Bangladesh Priorities : Ranking the smartest solutions by their benefits and costs

Bangladesh has made spectacular progress over recent years, halving poverty and growing the economy by 6 per cent annually. But many challenges remain. This book highlights and ranks the policies that can help the most to achieve an even brighter future. Copenhagen Consensus, together with BRAC, has worked with dozens of teams of economists from Bangladesh and abroad to research the costs and benefits of 76 concrete ways to help Bangladesh, taking into account not just economic effects but also the social, health and environmental impacts. This is a unique summary of the 1100+ pages of academic, peer-reviewed research. It describes the smartest policies to not only achieve Bangladesh's goal of becoming a middle-income category by 2021 and implement Vision 2021, but also ensure better lives and a healthier environment. "Using evidence based analysis for policy decisions is a better investment than reading 100s of recommendation with little heed to sequencing pro-poor development priorities."-Tofail Ahmed, Minister, Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh. "This project is going to transform the way we think about priorities in Bangladesh, both with the implementation of the 7th Five Year Plan and in attaining the Vision 2021." -Abul Kalam Azad, Principal Secretary to Honourable Prime Minister of Bangladesh"The only question is why we have never done this before. It's an unprecedented approach which I have not seen from any of the think tanks of advisory groups that work in Bangladesh, and the results are going to be powerful and practical." -Nojibur Rahman, Chairman, National Board of Revenue and Senior Secretary, Internal Resources Division, Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh/ Copenhagen Consensus Center's Bangladesh Priorities Project was described by The Economist as "An ambitious attempt to work out the best use for scarce resources."-The Economist, May 7, 2016 Copenhagen Consensus Center was described as "truly innovative and global in its scope" by the judges after winning the US International Affairs Think Tank of the Year, 2016, awarded by Prospect Magazine.