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GDP growth and rising inequality

September 23, 2018 00:00:00


Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has recently revealed that the final estimation of gross domestic product (GDP) for fiscal year 2018 will be around 7.87 per cent. It is amazing that Bangladesh has continued to achieve GDP growth over 6.0 per cent for years together. With the gradual increase in GDP over 7.0 per cent, the per capita income has also increased.

The remarkable growth in GDP can be attributed to significant growth in industries and agricultural sectors. Higher GDP growth is required to reduce poverty.

But, substantial investment is required to reduce the level of poverty in the country. High yield of GDP growth does not mean that it will trickle down from rich to the poor. It is likely to fuel inequality in society. Some economists suspect that this is already happening. Government needs to ensure that high growth of GDP does not lead to increasing inequality. Without drastically decreasing poverty and inequality, Bangladesh cannot enjoy the fruits of growing GDP.

Mohammad Zonaed Emran

A banker in Dhaka

[email protected]


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