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The AEDSB Washington Seminar Series
Can Proportional Representation Help Stabilize
Democracy in Bangladesh?
Speaker: Nazrul
Islam, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
When: Thursday, October 29, 2009; 12.30
pm. to 2.00 pm
Where: Room MC 08-100, The World Bank,
1818 H Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20433
If you need a pass to attend the seminar, please contact one of the following:
SAhmed20@worldbank.
Abstract
This paper examines whether a switch from the current Winner Takes All (WTA)
system to the Proportional Representation (PR) system can help Bangladesh
stabilize her democracy. It begins by considering the underlying reasons for
unstable democracy in Bangladesh and in developing countries in general and the
ways in which this instability can be overcome. Next it surveys the
international experience with the PR system and identifies different channels
through which the system can exert its stabilizing influence on Bangladesh
democracy. The paper also discusses certain potential problems of the PR system
and the ways to overcome them in the context of Bangladesh. The paper ends by
emphasizing the need for an open public discussion in order to generate popular
support for a switch to the PR system.
About the Presenters
Nazrul Islam was both a student and
teacher at the economics department of Dhaka University. He did his M.Sc.
(Econ) from Moscow State University and his A.M. and Ph. D., both in economics,
from Harvard University. His teaching career has spanned Dhaka University,
Harvard University, Emory University, and Kyushu University, and is currently a
Senior Economist at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs'
Development Policy Analysis Division.
He has an extensive record of published research, including three books and
numerous journal articles on Bangladesh development issues, and an influential
1995 Quarterly Journal of Economics article on the panel data approach to
international growth empirics. Studying transition economies, he has also pioneered
the use of the dual approach to growth accounting and the Lewis growth model to
the study of China’s industrialization process. His recently edited book on China,
Resurgent China: Issues for the Future, has emerged as an important work on
contemporary economic issues of China. In more recent articles on Bangladesh,
focusing mostly on governance issues, Dr. Islam has argued for salary reform as
a way of improving the quality of civil administration, shortening the
government term, and switching from the “Winner Takes All (WTA)” to the
“Proportional Representation (PR)” system as a way of stabilizing and improving
democracy.
Dr. Islam is also known for his work on environmental issues, taking the
initiative to found the Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) - an influential
global network of non-resident Bangladeshis working to assist Bangladesh in
solving her environmental problems and in confronting the climate change
threat. He has published several articles on flood and river issues, the role
of civil society in environmental protection, and the relationship between
environmental quality and income level of a country.