"Scrabulous, the Facebook phenomenon, was created by two Calcutta brothers. It uses an idea stolen from Scrabble and it has a large fan base. But has it created much economic value? Long before the Internet came, the original boardgame spread around the globe through proper licensing -- with people employed, taxes paid, and money made for fifty years. That's real economic value, and it comes from respect for intellectual property."

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"Bangladesh's garment exports to the U.S. face almost $500 million in duties every year. By current U.S. stance, reduction of duties will come when Bangladesh’s labor standards improve to resemble those of Western countries. This is unrealistic. Instead, the U.S. should offer a system of gradual duty reduction with incremental improvements in labor conditions in Bangladesh. And Bangladeshi businesses should welcome it, for they can well afford to offer better rights for their workers."

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"Since 2001, Bangladesh has improved every year on the Corruption Perception Index except in 2007. Surprised? Rounding up politicians in the name of an “anti-corruption” drive may grab headlines, but as long as power remains concentrated, reducing corruption will be difficult. The government's complete monopoly on state power, systematic disregard of due process, and intimidation of free thinkers all have conspired institutionally to undermine its goal of fighting corruption."

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"The best way to pull the two million rickshaw-pullers out of poverty is by bringing them into the formal economy. Nationalising and rationalising public transport has worked well in cities ranging from London to Curitiba. In Bangladesh, let rickshaw-pullers earn weekly wages as public employees, and passengers pay for a public service that represents 6 percent of the country's income and reaches nearly 15 percent of the its population." (Photos by the authors and Radius Sundoro)

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"Traffic planners want to get rid of them, and human rights groups think their work is exploitative. These attitudes neglect the real value of rickshaws as an economic and cultural institution, and misunderstand the concepts of exploitation and abuse. The effort needs to be on devising ways to reward the work of rickshaw-pullers justly, recognising their labour and their crucial role in the fabric of Bangladesh's economy." (Photos by JH)

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"We need the middle class to instigate meaningful and ambitious political reforms, to level the economic playing field, and also to provide enlightened leadership in the management of future risks to Bangladesh, ranging from religious extremism to environmental destruction." (Photos by Julien Mailler)

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