For more information please visit:
https://www.soas.ac.uk/economics
Roundtable discussion with: Mushtaq Khan, Professor of Economics, SOAS, Jeff
Kenner, Professor of European Law, Nottingham University, Deepta Chopra,
Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, Kazi Nurmohammad Hossainul
Haque, Advisor, ActionAid, Lila Caballero, Policy Advisor, ActionAid, Antonio
Andreoni, Lecturer in Economics, SOAS will chair the event
Organised by the SOAS Economics Department, Industrial and Development Policy
Research Cluster (SOAS IDP) jointly with ActionAid.
10 March 20166.00-8.00PM
Venue: Athlone Room, Senate House, University of London
As the only NGO involved in drafting Bangladesh’s new
Five Year Plan, ActionAid has built strong relationships
with Bangladeshi businesses in emerging
sectors. In a recent report, the NGO draws
from interviews with these businesses and
its longstanding work with garment workers
to explore challenges and opportunities
for the economic diversification of
Bangladesh. This seminar will set the
report’s findings in the context of
Bangladesh’s history, social protection,
industrial policy in the 21st Century
and initiatives like the European Union’s
Sustainability Compact.
BEYOND GARMENTS
PROSPECTS FOR ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION IN BANGLADESH
Bangladesh’s garment industry now employs
around 4 million workers and accounts for 84%
of the country’s exports. But events like the
Tazreen factory fire in 2012 and the collapse of
Rana Plaza one year later made garment workers’
inhuman working conditions glaringly obvious.
The country’s over-reliance on garments has led
to neglect of other industries. Job opportunities
outside the garment sector are limited – women
are particularly stuck. The prospect for upgrading
into higher-value added activities within global
value chains is poor. Bangladesh urgently
needs to diversify its economy, moving away
from garments and into higher value-added
manufacturing. But how?