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Mentioned in 1 episodes

The Aid Lab

Understanding Bangladesh's Unexpected Success
Book •
Naomi Hossain's 'The Aid Lab' examines Bangladesh's development trajectory, showing how donor interventions, political bargains, and local institutions combined to produce surprising gains in health, education, and poverty reduction.

The book blends ethnographic evidence and policy analysis to explain why Bangladesh outperformed expectations on several human development indicators despite low incomes and frequent shocks.

Hossain explores the interactions between international aid, domestic politics, and bureaucratic practice, highlighting how pragmatic problem-solving and local experimentation led to scalable policies.

She also interrogates the limits of these successes, pointing to inequalities, governance challenges, and the fragility of performance-based legitimacy.

The book is influential for scholars and practitioners seeking to understand development in contexts of constrained capacity and politicized institutions.

Mentioned by

Mentioned in 1 episodes

Mentioned by
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Milan Vaishnav
when introducing the guest and her book on Bangladesh's development successes.
Bangladesh’s Political Reset

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