The issues of balanced development
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Fahmida Akhtar
The state of the vast population of Bangladesh shows up great disparity. Some regions are relatively advanced than the others; others are very backward. Employment conditions are reasonable in some regions but pitiable in the others. In sum, the entire country presents a spectacle of a non -uniform state from the perspectives of economic growth and development. This is reflected in various economic inequities such as urban people monopolizing the benefits of jobs and higher income to the exclusion of rural people in general. Regional disparities are also noted in matters of existing industries and industrialization. For example, the areas in and around the two major cities of Dhaka and Chitttagong have the major industrial concentrations whereas there is hardly any such concentrations in the other areas. Thus, the other areas do not offer much of any meaningful scope for industrial employment when further entry of the labour force in the agricultural sector is difficult or not needed because of the saturated conditions of this sector, in terms of creating significant additional employment opportunities. The policy-makers need to address the issues of growing imbalance in economic growth and development. This purpose can be best served by first forming a regional policy and implementing it phase by phase after setting the priorities. For example, a big part of the plan can be devoted to first identifying the highest priority areas where economic opportunities are the least. After having done this, it should be planned how these most backward areas can be aided in the way of economic activities or to set up new enterprises in them. From agriculture-based projects to produce new crops for export to light industries, all sorts of new enterprises can be encouraged in these areas. The government will have to build basic infrastructure in them to make them usable by private entrepreneurs. On its own, it can also build various enterprises in them and make them available to private firms for rent or sale on favourable terms. Active policy and other supports can be extended by the government to private entrepreneurs in these areas for buying lands, building and machinery. Special fiscal incentives can be given to enterprises here in the form of lowering of value added tax (VAT), similar reductions in import duties of raw materials and in the rate of tariff for power and gas, lower corporate tax, etc. All such initiatives will help promote dispersal in entrepreneurship and create conditions for balanced development.
The state of the vast population of Bangladesh shows up great disparity. Some regions are relatively advanced than the others; others are very backward. Employment conditions are reasonable in some regions but pitiable in the others. In sum, the entire country presents a spectacle of a non -uniform state from the perspectives of economic growth and development. This is reflected in various economic inequities such as urban people monopolizing the benefits of jobs and higher income to the exclusion of rural people in general. Regional disparities are also noted in matters of existing industries and industrialization. For example, the areas in and around the two major cities of Dhaka and Chitttagong have the major industrial concentrations whereas there is hardly any such concentrations in the other areas. Thus, the other areas do not offer much of any meaningful scope for industrial employment when further entry of the labour force in the agricultural sector is difficult or not needed because of the saturated conditions of this sector, in terms of creating significant additional employment opportunities. The policy-makers need to address the issues of growing imbalance in economic growth and development. This purpose can be best served by first forming a regional policy and implementing it phase by phase after setting the priorities. For example, a big part of the plan can be devoted to first identifying the highest priority areas where economic opportunities are the least. After having done this, it should be planned how these most backward areas can be aided in the way of economic activities or to set up new enterprises in them. From agriculture-based projects to produce new crops for export to light industries, all sorts of new enterprises can be encouraged in these areas. The government will have to build basic infrastructure in them to make them usable by private entrepreneurs. On its own, it can also build various enterprises in them and make them available to private firms for rent or sale on favourable terms. Active policy and other supports can be extended by the government to private entrepreneurs in these areas for buying lands, building and machinery. Special fiscal incentives can be given to enterprises here in the form of lowering of value added tax (VAT), similar reductions in import duties of raw materials and in the rate of tariff for power and gas, lower corporate tax, etc. All such initiatives will help promote dispersal in entrepreneurship and create conditions for balanced development.