International Journal of African and Asian Studies www.iiste.org ISSN 2409-6938 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.14, 2015 51 Fiscal Policy and Hartal in South-East Asian Countries: A Case Study on Bangladesh from 2013 to 2014 Md. Saiful Islam Department of Public Administration, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh Abstract The Research gives the grievous effect on different parts of Fiscal policy that is affected by Hartal. As a result if the situation becomes entangled in a certain stage the wheel of the entire economy are bound to be halted abruptly and the country’s economy wil be destroyed. For this reason it is essential for our politician to search an alternate of Hartal. The research also provides information about financial losses in Hartal days in Bangladesh. The Research identifies a disappointing fact that Hartal imposes a large cost on the economy. The study is to identify the measure areas where basically Hartal affects negatively. Also it attempts to explore the negative impacts on GDP and revenue collection. Based on the findings, a number of suggestive policy measures that the planners and implementers may consider for the future development of political situation in developing countries of South-east Asia are embedded in the end of the Research. Keywords: Fiscal, Policy, Hartal, Election Period, Economy, Education, Government and People. 1. Introduction In South-east Asian countries, people are familiar with the word ‘Hartal’ before demanding public needs, solving social problems and any kind of political issue. Fiscal policy is very much related to the Public Finance in the Macroeconomics. Fiscal policy means the process by which government’s expenditures, tax rates and budgets would be monitored the national economy.The term “Hartal” basically comes from Gujarati language. “Hat” means market and “tal” means tala or lock, which referred to locked market or bazaar“bondh.” Hartal was first used during the Indian Independence Movement. It is a way of mass protest often involves a total shutdown of workplaces, offices, shops, courts of law with the object of realizing a demand. (CPD, 2013). Now it is also related to the politics of Bangladesh,specially in the election year. Hartal is one of the prime factors of influencing Fiscal Policy. Fiscal policy is basically related to collecting the revenue and expenditure of Government in order to regulate the total level of economic activity in a country. The phenomenon of Hartal is continuous with persistent regularity now in Bangladesh. It creates violence everywhere at present days in Bangladesh. From the 2013 (before election) to 2014 (after election), Hartal was regular affairs in Bangladesh. The Study identifies a disappointing fact that Hartal imposes a large cost on the economy. Also it attempts to explore the negative impacts on GDP and revenue collection. 2. Theoretical framework and Literature Review Human being is very much related to economy. Without economy people cannot live in a society or a state. So there need to be an economic policy to lead human’s society. There are two types of economic policy: Monetary policy and Fiscal policy. Fiscal policy is the process by which a government adjusts spending and monitoring tax rates and nation’s economy. Fiscal policy is also related to public finance. On the other hand, Hartal means the act of suspending tasks and closing all kinds of shops, educational institutions and official activities. But this term is always used in political protest. So this is very much related to democracy like Bangladesh. But Fiscal policy is influenced by Hartal in developing countries like Bangladesh. Hartal has become the major issue to influence the Fiscal policy in Bangladesh. There is no direct research works in this topic. But partially there some books, journals and newspapers which could related this study- The Economy: Looking back and moving forward –Dr Fahmida Khatun. The study identifies that the economy of Bangladesh is moving slowly and back very fast because of political unrest in our country basically Hartal, killing people, destroying industries and habitats and also corruption. Press Reports and Editorials on “Analytical Review of Bangladesh’s Macroeconomic Performance in FY2013-14 (Second Reading)” by CPD. Another is Political Violence causes Tk49, 000cr loss: CPD. The Report analysis about the following: The losses due to recent Hartal and blockades in four sectors would be Tk49, 018 crore, which is 4.7% of the GDP of the last fiscal, says an independent estimate released in January 2014.Considering the losses, the Gross Domestic Product is apprehended to moderate at a range between 5.6% and 5.8% this fiscal year. The damages in terms of money were calculated taking into consideration 55 Hartal and blockades enforced between July 2013 and January 2014 – before and after the general election held on January 5.The land transport (rail and road) sector incurred losses of Tk16, 689 crore, highest among the four sectors as estimated by Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD).It was followed by agriculture and agro-based industries that faced losses of Tk15, 829 crore, clothing and textiles Tk13, 750 crore and tourism Tk2, 750 crore. Hartal: A Violent Challenge to the Socio-Economic Development of Bangladesh by Mallika Roy, Faria Hossain Borsha. The Research identifies a disappointing fact that Hartal imposes a large cost