The aid lab : understanding Bangladesh's unexpected success

261 Pages·2017·1.34 MB·English

by  Hossain

The Aid Lab
Critical Frontiers of Theory, Research, and Policy
in International Development Studies
SeriesEditors:AndrewFischer,UmaKothari,andGilesMohan
CriticalFrontiersofTheory,Research,andPolicyinInternationalDevelopment
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The Aid Lab
’
Understanding Bangladesh s
Unexpected Success
Naomi Hossain
1
3
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This book is dedicated to Alfaz and Kathleen Hossain, who gave me
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Acknowledgements
Thisbooktookacoupleofyearstowrite,butitdrawsonmorethantwentyyears
ofresearchandconsultancyworkinBangladesh.Since1994,Ihavepersonally
interviewed and ‘focus grouped’ at least a few hundred Bangladeshis in
villages, towns, and metropolitan areas across Bogra, Chandpur, Chapainawab-
ganj,Chittagong,Dhaka,Dinajpur,Gaibandha,Jamalpur,Khulna,Kurigram,
Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangamati, Sirajganj, Tangail, and my own ‘home
district’ofRangpur.Iamverygratefultothosepeopleforthetimeandinsights
they have offered into the development project of Bangladesh. This book
wouldnothavebeensothoroughlygroundedinthecontentiousrealitiesof
developmentifIhadnothadtheopportunitytomeetthesepeopleandhear
their views. I should also acknowledge that those activities were primarily
fundedbytheUKDepartmentforInternationalDevelopment(DFID),andit
istoitscreditthatithasusuallyinsistedontestimonygatheredfrompeople
who live with poverty and powerlessness as part of the evidence base for
understandingdevelopment.
I have been very fortunate in my choice of bosses in those years of my
researchwhichhavecontributedmosttothisaccount,andshouldinparticu-
lar single out AMR Chowdhury, Imran Matin, and Mick Moore for having
encouraged and enabled me to research the issues that interested me most,
even when I had no idea why I wanted to ask such questions. The IDS very
kindlyletmehavealongyearofftowritethisbook,andIamgratefultomy
team leader, Anuradha Joshi, and the Institute’s Director, Melissa Leach, for
makingthispossible,andtoPattaScott-Villiersforinheritingamostunwieldy
projectsothatIcouldwrite.IshouldnotethattheIDSisnotresponsiblefor
anyerrorsoffactorjudgementinthisbook.
Although I had no specific funding to write this book, it was spurred in
particularbyaprojectcalledFoodRiotsandFoodRights:TheMoralandPolitical
Economy of Accountability for Hunger (2012–14) which was funded by the
Department for International Development-Economic and Social Research
Council (DFID-ESRC) programme on poverty (grant number ES/J018317/1),
onwhichIwasthePrincipalInvestigator.Thefindingthatitwas‘becauseof
thefamine’ thatBangladeshhadrelativelysuccessfully weatheredtheglobal
food crisisof2007–12 fatefullyturnedmyattentiontothislittle-studiedbut
Acknowledgements
plainly pivotal event in the nation’s brief but turbulent history. I must in
particular acknowledge my colleague and friend Professor Ferdous Jahan of
Dhaka University for our collaboration on this and related issues over the
decade of our partnership. She will recognize the outcome of several of our
debatesintheanalysishere.
Severalpeopleprovidedinvaluablecommentsonearlydrafts.Inparticular,
RosalindEyben,MarieJoCortijo,PenelopeMawson,SamerAl-Samarrai,and
twoanonymousrefereesgaveinvaluabledetailedfeedback,insomecaseson
morethanonedraft.Ihavenotincorporatedalloftheirsuggestions,butthose
I did have improved the text immeasurably. I am also thankful to Andrew
Fischer and his series co-editors for taking the book on as part of the Devel-
opmentStudiesAssociationseries,andtoAdamSwallowatOxfordUniversity
PressforhispatienceasIsortedoutmyideas.
Manycolleaguesandfriendsprovidedusefulcriticalsoundingboardsforthe
ideasastheyemerged,inparticularSakuAkmeemana,AfsanChowdhury,Mirza
Hassan,HabibulHoqueKhandker,SohelaNazneen,PattaScott-Villiers,Sarwar
Lateef,andagain,FerdousJahan.Mythinkingaboutthefateofthe‘patriarchal
bargain’inBangladeshwascloselyshapedbysomeveryinteresting(atleast,they
were for me) conversations with Naila Kabeer over the years. Several people
generouslyansweredquestionsorgavehelponspecificareasofanalysis,includ-
ingNabilAhmed,TariqOmarAli,FirdousAzim,GaryBass,BenCrow,Stephen
Devereux, Marcus Franda, Alan Greig, Meghna Guhathakurta, Jaideep Gupte,
SamiaHuq,NeamatImam,TomLavers,DolfteLintelo,JohnPilger,ArunaRao,
Lucy Scott, Dina Siddiqi, and Matthias Vom Hau. I am extremely grateful to
Tahrat Naushaba Shahid for the exceptional quality of her research support
towards the end of this process, and there are one or two late additions that
havegreatlyimprovedtheflowandavoidederrorthatowetoherdiligenceand
expertknowledge.ImustalsothankSadikHasanShuvoforhisexcellentassist-
anceinscouringthe(somewhatdepleted)newspaperandlibraryresourceson
the1974famine.Md.AshikurRahmanveryablyandkindlytranslatedSheikh
Mujib’sspeechattheUNin1974.StaffattheUSLibraryofCongresshelpedme
findthesesanddocumentsthatImightnototherwisehavebeenabletoaccess.
For their moral support I thank in particular Rosaleen Cunningham, Eve
Goff, Paul Hossain, Rebecca Hossain, Rob Jenkins, Nadia Khan, and Isabel
Rodriquez,andmycolleaguesinthePowerandPopularPoliticsclusteratthe
IDS.Asalways,AlfazHossainprovidedmewithacomfortablespaceinwhich
towork,andhishouseholdlookedaftermeexceptionallywellinthoselong
finalwritingdays.MyfamilyhasbeensupportivethroughoutandIamforever
gratefultoSamerAl-Samarrai,whoconsentedto—andco-financed—mylong
year off as we moved across continents, and to Sophia Al-Samarrai, whose
childhood has no doubt been blighted by dinner-table conversations about
thehorrorsandinjusticeoffaminesinIrelandandBengal.
viii
Contents
Listoffigures xi
Listoftables xiii
Acronyms xv
Part1. TheParadox
1. Bangladesh’sSurprisingSuccess 3
2. FromMalthusiatotheBangladeshParadox 23
3. TheElites,theMasses,andTheirDonors 50
Part2. TheBasketCase
4. TheBreakingofthePatriarchalBargainandtheEmergence
ofthe‘WomanIssue’ 75
5. 1974 91
Part3. TheTestCaseforDevelopment
6. NeverAgain:TheLongShadowofFamine 119
7. MakingBangladeshis 143
Part4. TheBengalTiger
8. AerotropolitansandCinderellas:BangladeshisintheGlobal
Economy 167
9. Post-MalthusianFutures:TowardsaNewSocialContract 194
Glossary 203
Bibliography 205
Index 239