Dhaka: The Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) is preparing to host its four-day flagship event, the Annual BIDS Conference on Development (ABCD) 2024, from December 7 to 10. This year's event will be held at the Lakeshore Hotel in the capital, highlighting the theme "Equality, Opportunity, Freedom, and Dignity: Restructuring Institutions for Equitable and Sustainable Development." According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the conference aims to provide a platform for the dissemination of research conducted by both national and international scholars. It will engage wider communities on contemporary development issues and debates. The event will feature 30 papers, two keynote addresses, and 12 public lectures covering a wide range of topics, including economic and social reforms, poverty, agriculture, food security, inflation, urbanization, education, health, energy, the environment, public debt, and child marriage. The event's inaugural session will have Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud, Adviser to the Ministry of Planning and Ministry of Education, as the Chief Guest. He will deliver a special address titled 'On Equality.' The inaugural address, 'The Middle-Income Trap,' will be presented by Indermit Gill, Chief Economist of the World Bank Group, and Somik V. Lall, Director of the World Development Report (WDR) 2024. The BIDS Director General will open the conference with remarks introducing the theme of interconnectedness. Public lectures will address issues such as 'Agenda for Economic and Social Reform' by Rehman Sobhan, 'Corporate Agriculture' by M. A. Sattar Mandal, 'Structural Transformation and its Effect on Growth and Poverty' by Jessica Leight, and 'Building Resilience among the Poor' by Yasuyuki Sawada, among others. Keynote addresses will include 'Equality and Opportunity' by Ravi Kanbur and 'Can Bangladesh Renew its Elite Bargain for Development?' by Stefan Dercon. The conference will also feature academic sessions on BIDS Works on Technology, Supply Chain and Employment in Firms, Education a nd Health, Macro Energy and Environment, and Credit Agricultural Productivity and Land Use. Additional sessions will cover Poverty in Bangladesh based on HIES 2022, Agriculture and Food Security, Research Methods on Poverty Dynamics, and the Dignity of the Excluded.
