country.

Do Corporate Governance Mechanisms Truly Act as the Drivers of Shareholder Value in the Banking Sector in Bangladesh? Evidence from the Economic Profit Perspective

This study examines whether corporate governance mechanisms (CGMs) truly act as the drivers of shareholder value (SV) in the banking sector in Bangladesh from the economic profit perspective. The study employs a random-effects model to test hypotheses in a sample of 29 banks listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange for the period 2014–2018. Relying on the test results of CGMs on SV measured from the economic profit perspective, this study finds that only the independent audit committee acts as a driver of truly creating shareholder value. Contrary to expectations, other CGMs in the analysis (e.g. board size, independent non-executive directors, audit committee size, audit committee meetings, and institutional shareholding) are not found to create true shareholder value. The outcomes of the study are a matter of concern for the regulatory bodies of the Bangladeshi banking sector and institutions involved in constructing the code of corporate governance, as the existing CGMs are suboptimal in the sense that they do not truly act as value-driving mechanisms for shareholder value.

Which Skills Matter for What Type of Worker? Cognitive Skills, Personality Traits, Hiring Channels and Wages in Bangladesh

We use matched employer-employee data representing the formal sector in Bangladesh to provide descriptive evidence of both the relative importance of cognitive skills and personality traits in this part of the labour market and the interplay between skills and hiring channels in determining wages. While cognitive skills (literacy, a learning outcome) affect wages only by enabling workers to use formal hiring channels, they have no additional wage effect. Personality traits do not affect hiring channels, but they do enjoy a positive wage effect. This wage effect differs by hiring channel: those hired through formal channels benefit from higher wage associations with openness to experience, but lower effects of hostile attribution bias. Those hired through networks enjoy higher wages for higher levels of emotional stability, but they are also punished for higher hostile attribution bias—in line with different occupational levels being hired predominantly through one channel or the other. We provide suggestive evidence that employers might use hiring channels differently, depending on what skill they deem important: employers valuing communication skills, arguably observed during selection interviews, are associated with a larger within-firm wage gap between formal and network hires, while the importance of teamwork is associated with a smaller wage gap.

Business Trend Analysis of RMG Industry in Context of Bangladesh-A Case Study

Bangladesh has made a tremendous contribution to RMG (Ready Made Garment) sector since the 1970s. Textiles and apparels consider for about 85% of the total export earnings of Bangladesh. Though it’s quite difficult to mete out the dimension of performance and objection of the RMG sector in Bangladesh but to fulfill the task this study has made a search based on the study of attainable documents. The beauty of this study lies in its way of narration, a sequential way of description. The study discovers that since its inception, the RMG industry contributed significantly to our economy especially during the last three decades. The cross-check analysis has been conducted to compare the last three decades’ export of RMG, specific garments export, GDP, market share, etc to get a lucid idea of the business trend of the RMG industry. These initiatives focus more on the establishment of sound structure, skilled manpower, enhanced market access, access to finance at the competitive interest rate, adaptation with advanced technology as well as institutional development. Therefore, both public and private sectors need to take several preliminaries, independently and collaboratively to overcome these challenges. Moreover, to take control and reserve the golden share of RMG, assured branding needs to be expansive.

Analysis of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions using the STIRPAT model: a case study of Bangladesh.

The agriculture sector is one of the leading emitters of greenhouse gases in Bangladesh, owing to increasing mechanization, changing population patterns and increasing cultivation of irrigation intensive crops like rice. The objective of this research is to analyze how population trends, energy use and land use practices impact the emissions of three greenhouse gases from the agriculture sector in Bangladesh. The gases studied are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model and ridge regression are used to analyze the drivers of emissions covering the period from 1990 to 2014. Explanatory factors of emissions are the total and rural population, affluence, urbanization, fertilizer intensity and quantity, carbon and energy intensity, irrigation, rice cultivation, cultivated land and crop yield. The findings reveal that the country’s total population has a negative effect, and the rural population has a negative, nonlinear impact on the emissions of methane. Affluence affects emissions of all the gases. The energy intensity and carbon intensity of agriculture increase carbon dioxide emissions. The cultivated land area, rice cultivation quantity and crop yield increase methane emissions, while irrigated land area decreases it. Rural population, total population and urbanization have a positive linear effect on carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions. Fertilizer quantity and intensity increase nitrous oxide emissions. The findings imply that increasing agricultural mechanization should be based on clean energy, and land management should be regulated to enable the country to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets as well as the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 of increasing the share of clean energy.Graphic abstract

