Country’s economic growth not inclusive as disparity growing

Experts say at book launching programme

Staff Correspondent 

Experts on Saturday observed that the economic growth the country had achieved in recent years was not inclusive as economic disparity was growing due to incoherent development thoughts.

Small and medium enterprises are the key force for the future economic growth in Bangladesh but the sector is not getting proper attention in the development policy prevailing in the country, they said at a book launching ceremony at the Dhaka University RC Majumdar Arts auditorium in the capital.

Academic Press and Publishers Library organised the programme for the launch of the book titled ‘Selected Readings on the Strategies for Inclusive Development in Bangladesh’ authored by Dhaka University economics department professor Momtaz Uddin Ahmed.

‘One type of discussion related to economic development is prevailing in the country, but there are some problems in the concept of economic growth as the issue of disparity is totally absent from the development strategy,’ Power and Participation Research Centre executive chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman said.

He said that disparity was also widening in society due to lack of inclusive policy as farmers and small entrepreneurs, the driving forces for the future economic growth in Bangladesh, were not getting proper attention in the development strategy prevailing in the country.

He said that due to lack of proper definition of small and medium enterprises the driving force of the economy was being deprived of policy support while big companies were getting benefits.

‘The problem of defining the SME is not a technical issue. Rather, it is related to political economy,’ Zillur said. He said that the definition stated who would get policy support and the farmers and small entrepreneurs in the country were not strong enough to get the attention of policymakers.

Policy should be taken to enhance productivity of the SME sector as cheap labour can no longer be sold to the international arena as only component of competitiveness of Bangladesh, Zillur said.

‘The word “inclusive” should have to be included in the development strategy of the country, otherwise discrimination will widen,’ he added.

APPL chairman Mizanur Rahman Shelley said without ensuring meaningful life for people the development of infrastructure like buildings and roads is meaningless.

‘The core of the development should be the improvement of people through building a society with values, otherwise the development process will not succeed,’ he said. Shelley, a former political science teacher at the University of Dhaka and an technocrat cabinet minister, said it is unfair and oppressive to be developed eliminating rights of people who are the core of the development.

He suggested an inclusive strategy so that country’s development turns into comprehensive development.

Centre for Policy Dialogue distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman said that the articles included in the book written by Momtaz Uddin Ahmed could play a vital role in adopting any future policy for achieving inclusive growth.

The author presented insightful analysis on the challenges of SMEs along with agro-processing industry linkage, he said.

Weaknesses in developing entrepreneurship are also showed in the book and the author has made recommendations for addressing the shortcomings, Mustafiz said.

South Asian Network on Economic Modelling executive director Selim Raihan said based on the recommendations made by Momtaz Uddin Ahmed the government should adopt policy to remove financial and nonfinancial problems the SME sector was currently facing.

The government should play a role in promoting SMEs for the future economic growth as well as diversification of products, he said.

Selim, also a professor of economics at the University of Dhaka, said that employment in the manufacturing sector was decreasing as new technology was replacing workers.

Citing a recent survey, he said that the number of female workers in the readymade garment sector witnessed a drastic fall in recent years and the number declined to 65 per cent from 80-85 per cent. The number of medium enterprises is still huge in the RMG sector and the government should accommodate SMEs in some special economic zones, Selim said.

National Board of Revenue chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the book would help the economics students a lot.

Momtaz Uddin Ahmed also spoke, among others, on the occasion.

• Courtesy: New Age Jan 28, 2018