The Arab Spring’s Chill Winds

The uprisings in the Arab world – especially in Libya – are slowing economic growth in Bangladesh. Remittances sent from the Arab world represent 12 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP. “Bangladesh depends on remittances from the Middle East more than any other large country,” explains this article in the Economist. Bangladesh, a severely impoverished nation of 156 million, is a parliamentary democracy. Traditionally, Bangladeshis worked in Saudi Arabia, but the Saudis sharply reduced foreign hiring in recent years, down by more than 90 percent. War in Libya, in turn, shuttered construction projects, reducing employment and remittances to Bangladesh. Overseas work is erratic for unskilled Bangladeshis. At the same time, Bangladesh’s textile industry is growing, thanks to a rule change in the European Union, favoring imports from “least developed” nations. Bangladesh’s economy may endure the uprisings in the Arab world, but not without some contraction in growth. – YaleGlobal