Renowned economist Rehman Sobhan has said that loan defaulters have become part of the political system and are themselves creating obstacles to reform.

The problem is not individualistic but structural, he said adding reform is not just about enacting laws; rather it is a continuous process.

He said that initially laws are made, then the necessary administrative framework is developed for implementation. Next comes effective implementation of the laws and finally, evaluation of the outcomes.

On the last day of the three-day-long 9th annual economist conference of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Rehman Sobhan made these remarks while speaking as a special guest at the session titled ‘Illusion about Reforms: The Story of Bangladesh.’

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Development Challenges and Policy Responses in a Changed World.’

The session, moderated by SANEM's Executive Director Selim Raihan, featured the keynote presentation by Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow of the private research organisation Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Former Finance Secretary and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Bangladesh, Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, was a designated discussant.