Post budget discussion at BRAC University

Campus Report :
BRAC University Economics Club, BUEC, organized a budget discussion meeting on Thursday namely “Analysis: A Post-budget 2014-2015 Panel Discussion”, where Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharjya, Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed and Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam expressed a range of interesting views on the Budget 2014-15. The distinguished panel was chaired by Syed M Hashemi, BUEC’s adviser and Chairman of BRAC University Economics and Social Science Department.
During the event speakers took turns identifying some of the major economic challenges facing the country, before offering correctives and policy suggestions. Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam, former advisor to the 2007-08 Caretaker Government, emphasized the importance of attracting a 5 percent increase in private investment, without which the projected national growth rate of 7.3 percent cannot be reached. Managing inflation, a potentially negative side effect of growth that impacts upon the poorest most, should thereby be treated with equal importance by the government.
Former Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, explained that the budget should serve welfare goals, including poverty alleviation and equitable development. If the underlying issue of an excessive desire for self-gain is to be addressed, reforms to make the banking and financial sector more transparent, and greater efficiency in the performance of government institutions would have to be combined with a fully engaged civil society; who he called to monitor the effectiveness of budgetary implementation.
Economist and distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, Debapriya Bhattacharjya, also prioritized the need for growth and a balance in the national budget. However, he felt that a reduction in savings brought on by a fall in earnings over the previous several years had effected growth and employment generation negatively. On the policy side his main arguments were for reform in the financial sector, tax on private properties and wealth, and effective budgetary allocation to combat the anarchic situation that currently prevails in annual development formulation.
The audience concluded this successful event by posing questions to the esteemed panel who responded with the same level of insight exhibited throughout.