Technology Trends and Cyber Security in Bangladesh

The world has now become truly a borderless territory with the rapid growth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in every sector of social and economic life. While the developed countries are very much concerned regarding ICT modernization and cybersecurity yet surprisingly most of the developing countries like Bangladesh are unaware of the maturity of their ICT use and vulnerability of cybercrimes. This study investigates the current trends and maturity of ICT use in various sectors in Bangladesh and their cybersecurity issues based on a literature review. The main contribution of this study is to assist the relative policymaker and tech leaders to understand the current situation regarding technology use and cybersecurity in Bangladesh in order to enact necessary action plans, policies, and regulations to the advancement of ICT and protect against cybercrimes.

A systematic study of climate change impact on fish and fisheries sector in Bangladesh and role of Geospatial science in mitigation

Aquaculture is the world’s fastest-growing food-producing sector, with a mean annual growth rate of 5.3% during 2001–2018. Bangladesh, despite being a densely populated and small country, has managed to ensure its high position in this growing economy. Despite widespread benefits, aquaculture in Bangladesh has recently encountered concerns due to climate change, as several climatic threats to fish production have been recognized. It is high time for Bangladesh to try to find an adaptive measure to cope with the adverse effect of climate change, especially in coastal areas. This study will identify the climate change impact on fish in Bangladesh aquaculture and propose how geospatial technology can be utilized to resolve these issues through a systematic literature review from available of past 5 years. The study is expected to benefit the beneficiaries such as aquafarmers, researchers, scientists, and policymakers to resolve the climate-related issues on Bangladesh aquaculture for sustainable production.

Capability‐sensitive principles for assistive technology to support young graduates with disabilities in Bangladesh and Kenya into employment

AbstractOwing to increased inclusion of young people with disabilities into the private sector in Bangladesh and Kenya, there is an urgent need to find alternative ways to support young graduates with a disability in the workplace with assistive technology solutions. The aim of the paper is to identify barriers for private workplace sectors to use assistive technology to support young graduates seeking, maintaining and retaining employment. This qualitative study adopted the research onion design of Saunders et al. Data were collected using interviews and focus group discussions and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that barriers are linked to seven key person‐centred capability themes: the dream, external factors, internal factors, assistive technology vision, strategic design priorities and gaps and assistive actions.

An Exploratory Study of Online Job Portal Data of the ICT Sector in Bangladesh: Analysis, Recommendations and Preliminary Implications for ICT Curriculum Reform

Many countries wish to achieve digital transformation, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The digital skills demand is changing fast. The time-series online job portal data for the ICT industry in Bangladesh provides an opportunity to analyze high demand job titles and skills over time. These time-series data address the question of the speed of changes in job titles and skills and responsiveness of computer science and engineering (CSE) curricula. This study gathers online job portal data of the ICT industry in Bangladesh from 2016 to 2021. Natural language processing is used to group similar skills and job titles following the O*NET Online taxonomy. In addition to the descriptive statistics, the statistical significance test and correlation analysis are conducted. The analysis could identify high demand ICT job titles (Software Developers, Computer System Engineers/Architects, Web Developers, Project Management Specialists) and skills (API, Database, JavaScript) but Computer System Engineer/Architect job titles and API skills are increasing fast. The shift from networking to JavaScript and UI Design is also noteworthy after COVID-19. The preliminary curricula analysis suggests the responsiveness of the CSE program, but online job portal data analysis might provide opportunities for developing unique CSE specialization, courses and curricula.

