Bangladesh along with other South Asian countries has moderate level of monetary inequality, according to a World Bank report. The country has ranked third among the countries in the region in terms of level of low inequality. Afghanistan and Pakistan have performed better than Bangladesh while Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan have achieved lower position, the report titled Addressing Inequality in South Asia said.
At a workshop organised by the Planning Commission on the report on Monday, World Bank chief economist for South Asia Martin Rama said that monetary inequality in South Asia was not too high but it was increasing.
‘If standard monetary indicators are considered, South Asia has modest level of inequality,’ he said.
In consumption inequality, performance of the South Asian countries remained between 0.28 and 0.40 out of 1 in Gini coefficients, a method of inequality measurement, the report said.
Bangladesh’s score is around 0.30, it said.
Bangladesh has also secured third position in terms of the share of the poorest 40 per cent of households in the total consumption.
According to the report, the share of Bangladesh’s poorest 40 per cent in the total consumption is around 21 per cent.
It is 23 per cent in Afghanistan, the highest among the South Asian countries.
At the workshop, former adviser to the interim government Mirza Azizul Islam said that poverty elimination should be the dominant objective of development in the South Asian countries.
Bangladesh should accelerate growth and increase expenditure in the public sectors including education and health to reduce inequality.
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies research director Binayak Sen said that land reform and imposition of wealth tax could reduce inequality.
Economist MM Akash said that quality education in the primary and secondary level should be ensured that would play role in reducing inequality.
Planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman and Planning Commission’s general economics division member Shamsul Alam also spoke at the workshop.
-With New Age input
