IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ris/badest/0822.html

Quality of Growth in Bangladesh: Some New Evidence

Author

Listed:
  • KAZI IQBAL

    (Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies(BIDS),Dhaka,Bangladesh)

  • MD.NAHID FERDOUS PABON

    (Research Associate, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies(BIDS),Dhaka,)

Abstract

In this short note, we take a fresh look at some aspects of quality of growth in Bangladesh – the role of growth in reducing poverty, generating employment and containing inequality. Our analysis is primarily based on the measures of elasticities using both primary and secondary data. We find that the elasticity of poverty with respect to national income has been declining very fast over time, indicating the gradual ineffectiveness of growth in reducing poverty. While inequality in income and consumption has been increasing, the elasticity of Gini with respect to national income has been declining. It indicates that economic growth has now been associated with lesser inequality. We also shed light on the debate of “jobless growth” and cast doubt on this proposition as we find that the income-elasticity of employment has been increasing over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Kazi Iqbal & Md.Nahid Ferdous Pabon, 2018. "Quality of Growth in Bangladesh: Some New Evidence," Bangladesh Development Studies, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), vol. 41(02), pages 43-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:badest:0822
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://bids.org.bd/uploads/publication/BDS/41/41-2/3_Iqbal%20and%20Pabon_Quality%20of%20Growth.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sen, Binayak, 2003. "Drivers of Escape and Descent: Changing Household Fortunes in Rural Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 513-534, March.
    2. Christophe Ehrhart, 2009. "The effects of inequality on growth: a survey of the theoretical and empirical literature," Working Papers 107, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    3. Keefer, Philip & Knack, Stephen, 2002. "Polarization, Politics and Property Rights: Links between Inequality and Growth," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 111(1-2), pages 127-154, March.
    4. Banerjee, Abhijit V & Newman, Andrew F, 1993. "Occupational Choice and the Process of Development," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(2), pages 274-298, April.
    5. Mendola, Mariapia, 2007. "Agricultural technology adoption and poverty reduction: A propensity-score matching analysis for rural Bangladesh," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 372-393, June.
    6. Philippe Aghion & Patrick Bolton, 1997. "A Theory of Trickle-Down Growth and Development," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(2), pages 151-172.
    7. Baker, Judy L. & Grosh, Margaret E., 1994. "Poverty reduction through geographic targeting: How well does it work?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(7), pages 983-995, July.
    8. repec:wbk:wboper:29650 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Ahluwalia, Montek S., 1976. "Inequality, poverty and development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 307-342, December.
    10. Rashid Faruqee & Madhur Gautam, 2016. "Dynamics of Rural Growth in Bangladesh," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 24544, October.
    11. Kanbur, Ravi, 2012. "Does Kuznets Still Matter?," Working Papers 128794, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    12. repec:wbk:wboper:30454 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. S M A, Islam, 2009. "Inequality and economic growth in Bangladesh- a diversified evidence on Kuznets pattern 'U' hypothesis," MPRA Paper 34980, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Persson, Torsten & Tabellini, Guido, 1994. "Is Inequality Harmful for Growth?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 600-621, June.
    15. Ali Abdel Gadir Ali & Erik Thorbecke, 2000. "The State and Path of Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: some Preliminary Results," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 9(Supplemen), pages 9-40.
    16. Ravallion, Martin, 2001. "Growth, Inequality and Poverty: Looking Beyond Averages," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(11), pages 1803-1815, November.
    17. Thomas Piketty, 1997. "The Dynamics of the Wealth Distribution and the Interest Rate with Credit Rationing," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(2), pages 173-189.
    18. Alberto Alesina & Dani Rodrik, 1994. "Distributive Politics and Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(2), pages 465-490.
    19. Bose, Manik L. & Chowdhury, Alamgir & Hossain, Mahabub & Lewis, David, 2003. "Rice research, technological progress, and impacts on the poor: the Bangladesh case (summary report)," EPTD discussion papers 110, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    20. Krishna, Anirudh, 2011. "One Illness Away: Why People Become Poor and How They Escape Poverty," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199693191.
