In this episode of অর্থনীতির ১২টা, hosts Jyoti Rahman and Rubaiyath Sarwar of the Panam Institute sit down with economist and policy expert Dr. Syed Akhtar Mahmood.
A former Lead Private Sector Specialist at the World Bank Group with nearly three decades of experience, Dr. Mahmood holds degrees from Dhaka University, Oxford, and Yale, with deep expertise in regulatory reform, state-owned enterprise restructuring, and growth policies. Together, the panel discuss Bangladesh’s economic journey from 1947 to the present, analyzing structural reforms, policy design, and the transmission mechanisms shaping the nation’s development.
Key topics discussed:
- Dr. Syed Akhtar Mahmood’s career journey across Oxford, Yale, and nearly three decades at the World Bank working on socialist economic transitions
- Comparative analysis of economic cycles in East Asian vs. Latin American developing economies
- Restructuring and reviving closed state-owned or industrial enterprises in Bangladesh
- Managing risks versus delaying necessary economic and policy reforms
- Key achievements in Bangladesh’s entrepreneurial maturity—from smallholder farmers to major corporate conglomerates
- Policy lessons from historical economic crisis points, including forex reserve crunches and energy subsidies
- Navigating policy advocacy, fiscal reforms, and tax/VAT structural reforms (such as the 1990s VAT implementation)
- Unbundling the government machinery and understanding internal policy decision-making processes
This discussion is presented based on historical context, research, and economic analysis, aimed at encouraging constructive dialogue on Bangladesh’s macroeconomic policy history.