Microcredit programs in Bangladesh have experienced spectacular growth in recent years, with a growing number of borrowers availing credit from multiple microcredit agencies. There is a growing concern that if there are not sufficient returns to borrowing from microfinance institutions (MFIS),...

A key source of the impressive growth in Pakistan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the agriculture sector, which grew about 3.6 percent a year for 25 years. The author analyzes whether such a growth rate is sustainable. In different periods, growth has come from different sources: from a...

As populations expand and make various uses of water, its growing scarcity becomes a serious issue in developing countries such as Bangladesh. Water can no longer be considered a totally free resource and plans must be developed for its efficient use through better management and rules that...

Pakistan's rural sector accounts for more than 70 percent of employment, and roughly two-thirds of rural employment is in agriculture. Less than a third of rural households get loans, only 10 percent of which are from institutional sources. Pakistan's credit institutions are not helping the...

The authors review the literature on land markets in South Asia to clarify what's known and to highlight unresolved issues. They report that: (1) We have a good understanding of why sharecropping persists and why it can be superior to other standard agricultural contracts. We have less...

The author studies Pakistan's major environmental problems, both green and brown, and assesses the extent to which economic policies affect incentives to protect the environment. Experience in other countries shows that nondistortionary economic policies that promote economic growth by improving...

Increasing access to finance is still the most critical need for agricultural growth in Bangladesh. Both formal institutions (such as BKB and RAKUB) and MFIs have to play their roles in an integrated and mutually supportive way. MFIs are already playing significant role in financing agriculture,...

Microcredit programs in Bangladesh have experienced spectacular growth in recent years, with a growing number of borrowers availing credit from multiple microcredit agencies. There is a growing concern that if there are not sufficient returns to borrowing from microfinance institutions (MFIs),...

This paper assesses the role of the government in Pakistan's agriculture sector and concludes that major reforms are needed. The government's role is grouped into two main areas: price and trade policy, and public institutions, services, and expenditures. First, the paper assesses the impact of...

Agricultural growth rates in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s show that strong growth during the 1960s was driven by several factors, including greater certainty in the use of irrigation water (as a result of an agreement with India), the introduction of productivityenhancing fertiliser-seed...