Poverty dynamics amidst climate change, economic instability and political unrest in Bangladesh

This paper traces how intersecting crises compound and shape poverty dynamics in Bangladesh. This includes consideration of how these crises keep people in poverty over extended periods of time (chronic poverty) and place those who have escaped poverty at risk of renewed impoverishment (transitory escapes), as well as how some poverty escapes are sustained in a time of intersecting, systemic, and compounding crises and rapid change. What can we learn from those who cope successfully with such crises and are able to move out of poverty and sustain their escape?

This mixed-methods study integrates quantitative analysis of the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) (2011–2019) (merged at the union level with georeferenced data on floods, droughts, and political violence) with qualitative data newly collected in late 2024.