Practice of Business Culture in Corporate Sector of Bangladesh

Practice of Business Culture in Corporate Sector of Bangladesh

Factors Influencing Internal Labour Migration from Agriculture Sector to Non-agricultural Sector in Bangladesh: An Empirical Analysis

Aims: In past, labour was extensively used in agriculture sector and there was huge surplus labour in agriculture sector. However, such trend has recently been changed where surplus labour in agricultural sector has reduced significantly and agriculture sector compete with non-agricultural sector in terms of hiring labour. Thus, the present study was undertaken to analyze the determinants of labour migration from agriculture sector to non-agricultural sector in Gopalganj district of Bangladesh.
 Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at 12 villages of three upazilas (Gopalganj Sadar, Tungipara and Kotalipara) in Gopalganj district. For the study, data were collected during the period from January to March in 2021.
 Methodology: To this end, primary data were collected from agricultural labours. Descriptive statistics and simple random sampling technique were used in this study. Binary logistic model was used to analyze the collected data. In addition, five point likert scale was used to rank the barrier towards internal labour migration.
 Results: Results found from the logit model indicate that factors like family size, education, past experience, access to available information, transportation facilities, and savings are positively related with the log of odd ratio in favor of labour migration from agriculture sector to non-agricultural sector while wage rate, age, off-farm income and farm holdings are inversely related with labour transfer from agriculture sector to non-agricultural sector. In addition, respondents in the study area have recognized lack of proper technical training as the major constraint in labour migration with a mean value of 4.48.
 Conclusion: The present study recommends that government should take initiatives to open skill development institutions in rural level so that agricultural labour can take training. Regarding necessary information on non-agricultural jobs, it can be recommended that government, local agents and NGOs, in case of migration, should take proper initiatives so that agricultural labours can easily get information about non-agricultural jobs.

An Insight into Green HRM Practices for Sustainable Workplace in the Banking Sector of Bangladesh: The Role of Electronic HRM

This study aims to get insight into Green HRM practices in Bangladesh's banking sector using electronic HRM to contribute to workplace sustainability. The study also looks at the challenges in such practices and proposes some suggestions for successful adoption of GHRM through E-HRM in the banking industry. The study employed the inclusive one-to-one interview approach for collecting data from the banking professionals. A semi-structured in-depth interview with fifteen banking professionals was done by the researchers. The study was thematic with the goal of making meaning of the participants' reactions. The study relied on the manual analysis to draw its conclusions due to the small sample size. The results indicate that most banks have already embraced the Green HRM functions with the help of E-HRM. However, the significant barriers in adopting GHRM using E-HRM in the banking sector are lack of knowledge, cost factor, technical issues, poor organizational support, etc. The study recommended some solutions as creating awareness, ensuring organizational support, developing technical skills, effective monitoring, rewarding etc. for effectively adopting GHRM practices through E-HRM. The study will surely be beneficial for the policymakers to understand the current scenario of GHRM and E-HRM practices in the banking sector of Bangladesh and therefore take appropriate measures to ensure workplace sustainability.

Effect of Job Characteristics on Work Engagement: An Empirical Study of the Banking Sector in Bangladesh

An engaged workforce is considered indispensable for providing superior customer service and gaining a competitive advantage in any service firm. Despite the fact, there is scant research on the antecedents and consequences of work engagement in the context of the service sector in Bangladesh. In particular, the role of job characteristics in shaping work engagement is still undiscovered in the country’s present literature. To fill this gap, this study aims to explore the effect of job characteristics on the work engagement of bankers in Bangladesh. Using the convenience sampling method with a structured questionnaire, the study collected 113 self-reported responses (response rate 34.77%) from the branch-level managerial employees serving in the private banks. Using SPSS, data were analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study suggest that all the five dimensions of job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) have a significant positive impact on work engagement. The findings indicate that jobs that are designed with favorable characteristics will drive the job holders towards greater engagement at work. Accordingly, the study suggested implications for bank administrators.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Tourism Enterprises: A Study on Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

