Education inequality and Bangladesh's incomplete transition from moral economy to political economy

Over the past few decades, Bangladesh has experienced multifaceted development due to expanded school enrolment, improved literacy rates, and substantial progress in gender parity in education. Still, the persistent problem of poor educational quality and inequitable access lies as a thorn in its development path. These educational inequalities have impeded the country's transition from a traditional moral economy to a modern political economy.
Moral economy refers to an economic system in which social norms and reciprocal obligations are embedded. Historically, in the traditional sector of Bangladesh's economy, economic relations revolved around patron-client ties, informal dispute resolution, and expectations of fairness, where justice and welfare were negotiated through social relationships rather than state institutions. Political economy, by contrast, refers to a system governed by formal institutions, codified laws, and market mechanisms, where the state mediates economic life through transparent rules rather than personal ties. Following independence, several governments promised to realise this transformation through the expansion of education. In practice, the uneven quality and distribution of education have halted this transformation from being fully realised.
The central challenge is that improvements in educational access have not translated into comparable improvements in learning outcomes. Weak learning outcomes have, therefore, failed to generate the human capital needed for modern economic participation in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh also faces a deep inequality in educational access across regions and institution types. Private and elite public schools in urban centres, predominantly Dhaka and Chattogram, offer better teachers and resources, while many rural schools struggle with shortages of qualified educators and inadequate facilities. Development economist Amartya Sen argues that when access to education is unequal, the freedoms of individuals to participate in social and economic life become concentrated within privileged groups. This inequality reproduces existing social hierarchies and stifles the emergence of a broader middle class, which is one of the key drivers of a political economy.
Access alone does not guarantee real development when education quality remains poor. American economist Gary Becker emphasised that the economic benefits of education depend not only on years of schooling but also on the quality of instruction. Bangladesh's persistently poor educational quality has, therefore, failed to produce the innovation and productivity growth that sustained development demands.
Poor educational quality has also shaped labour market outcomes in concrete ways. While Bangladesh has experienced tangible success in ready-made garments, much of its growth has depended on low-skill labour. With limited access to high-quality technical education, Bangladesh has struggled to diversify from the labour-intensive garments industry towards higher-value industries such as advanced manufacturing and research-driven sectors.
Educational inequality also weakens civic participation and democratic accountability. When a large portion of the population is denied high-quality education, they are systematically unable to engage effectively with political institutions. This is evident in Bangladesh, where citizens continue to depend on informal networks to access public services and economic opportunities.
This inequality harms the institutional capacity of the state as well. When access to high-quality education is concentrated within a narrow segment of society, the talent pool available for public administration shrinks. Bangladesh's political institutions and bureaucracy reflect this reality, and it is one of the key elements that has progressively weakened the country's institutional effectiveness and rule-based governance.
When governance and democratic accountability are both fractured by educational inequality, political institutions risk becoming extensions of political parties. Keeping a large portion of the population without quality education produces systematic discrimination in both economic and political life. Bangladesh depicts this picture in a strikingly clear manner.
The large influx of surplus labour driven by rural-urban migration into Dhaka has resulted in severe unemployment and credential inflation. When a large portion of citizens are preoccupied with survival, participation in social and political decision-making becomes a luxury. Political parties in Bangladesh have often capitalised on these hardships to build their campaigns. Once in power, though, their policies tend to revolve around maintaining only minimal basic rights, just enough for the population to survive the next day. This vicious cycle keeps people dependent on the government, which is a subtle regression towards moral economy.
The transformation from moral economy to political economy depends on institutional and social change, with education at its centre. As Acemoglu and Robinson argue in Why Nations Fail, inclusive institutions that broaden access to education and economic participation are the foundation of sustained development. Rooted in Amartya Sen's Capability Approach, Bangladesh's government should aim at equalising capabilities, not merely resources, as people have different abilities to convert resources into real achievements. With equitable and high-quality educational access, education can be the means to an end for sustainable development in Bangladesh.
The write is a student of Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Dhaka University.
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