Abstract
For the last 9 years, the Government of Bangladesh has been trying to change the way bricks are produced in the country using a technology mandate that bans the widespread conventional technology. In a bid to control the severe air pollution emanating from the brick sector, mandating production technology was chosen to be the preferred policy instrument for regulating the sector. However, the regulatory history shows limited success in making the brick sector less polluting. This paper reviews and analyzes the shortcomings of this technology mandate to spur technology diffusion in the brick sector of Bangladesh. Whereas previous research studied the brick sector on the technological aspects and supply side economics, this paper focuses on the underlying factors hampering policy implementation on the part of the regulatory agency. In order to reorient the policy direction for this important manufacturing sector, this study outlines the policy history of the technological mandate and their shortcomings in generating an impact.
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Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank colleagues of his former employer Clean Energy Alternatives (CEA) for supporting the write-up with inspiration, information, and motivation. The author is grateful to Professor Gang He and Professor Debra Dwyer for their thoughtful review, and the Department of Technology & Society for supporting this publication. The author also thanks the experts and mentors of South Asian Network of Development and Environmental Economists (SANDEE) for organizing research workshops where this concept note was originally presented and developed.
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Haque, N. Technology mandate for greening brick industry in Bangladesh: a policy evaluation. Clean Techn Environ Policy 19, 319–326 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1259-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1259-z