This book is meant to he both a text for university students and a reference for professionals.

The present volume is a compilation of articles originally published at various times in the Journal of Bangladesh Studies. The selection was predicated on two main criteria: their immediate relevance to the Bangladesh economy and the reputation of the authors who have a track record of publications in international journals and have influenced the thinking of others through their insightful writing. The book covers a gamut of important areas that concern economists and have the potential to shape economic thinking in Bangladesh.

Contents:1. Prolegomena / 2. Historical Roots of Civil Service in Bangladesh / 3. The Structure of Civil Services in Bangladesh / 4. Departures from Merit : The Most Complex Quota System in the World / 5. Recruitment and Training: The Myths and Reality / 6. The Challenges of Discriminating the Good from the Bad: Appraising Government Executive in Bangladesh / 7. Compensation in Bangladesh Civil Service the Imperative for a New Paradigm / 8. The Vicious Circle of Politicization / 9. Strategies for Reforms / 10. Beyond Gresham’s Law Syndrome

The volume brings together a collection of essays written by colleagues, friends and students as a tribute to professor Mosharaff Hossain. In addition to personal tributes, the contributions cover issue in agriculture and the rural economy and development in general which were close to the heart of Mosharaff Hossain.

The present volume on Emerging Issues in Bangladesh Economy: A Review of Bangladesh's Development 2005-06, is the tenth publication under the pioneering initiative of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) titled Independent Review of Bangladesh's Development (IRBD). Over the past years, since 1995, the IRBDs, an annual publication of the CPD, have been able to establish a tradition of high scholarship and a credible civil society perspective on key issues of developmental concern and interest in Bangladesh. IRBD 2005-06 has identified fourteen strategic issues which are likely to have important medium term implications on how Bangladesh develops over the coming years. The increasingly globally integrated economy of Bangladesh needs policies that will foster and promote strengthened participation of Bangladesh's enterprises and entrepreneurs in the domestic, regional and global markets.

Microcredit offers a mechanism for providing collateral free credit to assetless household. Bangladesh and a number of developing countries have evolved their own genre of microfinance.

The book includes contributions on a wide variety of economic development topics from a distinguished panel of contributors. The authors are based in different parts of the world and bring their varied expertise to their research. The reader will appreciate the diversity of background and expertise of the contributors that has produced an extraordinary healthy mix of perspectives, an important strength of this collection.

Divided into four parts, the volumeexamines analytical perspectives onsocial protection and reviews international experiences on the developmental role of social protection, challenges of graduation, financing options, prioritizing a child focus, country-specific experiences of Mexico, China and Kenyaas well as the lessons for Bangladesh. Two concluding parts bring the focus on reform challenges for scaling up social protection and outlines the road ahead.

Microfinance is now globally recognized as a powerful intervention for alleviating poverty. This innovative development approach has inspired numerous research works around the world.

Currently the country is witnessing a growing debate on the role of external aid in the development of Bangladesh. Development economists and aid watchers contend that external aid received by Bangladesh since independence exceeding $29 billion. This has had no visible impact on the economic and social development of the country and that benefits of this aid did not reach the poor constituting the vast majority of the population of Bangladesh. Much of it was siphoned off by influential interest groups creating in the process a new rich class and hundreds of import-export agencies and consultancy firms.