Zaidi Sattar - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Zaidi Sattar
Research series on the Chinese dream and China's development path, 2023
South Asia Economic Journal, Jan 31, 2016
Trade policy within Bangladesh has followed a course of gradual liberalization associated with ta... more Trade policy within Bangladesh has followed a course of gradual liberalization associated with tariff reduction and rationalization, and removal of protective quantitative restrictions. But the pace of liberalization has varied significantly over different periods depending on the state of the economy or the weight of influence of different actors. To capture this dynamics, in this article, we develop a simple decision theory model to understand how an incumbent government decides upon tariff rationalization strategies. In particular, the role of key stakeholders—consumers, exporters and import substituting industries—is considered, and the collective action issues faced by each group are examined to understand how incumbent governments will respond to their relative influence. Two principle inferences are drawn from this analysis. First, incumbent governments are more likely to facilitate tariff rationalization episodes in times of economic or political crisis. Second, if the economy is not in a state of crisis and consumers suffer from the acutest form of collective action problem, then one can expect that tariff rationalization momentum will be slow or non-existent as long as import substituting industries have equal or more policy clout than exporters. These inferences are then examined in the context of trade policy developments in Bangladesh.
American Journal of Islam and Society, 1991
The Third Seminar on Islamic Economics, held under the sponsorshipof the International Institute ... more The Third Seminar on Islamic Economics, held under the sponsorshipof the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and the Associationof Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), took on an international character withdelegates in attendance from as far east as Malaysia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabiain addition to participants from Canada and the United States. This year'stheme for the conference, "Resource Mobilization and Investment in an IslamicFramework;' evoked considerable interest among both academicians andpractitioners of the Islamic economic reform movement. Evidence of thisinterest was seen in the large number of research papers received on thesubject although, regrettably, funding limitations prevented many a scholarfrom participating in the meetings.The first day's sessions opened with brief remarks from Sayyid M. Syeed,general secretary of the AMSS, and Zaidi Sattar, program director for theseminar. Their remarks, while highlighting the significant strides ma...
Economics and Politics, 1989
Breaking into new markets and new products
It was the Multi Fiber Arrangement (MFA) in global textile and clothing trade that opened the doo... more It was the Multi Fiber Arrangement (MFA) in global textile and clothing trade that opened the doors for Bangladesh creating a golden opportunity for exploiting its comparative advantage in the labor-intensive garment industry. Bangladesh is now a recognized name on the globe as a major exporter of garments. The readymade garment industry has become the lifeline of the Bangladesh economy. It is the source of its strength and - in a way - could be the cause of its vulnerability. Too much of the nation's fortune is riding on this one sector. With the two million workforce it employs directly, and another one million in linkage industries, it supports the livelihood of some 10 million Bangladeshis who have been lifted out of poverty. The fact that most garment workers are females has itself brought on a revolution of sorts - in acceptability of women in the work place; in bringing respectability to these women in their homes and in the rural settings they come from. And yet the revo...
The paper seeks to compile evidence for the hypothesis that greater trade openness, and associate... more The paper seeks to compile evidence for the hypothesis that greater trade openness, and associated deregulation is good for growth, and poverty reduction in Bangladesh. At the theoretical level, it can be argued that since Bangladesh is relatively heavily endowed with labor, within the framework of the Hecksher-Ohlin model (1933 and 1949), expansion of international trade opportunities will likely support the growth of labor-intensive export industries, promoting employment, and incomes as per the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem (1941). Arguments also suggest improved productive and allocative efficiency; factor accumulation and investment; knowledge spillovers; improved income distribution; and, government policy improvements. The paper argues, using qualitative and quantitative analysis and a case study approach, that Bangladesh's increasing global integration, based on trade liberalization, and other economic deregulation, especially as of the 90s, contributed significantly to the ...
This paper examines the impact of trade liberalisation in particular, and of economic deregulatio... more This paper examines the impact of trade liberalisation in particular, and of economic deregulation in general, on economic growth and employment generation. The rapid growth of ready-made garment industry - and, to a lesser extent, that of export-oriented shrimp production - are discussed as evidence of direct beneficial impact of increased trade openness. Besides, trade liberalisation also indirectly contributed to stimulating other parts of the economy, thus contributing to pro-poor growth.
International Journal of Modelling and Simulation
The Pakistan Development Review
Government control of the economy varies widely, in degree as well as effectiveness, across count... more Government control of the economy varies widely, in degree as well as effectiveness, across countries and continents. The LDCs of Asia have generally opted for planned development and a large public sector, giving their governments significant control over their economies. The Newly Industrialising Countries (NICs) of Asia. on the other hand, have thrived on economic liberalisation and greater market orientation. The growth record of the Asian LDCs during the past decade appears pitiful as compared to that of the high-growth NICs. The present study attempts to empirically reassess the nature of the government's linkage with growth and productivity in Asian LDCs. The study finds evidence of a significant Jiilkage between government and growth in developing Asia. but not in the NICs or eight of the leading market economies of the world. Empirical evidence from the present study suggests that excessive government control in the Asian LDCs might have bred inefficiency, though not so...
