Political Economy and the Development in Bangladesh

Abstract

This study analyses the "Developmental Settlement" in Bangladesh, wherein a centralized political authority has emphasized mega-infrastructure and "Smart" digitalization to circumvent conventional bureaucratic impediments. The study employs Institutional Path Dependency and Elite Mapping tools to evaluate the impact of the transition from "Competitive Clientelism" to a "Dominant Party Settlement" on capital accumulation and income inequality. It finds that, although this approach effectively managed the LDC graduation, the shift to a high-income economy by 2041 necessitates a new "social contract" that transitions from "project-based legitimacy" to "rule-of-law stability."