ABSTRACT
In some settings, NGOs have taken on many of the public functions in weak, inept, or failed states-in this regard, Bangladesh is a particularly good example. It hosts the largest NGO sector in the world (over 19,000 by one count), responding to what one Bangladeshi describes as “the failure of government to provide public goods and look after the poor, and the failure of the private sector to provide enough gainful employment opportunities” (quoted in Waldman 2003, A8). NGOs have taken on roles in education, health, agriculture, and microcredit, all of which were originally government functions. Some attribute the decline of Bangladesh’s poverty rate since 1971 from 70 percent to 43 percent to this non-state sector.
