Youthonomics, the monthly essay writing competition for the youth, organized by SANEM, has become a platform for young intellectuals for academic and policy discussions and debates. Through Youthonomics, SANEM encourages young writers to voice their views and opinions on socio-economic issues. SANEM awards prize money and certificates to the winners of each episode of Youthonomics. SANEM believes that engaging the youth in an intellectual and academic discussion is essential for developing a more informed and rational society.

The 7th episode of Youthonomics was held in October 2019. The topic of Youthonomics 7 was “Bangladesh’s LDC Graduation and its Future Consequences”. The submissions to this episode presented an assessment of the challenges towards the target of LDC graduation of Bangladesh, discussed possible consequences, and made proposals on the necessary measures in these regards. Bangladesh has attained considerable progress in terms of economic development in the past three decades. It has now become a member of lower middle-income country group (World Bank classification) in 2015. Also, Bangladesh fulfilled all three eligibility criteria for graduation from the UN’s Least Developed Countries (LDC) list for the first time in 2015 and is on track for graduation from LDC in 2024. If Bangladesh https://asahiramen.com/valium-for-sale/ meets the graduation criteria again in 2021, it will be recommended for graduation from the LDC category in 2024. The challenges and benefits related to graduating from the LDC category were the focus of this episode. The LDC category was established by the UN General Assembly in 1971 to acknowledge that special support measures are needed to assist the least developed countries. After graduation Bangladesh will get 3 more years i.e. till 2027 to prepare itself for a smooth transition. After graduation, Bangladesh will lose eligibility in getting LDC fund of UNFCC. The loss of preferential market access especially in garments sector in terms of tariff margin and rules of origin will be the main challenge for Bangladesh after graduation. There is a strong possibility that foreign assistance will decrease as well. Overall, the country will face new challenges in international trade and commerce, cooperation, technology and economy despite the benefits of LDC graduation. The graduation will surely brighten our image as a country in the international arena.

The winners of episode 7 were:

• 1st place: Zaeem-Al Ehsan, Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka

• 2nd place: Yusra Amrin Hossain, Department of Economics, Premier University

• 3rd place: Takrem Ferdous Surid, Department of Economics, Jahangirnagar University

The prizes were distributed among the winners at SANEM office.