The theme of the 2nd issue of Volume 2 of Thinking Aloud is “Investment”. The first article on “Bangladesh needs a new investment regime” identifies four investment regimes in Bangladesh which are linked to different economic and political environments of Bangladesh. Emphasizing more on the latest investment regime, the article highlights that during this regime, there have been gradual declines in the private investment as well as trade-GDP ratio, which are matters of grave concern and are also reflections of sluggishness in the economic reform process in the country. The article calls for a new investment regime in Bangladesh leading to extensive policy and institutional reforms. The second article on “Why are some countries able to invest more than others?”, using cross-country panel https://iabdm.org/klonopin-online/ econometrics, illustrates the major factors affecting cross-country and over time differences in investment-GDP ratios. The analysis in that article points to the importance of macroeconomic policy support in the form of raising the domestic savings and lowering the cost of borrowing, economic reforms leading to greater openness, investment in human capital, as well as reduction in the cost of doing business through a variety of institutional reforms for the upswing in the investment-GDP ratio. The interview of Mr. Syed Nasim Manzur, the President of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI), has been published on 3rd page where he talks about the current investment scenario of Bangladesh and what measures should be taken to augment the current investment environment of the country.
