Bangladesh is one the countries that have the highest form of "inequality of opportunity" and very low level of "intergenerational mobility of education", reveals a study by World Bank on Wednesday.
Almost three decades of sustained economic growth across most of South Asia has brought significant poverty reduction, yet inclusive social progress has remained elusive, said Maurizio Bussolo, Lead Economist, South Asia Region at World Bank, at a session of a two-day conference held in the city.
"Bangladesh stands at the bottom and below average in South Asia while inequality of opportunity is significantly higher than in other regions of the world," he said while presenting a paper titled "Expanding Opportunities: toward Inclusive Growth". Inequality of opportunity is measured as the share of inequality of outcomes, such as years of schooling, incomes, and standards of living, that arise from factors outside one's control.
Intergenerational mobility is achieved when children's educational attainments are independent from the level of education of their parents.
However, some 39 per cent people in SA made a call for re-distribution, supporting a statement "incomes should be made more equal"-are among the highest in the world.
The second highest percentage of population is 23 per cent that supported redistribution call in Latin America. And, over the past three decades, these calls have also increased more in this region than elsewhere, the study report says.
The report found that on average for the region, inherited circumstances explain a large proportion, ranging between 40 and 60 per cent of inequality of the distribution of consumption per capita and a slightly lower per cent of the distribution of education. It said intergenerational mobility in education is also low.
The average education attainment rank of a child born to parents in the bottom half of the education attainment distribution is the 37th percentile, the report says.
The report found that there is an urban premium in SA.
"Being born in a city translates into higher chances to move further ahead than one's own parents and, more generally, other inherited circumstances do not constrain achievement as tightly as in rural areas and we find the urban premium favours girls more than boys," it said.
The report was presented at a session of the 11th South Asia Economic Policy Network Conference on Social Progress in South Asia, hosted by the Office of the Chief Economist for the South Asia Region, Poverty and Equity Practice Group of the World Bank and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) in the city's Brac Inn.
The two-day hybrid event brings together distinguished experts and thought leaders who will delve into the crucial topic of Inequality of Opportunity and Intergenerational Mobility in South Asia.
Speaking at the session, speakers observed the government should address the inequality issues and formulate policies to reduce inequality.
They said venerable groups, especially women, should be inclusive in the policies of future.
Chaired by Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, chairman of Brac, the session was addressed by Abdul Baki, member of the Industry and Energy Division of the Planning Commission, Haris Gazdar, Director and Senior Researcher at the Collective for Social Science Research of Pakistan, Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, and Imran Matin, executive director of BIGD.
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