BRAC University Economics Club organizes technical workshop on national budget

BRAC University Economics Club organized a technical workshop on the national budget at the university’s Mohakhali campus auditorium on 5 June, 2022. Dr Zahid Hussain, former lead economist at the World Bank, was the speaker while Dr Dave Dowland, Registrar of BRAC University, and Dr Farzana Munshi, Chairperson of the Department of Economics and Social Sciences (ESS), were the special guests. Faculty members and students of different departments attended the workshop.

Dr Farzana Munshi gave the opening speech welcoming Dr Zahid Hussain and participants of the workshop. She then shed light on Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserve, inflation and other trending issues. She opined that Bangladesh should take lessons from Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.

Dr. Zahid Hussain briefly explained the circular flow of national income, pointing out that it was always in a state of dynamic equilibrium. He further expounded with the help of an equation that factors such as recession, inflation and unemployment could result in an imbalance in an economy. The speaker then spoke on the pandemic’s

impact on economies across the globe, such as leading to a decrease in GDP growth in Europe and a decline in investment opportunities.

Dr. Zahid Hussain shared data of key indicators to explain current trends. Bangladesh experienced a fall in remittance inflow, leading to a crisis of US dollars and fluctuations in the exchange rate between the taka and the US dollar. Though Bangladesh Bank initially tried to enforce an exchange rate, it later gave in to a floating exchange rate. Regarding the current hike in prices of essential commodities, Dr Zahid Hussain highlighted the importance of controlling the inflation rate, especially in this period of post-pandemic recovery.

Dr Zahid Hussain then responded to questions of faculty members and students relating to infrastructure and education. He also shared his experience working on development projects in Bangladesh.

Dr Dave Dowland expressed his gratitude towards the honourable guest and the organizers, saying such student-centric workshops help to realize practical implications of the study of economics. He hoped for more of such workshops and seminars to be organized in the coming months. Initiatives like this will help students understand the policymaking process and technicalities and their implications for the country’s development, he said.