Inclusive growth with quality

It is startling but not surprising - the widening wealth gap between the country’s top and bottom ends of the social structure. In 2010 the richest five per cent of the households was 32 times richer than the poorest five per cent; five years later i.e. in 2015, the gap yawned by 121 times, as pointed out by Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), at a seminar. It confirms the impression that despite the rise in GDP (gross domestic product) growth and decrease in poverty in the last few decades, 'inequality is significantly on the rise.' Money magnetises money -- is a rule of the thumb but not so simple one at that. Because unearned income tends to spawn more of the same -- behind the scene and exclusionary to the national economy. Overall, they cause income distribution to be skewed a good deal more than what would have been the case had black money been contained. Ill-gotten money will have evaded taxes, made for capital flight, got invested in contrabands or other nefarious projects. A greater vigil on this front is called for. This is not to, however, detract from the multiplier effects of wealth created through productive investments linked to job creation, among other need-based projects.

Growth without matching human resource development can neither create an equal opportunities society with distributive justice nor become inherently sustainable endeavour. Human resource development means healthcare, an education system imparting work ethics and sets of skills needed for development goals and the job markets, present and future. It was timely that these issues were highlighted at the recently-held CPD seminar.

On the issue of job creation, a World Bank projection suggests that 2.1 million people would enter the country's labour force every year between 2013 and 2023. Even if 1.3 million jobs are created each year as the government statistic claims, a staggering around 800 thousand newly unemployed people will join the already high number of jobless every year. All sorts of start-up ventures are awaiting facilitation in regard to incubation and going forward. Self-employment projects in the informal sector can already boast of some models. While these are popularised, necessary guidance and counselling may be arranged and stepped up by the elected local bodies for the benefit of potential small entrepreneurs. Healthcare is hemmed in by all sorts of constraints: The quality of both public and private medicare services is found unsatisfactory. While per capita public expenditure on health increased by only TK. 205 over nine years since 2009, per capita allocation for maternal, neo-natal, child health has decreased by 19 per cent. One measure of public health status is underlined by 71.8 per cent out-of-pocket expenditure incurred by patients, regarded as high in South Asia. As for education, some teachers have made it, which is supposed to be a right, a 'commercialised commodity,' bemoaned Rasheda K Choudhury, executive director of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE). Her words would find resonance with many people.

Points concerning inclusive growth made at the CPD seminar merit attention of policymakers topped up by an expectation of a pro-active approach on their part.