Strengthening Competitiveness In Bangladesh—Thematic Assessment: A Diagnostic Trade Integration Study, 2016
Research series on the Chinese dream and China's development path, 2023
South Asia Economic Journal, Jan 31, 2016
Trade policy within Bangladesh has followed a course of gradual liberalization associated with ta... more Trade policy within Bangladesh has followed a course of gradual liberalization associated with tariff reduction and rationalization, and removal of protective quantitative restrictions. But the pace of liberalization has varied significantly over different periods depending on the state of the economy or the weight of influence of different actors. To capture this dynamics, in this article, we develop a simple decision theory model to understand how an incumbent government decides upon tariff rationalization strategies. In particular, the role of key stakeholders—consumers, exporters and import substituting industries—is considered, and the collective action issues faced by each group are examined to understand how incumbent governments will respond to their relative influence. Two principle inferences are drawn from this analysis. First, incumbent governments are more likely to facilitate tariff rationalization episodes in times of economic or political crisis. Second, if the economy is not in a state of crisis and consumers suffer from the acutest form of collective action problem, then one can expect that tariff rationalization momentum will be slow or non-existent as long as import substituting industries have equal or more policy clout than exporters. These inferences are then examined in the context of trade policy developments in Bangladesh.
American Journal of Islam and Society, 1991
The Third Seminar on Islamic Economics, held under the sponsorshipof the International Institute ... more The Third Seminar on Islamic Economics, held under the sponsorshipof the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and the Associationof Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), took on an international character withdelegates in attendance from as far east as Malaysia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabiain addition to participants from Canada and the United States. This year'stheme for the conference, "Resource Mobilization and Investment in an IslamicFramework;' evoked considerable interest among both academicians andpractitioners of the Islamic economic reform movement. Evidence of thisinterest was seen in the large number of research papers received on thesubject although, regrettably, funding limitations prevented many a scholarfrom participating in the meetings.The first day's sessions opened with brief remarks from Sayyid M. Syeed,general secretary of the AMSS, and Zaidi Sattar, program director for theseminar. Their remarks, while highlighting the significant strides ma...
Economics and Politics, 1989
Breaking into new markets and new products
It was the Multi Fiber Arrangement (MFA) in global textile and clothing trade that opened the doo... more It was the Multi Fiber Arrangement (MFA) in global textile and clothing trade that opened the doors for Bangladesh creating a golden opportunity for exploiting its comparative advantage in the labor-intensive garment industry. Bangladesh is now a recognized name on the globe as a major exporter of garments. The readymade garment industry has become the lifeline of the Bangladesh economy. It is the source of its strength and - in a way - could be the cause of its vulnerability. Too much of the nation's fortune is riding on this one sector. With the two million workforce it employs directly, and another one million in linkage industries, it supports the livelihood of some 10 million Bangladeshis who have been lifted out of poverty. The fact that most garment workers are females has itself brought on a revolution of sorts - in acceptability of women in the work place; in bringing respectability to these women in their homes and in the rural settings they come from. And yet the revo...
The paper seeks to compile evidence for the hypothesis that greater trade openness, and associate... more The paper seeks to compile evidence for the hypothesis that greater trade openness, and associated deregulation is good for growth, and poverty reduction in Bangladesh. At the theoretical level, it can be argued that since Bangladesh is relatively heavily endowed with labor, within the framework of the Hecksher-Ohlin model (1933 and 1949), expansion of international trade opportunities will likely support the growth of labor-intensive export industries, promoting employment, and incomes as per the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem (1941). Arguments also suggest improved productive and allocative efficiency; factor accumulation and investment; knowledge spillovers; improved income distribution; and, government policy improvements. The paper argues, using qualitative and quantitative analysis and a case study approach, that Bangladesh's increasing global integration, based on trade liberalization, and other economic deregulation, especially as of the 90s, contributed significantly to the ...
This paper examines the impact of trade liberalisation in particular, and of economic deregulatio... more This paper examines the impact of trade liberalisation in particular, and of economic deregulation in general, on economic growth and employment generation. The rapid growth of ready-made garment industry - and, to a lesser extent, that of export-oriented shrimp production - are discussed as evidence of direct beneficial impact of increased trade openness. Besides, trade liberalisation also indirectly contributed to stimulating other parts of the economy, thus contributing to pro-poor growth.
International Journal of Modelling and Simulation
The Pakistan Development Review
Government control of the economy varies widely, in degree as well as effectiveness, across count... more Government control of the economy varies widely, in degree as well as effectiveness, across countries and continents. The LDCs of Asia have generally opted for planned development and a large public sector, giving their governments significant control over their economies. The Newly Industrialising Countries (NICs) of Asia. on the other hand, have thrived on economic liberalisation and greater market orientation. The growth record of the Asian LDCs during the past decade appears pitiful as compared to that of the high-growth NICs. The present study attempts to empirically reassess the nature of the government's linkage with growth and productivity in Asian LDCs. The study finds evidence of a significant Jiilkage between government and growth in developing Asia. but not in the NICs or eight of the leading market economies of the world. Empirical evidence from the present study suggests that excessive government control in the Asian LDCs might have bred inefficiency, though not so...
Strengthening Competitiveness In Bangladesh—Thematic Assessment: A Diagnostic Trade Integration Study, 2016