Economists urge immediate action on corruption, inflation, and forex stability: EIB Special Survey

As interim government gears for reforms to stabilise the economy, a special survey by the Economic Intelligence Bangladesh (EIB) identifies checking corruption and money laundering, controlling inflation, and rebuilding forex reserves as urgent priorities.

The findings of the survey titled "How Economists Prioritise Tasks Ahead", released today (1 October) by the research team of The Business Standard in collaboration with DataSense, collected insights from 12 prominent economists and academics across Bangladesh in September.

A striking 42% of the economists ranked fighting corruption and money laundering as the most urgent issue, underscoring its deep-rooted impact on Bangladesh's economy.

To address the issue, Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), advised, "Corruption and money laundering can be checked by proactively making use of legal means to bring the perpetrators to justice."

He added, "Moreover, partnering with countries to recover stolen wealth and hiring globally reputed professionals in the area of asset recovery. Community groups can be organised that will act as watchdogs against corruption."

Inflation control came in as the second-highest priority, with 25% of economists highlighting its significance amid rising prices that are straining household budgets.

Former lead economist of the World Bank Zahid Hussain believes the interim government must "prioritise controlling essential food inflation, neutralise the syndicates on extortion in the supply chain and deter collusive practices by big players in markets such as rice, flour, lentil, onions, edible oil and such other essential items".

Additionally, 17% of respondents emphasised the importance of rebuilding forex reserves, highlighting the country's pressing need to stabilise its foreign exchange position amid global economic volatility.

MA Razzaque, chairman of RAPID, said, "For rebuilding reserves, a market-friendly exchange rate system should be fostered with strong and exemplary measures against corruption, as money gathered through corrupt practices is generally syphoned off from the country putting pressure on the reserve situation."

He also said, "Loan terms need to be renegotiated to reduce the pressure on repayments in the near future.

"Concessional loans with a longer grace period and maturity (especially for export sector development so that export earnings increase, preferably through a diversified export structure for which tariff rationalisation will also be a critical priority) should be sought while steps are needed to attract foreign investment (especially into the export sectors)."

Collectively the economists who took part in the survey highlighted the urgency of swift and decisive action to foster stability and lay the groundwork for sustainable growth.

The special issue of Economic Intelligence Bangladesh is available at https://intel.tbsnews.net/special-survey-issue.