Public Policy and Governance in Bangladesh Forty Years of Experience Routledge Studies in South Asian Politics Series

Good policies are an important prerequisite of good governance, and any effort to change one is likely to affect the other. In emerging democracies, such as Bangladesh, a redefinition of roles and responsibilities of different actors in the policy and governing process can be noticed.

This book identifies and analyses issues related to the making and implementation of public policies in Bangladesh over the last four decades (1972-2012). It explores the implications of the change that has taken place in policy and governance environment in Bangladesh. Focusing on several important sectoral and sub-sectoral polices, it examines the impact and limitations of the change.

Chapters are structured into four parts: Public Policy, Bureaucracy and Parliament; Cases of Public Policy; Women in Governance and Public Administration; Ethics, Innovations, and Public Service Delivery, and the book is a valuable resource for researchers in the field of development studies, public policy and South Asian politics.

Part One: Introduction

1. Introduction

Part Two: Governance, Public Policy and Parliament

2. The ‘holy grail’ of governance: Drivers, challenges and opportunities for developing countries

3. Bureaucratic capacity and the quality of government

4. Public management in developing countries: Towards a new synthesis

5. Parliament and public legislation in Bangladesh

Part Three: Cases of Public Policy

6. Agenda shaping and accountability in public policies: An analysis of the food policy of Bangladesh

7. Ambitious plans, cautious implementation: Why has Bangladesh followed such half-hearted privatization policy?

8. External inducement, internal support: Explaining the health-sector policy gains in Bangladesh

9. Revisiting national forest policies in Bangladesh

Part Four: Women in Governance and Public Administration

10. Gender quotas and women’s representation in parliament: Lessons from Bangladesh

11. Openings and resistances: Women in Bangladesh civil service

12. Women’s participation in politics at the local level in Bangladesh: A perspective from good governance

Part Five: Ethics, Innovation, and Public Service Delivery

13. Building an effective ethics infrastructure in the public service of Bangladesh

14. Road to e-governance and public service delivery in Bangladesh: How long is the journey?

15. Citizen’s charter and public service delivery in Bangladesh

16. Governance of NGOs in Bangladesh: Control mechanisms and their limitations

Nizam Ahmed is Professor of Public Administration at the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh.