The Elite-Captured Economy of Bangladesh: Reclaiming Shared Prosperity for All

The Elite-Captured Economy of Bangladesh: Reclaiming Shared Prosperity for AllEconomic capture is not unique to Bangladesh. It occurs wherever power and wealth concentrate in the hands of a few, reshaping rules and institutions to serve narrow interests at the expense of the many. Yet capture takes different forms in different contexts — and understanding those specificities is essential to breaking free.This book offers a close study of one such case: Bangladesh. What makes the Bangladeshi experience remarkable — and indeed, distinguishes it from many other captured economies — is the sheer scale and pervasiveness of the capture. From banking to healthcare, from elections to education, from tax administration to the military, no institution has remained untouched. The capture is not confined to a single sector or a few rogue actors; it is the operating system of the entire society.Drawing on extensive research and real-world cases — the looting of the banking sector, the rigging of national elections, the corruption of healthcare, the sabotage of tax reform, the co-optation of the military — this book exposes the architecture of economic capture in one of the world's most densely populated and rapidly developing nations.But this is not just a book about Bangladesh. It is a book about how capture works anywhere: the coordination of political power, regulatory complicity, intelligence coercion, judicial inaction, and media silence. It is a book about why even well-intended reforms fail when the system is designed to resist change. And it is a book about what it takes to reclaim an economy — transparency, accountability, citizen action, and systemic redesign.Provocative and timely, The Elite-Captured Economy of Bangladesh is a rallying cry for citizens, youth, and ethical businesses everywhere to face hard truths — and join the fight to break free from elite control. Read more