The massive outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic hit the world hard and Bangladesh is one the most affected countries by this pandemic. The condition of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the tourism sector in Bangladesh was worse during the outbreak. This project aims to examine the possible impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on micro, small, and medium-sized tourism enterprises (MSMTEs) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh. This research is exploratory and descriptive in nature. Both primary and secondary data have been collected and analyzed to prepare this paper. Data were collected from 150 respondents and the collected data was analyzed by using SPSS (20) and MS Excel software. The outcome of the regression analysis shows that out of eleven independent variables seven of them have a significant influence on the dependent variable (overall impact of Covid-19 on small, medium, and micro-enterprises). These seven variables are employee turnover, challenges to new recruitment, decrease in income, business growth, a decrease in customers, business relationship hamper, and social stress on the entrepreneur. On the basis of the research findings, some of the strategies for the MSMTEs have been recommended at the end of this paper.

Investigation of Prescription Data to Define the Disease Demography of Bangladesh

The prosperity of a country is highly dependent on its public health. Bangladesh is very keen to achieve a sustainable public health sector as a developing country. Bangladesh reached the goal of MDG (Millennium Development Goals) and pursued the goal of SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). Without sound public health, it is impossible to achieve SDG. So, Bangladesh is investing a good amount of money in the public health sector. As a part of this grand vision, this research has been conducted on the disease demography of Bangladesh. An interested pharmaceutical company collected prescription data from all administrative districts of Bangladesh, and weather and population data have been collected as a part of this work. An in-depth analysis of these data has been performed to discover insights into Bangladesh’s disease demography. Finally, a set of recommendations has been presented to assist the public health sector of Bangladesh.

Leadership Behaviors of Women Entrepreneurs in SME Sector of Bangladesh

Women’s leadership development in entrepreneurial business is critical to improving women’s participation in management and businesses in Bangladesh. Research shows that only seven percent of all business establishments in Bangladesh are women-owned and women-headed. This limited ownership and development of women’s leadership behavior is a clear gap to be filled. Thus, the study aims to identify women’s leadership behavioral factors (WLBFs) and examine the causal relationship between WLBFs and women’s leadership behavior practices (WLBPs) in line with path–goal leadership theory. We conducted causal research, applying systematic sampling techniques in selecting participants and conducting interviews with 366 women entrepreneurs from the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries database under seven administrative divisional headquarters. We analyzed data through exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling techniques. The results show that the factors internal to women as entrepreneurs (including entrepreneurial attitude, intentions, and workplace learning culture), the factors external to women as entrepreneurs (such as training and education), and sociocultural factors are significantly related to the development of WLBPs. The external organizational behavior context was not significant. WLBPs help develop directive, supportive, participatory, and achievement-oriented leadership practices among women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. This study suggests that policymakers, implementing managers, training service providers, and women entrepreneurs focus on entrepreneurial attitude, intention, education and skills development training, workplace learning culture, and sociocultural support among women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.

Attaining Nationally Determined Contributions of Bangladesh through Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction: Role of Solar PV Systems

The paper analyzes as to how Bangladesh can secure its future demand of electricity and mitigate greenhouse gas emission to meet the targets of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The overall objective of the study is to assess the possible mitigation of greenhouse gases emission for achieving NDCs from power sector of Bangladesh through solar photovoltaic systems. A quantitative analysis was done to project future power consumptions and greenhouse gas emissions up to 2030. A scenario analysis was also done to see the effects of different primary energy mix in power on the emissions. It is found that the total consumption in different sectors will increase with an increasing population and the GDP. Industrial and residential sectors are the main consumers of power. The scenario result shows that there is relationship between the energy mix and greenhouse gas emissions. The fossil fuels have higher emissions in the scenarios where they are thought to be main contributor to the energy mix. In case of high renewables, the emissions can be mitigated to meet the targets of NDCs. As Bangladesh receives high solar radiation, grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems can be the main source of renewable energy in such case. Therefore, solar photovoltaic technology is essentially required not only for achieving the targets of NDCs but also for the development of a low carbon power sector in Bangladesh for a sustainable future. The Dhaka University Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Centennial Special Volume June 2022: 43-51