    21. Anand, Sudhir & Kanbur, S. M. R., 1993. "The Kuznets process and the inequality--development relationship," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 25-52, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hassan, Rakibul & Das, Barun K. & Hasan, Mahmudul, 2022. "Integrated off-grid hybrid renewable energy system optimization based on economic, environmental, and social indicators for sustainable development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    2. Sanjoy Kumar Saha, 2024. "Assessing the impact of rural electrification on economic growth: a comprehensive analysis considering informal economy and income inequality in Bangladesh," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 551-583, June.
    3. Iqbal, Kazi & Roy, Paritosh K. & Alam, Shamsul, 2020. "The impact of banking services on poverty: Evidence from sub-district level for Bangladesh," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Asaf Ibne Salim & Syed Abul Basher, 2024. "Jobless growth: evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 26(2), pages 641-662, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. S R Osmani, 2015. "The Growth-Equity Nexus in Bangladesh: An Analysis of Recent Experience," Bangladesh Development Studies, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), vol. 38(2), pages 1-59.
    2. Bourguignon, Francois, 2005. "The Effect of Economic Growth on Social Structures," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 27, pages 1701-1747, Elsevier.
    3. Ademola Obafemi Young, 2019. "Growth Impacts of Income Inequality: Empirical Evidence From Nigeria," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(3), pages 226-262, December.
    4. Nasfi Fkili Wahiba & Malek El Weriemmi, 2014. "The Relationship Between Economic Growth and Income Inequality," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, vol. 4(1), pages 135-143.
    5. Martin Ravallion, 2013. "The Idea of Antipoverty Policy," NBER Working Papers 19210, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Denis Cogneau & Charlotte Guénard, 2002. "Les inégalités et la croissance : une relation introuvable," Working Papers DT/2002/03, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    7. Blotevogel, Robert & Imamoglu, Eslem & Moriyama, Kenji & Sarr, Babacar, 2022. "Income inequality measures and economic growth channels," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    8. Kholeka Mdingi & Sin-Yu Ho, 2023. "Income inequality and economic growth: An empirical investigation in South Africa," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 2230027-223, June.
    9. Marrero, Gustavo A. & Rodríguez, Juan G., 2013. "Inequality of opportunity and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 107-122.
    10. Proto, Eugenio, 2007. "Land and the transition from a dual to a modern economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 88-108, May.
    11. Blackburn, Keith & Bose, Niloy, 2003. "A model of trickle-down through learning," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 445-466, January.
    12. Keith Blackburn & David Chivers, 2015. "Fearing the worst: the importance of uncertainty for inequality," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 60(2), pages 345-370, October.
    13. Isaac Ehrlich & Jinyoung Kim, 2007. "The Evolution of Income and Fertility Inequalities over the Course of Economic Development: A Human Capital Perspective," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 137-174.
    14. Martin Baur, 2010. "Politics and Income Distribution," Chapters, in: Neri Salvadori (ed.), Institutional and Social Dynamics of Growth and Distribution, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Joan Esteban & Debraj Ray, 2006. "Inequality, Lobbying, and Resource Allocation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 257-279, March.
    16. Abdoulaye Millogo, 2020. "Croissance et inégalités de revenus en Afrique subsaharienne," Cahiers de recherche 20-13, Departement d'économique de l'École de gestion à l'Université de Sherbrooke.
    17. Guido Cozzi & Fabio Privileggi, 2007. "The Fractal Nature of Inequality in a Fast Growing World," Working Papers 2007_45, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    18. Guido Cozzi & Fabio Privileggi, 2002. "Wealth Polarization and Pulverization in Fractal Societies," ICER Working Papers - Applied Mathematics Series 39-2002, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    19. Oded Galor, 2009. "Inequality and Economic Development: An Overview," Working Papers 2009-3, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    20. Markus Brückner & Kerstin Gerling & Hans Grüner, 2010. "Wealth inequality and credit markets: evidence from three industrialized countries," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 155-176, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ris:badest:0822. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Meftaur Rahman, Cheif Publication Officer, BIDS The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask Meftaur Rahman, Cheif Publication Officer, BIDS to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bidssbd.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.