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Rural Development is a deliberate transformation towards the advancement of the financial and societal standard of living of the rural poor through amplified production, impartial delivery of possessions, and empowerment. In general, a deliberate transformation towards rural institution building and progression in technology. Bangladesh, nearly 50 years into its liberation, stays on the route to development and the country is looking forward to transitioning into a developed state by 2041. There is global pressure also. Rural development plays a key role in attaining the targets. The Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) is a pioneer institute for attaining rural development in Bangladesh. The academy is acknowledged as a center of excellence regarding training, research and action research. The institute was established in 1959 with the intention of provide training to the public officials and representatives of the local government and village institutions on diverse matters concerning to rural development. Still, the institution provides training to diverse stakeholders. Moreover, a large quantity of international clientele comprising scholars, research fellows, experts, government bureaucrats, affiliates of diplomatic corps and global organizations visit the academy. The academy has been steering socio-economic study from the time of its beginning. Research outcomes are used as training resources and contributions for introducing action research by the Academy itself. It also works as data resources and policy ideas for the policy makers, Ministries, and Planning Commission. In certain circumstances, these are also dispersed among the global organizations and institutes. BARD conducts investigational projects to progress models of better-quality institution, managerial arrangements in addition to harmonization and approaches of production. The project events generally include the villagers'development institutes, local bodies and public officials. To this point the Academy has directed more than 50 investigational projects on different facets of rural development. Finally, in the era of globalization and pressure of implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the book provides an immense knowledge on “Rural Development” issue in Bangladesh perspective.

The relationship between the agrarian structure of Bangladesh and its problems of rural development is established in this study based on four years (1975-79) of field research. The authors suggest that the concentration of land in the hands of a rural elite is the principal impediment to the participation of weaker sections of the peasantry in economic progress. Tracing the failure of local attempts to change Bangladesh's agrarian structure by legislative means, they outline a modified program for rural development that is linked to agrarian reform. Agrarian reform, Drs. Jannuzi and Peach argue, is the prerequisite for a rural development strategy that provides for both economic growth and improved income distribution; thus, approaches to rural development in Bangladesh that place reliance on new agricultural technology without first changing the institutions that determine peoples'relationships to the land are not viable. The authors'policy recommendations, grounded in new data on the relative proportions of owners of land, sharecroppers, and the landless, are supplemented by a theoretical analysis of the institution of sharecropping and detailed field work methodology.

The rural economy in Bangladesh has powerfully advanced economic growth and substantially reduced poverty, especially since 2000, but the remarkable transformation and unprecedented dynamism in rural Bangladesh remain an underexplored, underappreciated, and largely untold story. Dynamics of Rural Growth in Bangladesh: Sustaining Poverty Reduction tells that story and inquires what specific actions Bangladesh might take—given the residual poverty and persistent malnutrition—to accelerate and channel its rural dynamism to sustain the gains in eliminating poverty, achieving shared prosperity, and advancing national aspirations to achieve middle-income status.The central element of this study, undertaken with the Government of Bangladesh Planning Commission to address key questions elicited through extensive consultation, is an empirical analysis that illuminates the underlying dynamics of rural growth, particularly the role of agriculture and its relationship to the nonfarm economy. Using all sources of data available for the macro-, meso-, and microhousehold levels, the analysis provides new evidence on changes in the rural economy and the principal drivers of rural incomes. It also examines market performance for high-value agricultural products and agriculture–nutrition linkages, based on new surveys and analysis. The resulting evidence, examined in light of the rich knowledge of rural development in Bangladesh, is used to delineate the implications for policy and the strategic priorities for sustaining future rural development, poverty reduction, food security, and nutrition. The effects of policy reforms, changes in technology, and investments in infrastructure and human capital described here, along with the persistent enterprise of rural Bangladeshi households, offer a compelling case study of how mutually reinforcing actions can trigger the highly-sought-after virtuous cycle of rural development. The findings clearly demonstrate the pro-poor nature of agricultural growth and its catalytic role in stimulating the rural nonfarm economy. They show that households have no linear or predictable pathway out of poverty; instead, they wisely employ a combination of farm and nonfarm income strategies to climb out of, and then stay out of, poverty. The results represent a strong contribution to the global thinking on rural transformation and on how agriculture in particular sustains the economic momentum that fosters poverty reduction and more widespread prosperity.

Bangladesh has the world's fastest growing, off-grid solar home system (SHS) coverage. The number of SHSinstallations has risen phenomenally—from a five-year target of 50,000 in 2003 to 50,000 a month a decadelater. By early 2014, installations totaled more than 3 million. Even so, this figure represents just 10 percent ofthe country's off-grid households, suggesting ample room for continued program expansion.Surge in Solar-Powered Homes: Experience in Off-Grid Rural Bangladesh assesses the country's remarkablegrowth in SHS, its support schemes, and welfare impacts for rural households. Drawing on both large-scalehousehold survey and institutional data, the book's authors examine the effectiveness of SHS technology inimproving rural people's quality of life and the program delivery and financing mechanisms, including partialsubsidies, currently in place, administered by the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL).The book's findings clearly demonstrate that the welfare benefits of SHS adoption far outweigh the socialcost of the subsidy. The benefits of lighting alone—replacing polluting kerosene lamps with solar-poweredelectric lighting—result in significant cost savings and income gains for adopter households. The findingsconfirm that SHS increases children's study time, households'sense of security, and women's empowerment.Within the current market incentive structure, there is tremendous scope for broadening the rural marketreach. But the high upfront cost of purchasing a SHS at current market prices is a barrier to future sales,suggesting the continued need for IDCOL's well-targeted subsidized operation.Bangladesh's highly successful SHS program leveraged a unique combination of geographical, institutional,and socioeconomic factors; however, certain elements could be easily replicated elsewhere. This bookwill be of interest to policy makers struggling with the task of increasing rural people's access to electricity,particularly in poor or remote areas where national grid extension is uneconomical. Developmentpractitioners can also benefit from learning about the welfare impacts of SHS on rural households andmarket-based implementation models designed to meet rural households'basic electricity needs.

Freedom From Want traces the evolution of BRAC from it beginnings as a small relief operation in Bangladesh into what is arguably the largest and most successful social experiment in the developing world. Ranging from distant villages in Bangladesh to New York's financial district, from war-torn Afghanistan to the plains of eastern Africa, Ian Smillie's book—part adventure story, part lesson in development economics, and part examination of excellence in management—describes one of the world's most remarkable success stories, one that has transformed disaster into development. Smillie shows us how social enterprise can trump corruption, and how purpose, innovation, and clear thinking can overcome the most entrenched injustices.

A volume of essays by a number of economists to honour Nurul Islam, an Asian economist who made important contributions as an academic economist and political planner. The essays fall under three subject headings - international trade and aid, planning and rural development.