ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Bangladesh's journey out of the least developed country (LDC) group through a smooth transition process and towards a sustainable development trajectory. The themes include analytical and conceptual issues of the LDC graduation paradigm and graduation experiences; structural transformation of LDC economies; the plurality of graduation pathways and challenges beyond graduation; the relationship between the graduation criteria and Sustainable Development Goal targets and indicators; and the uncertain external environment within which graduations take place. The chapter reviews the scrutiny of the LDC graduation paradigm, a number of pertinent theoretical issues. It also discusses the confusion between graduating from the LDC group and becoming a middle-income country. The chapter also looks at the extent of structural transformation captured by LDC graduation criteria. It also analyses how the LDC graduation criteria affect the level of labour productivity caused by shifts between sectors.
