Neoliberal Development In Bangladesh: People on the Margins

Neoliberal Development in Bangladesh: People on the Margins brings together eleven critical essays on the consequences of neoliberal development in the country. A central theme is how the neoliberal paradigm, with its exclusive focus on the free market, has reshaped the very nature of the state, where the market becomes both the ends and the means of social welfare. While this market-directed approach can produce economic growth, it also brings a decline in quality of life, ecological health, and political governance. Bangladesh serves as a key case study, often labelled a development paradox: some celebrate the fast-growing economy, while critics of the growth-first model point to its downsides. The essays cover topics including microfinance, energy, higher education, agriculture, gender, and corruption, offering a useful resource for understanding contemporary critical scholarship on neoliberal policies in Bangladesh.