‘Prioritize social protection in economical support, not growth’

A decent society must be sure livelihoods, universal social security, self-empowerment, political freedom, and social inclusion, say economists

To transition from a virus-driven disastrous Bangladesh to a decent one, there exists a need to explore how effective the prevailing system of society is in creating self-reliance and ensuring universal social security, say economists.

The country must also explore what steps are being taken to reduce inequality, the progress being made in empowering different classes, whether authoritarian regimes run an economy, and if political and social freedom has been ensured.

Speakers made the remarks through the final episode of some webinars on Decent Society based on Abul Barkat's book titled “Searching for a transition from the virus-driven great disaster to a decent Bangladesh: On the bigger canvas of society-economy-state.”

The Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) organized the webinar on Saturday, moderated by its Vice-President ZM Saleh.

Rizwanul Islam, the former special adviser of the Employment Sector at the International Labour Organization (ILO), and Prof SR Osmani, of Development Economics at the University of Ulster, UK, were the panelist speakers on the occasion.

A decent society must ensure livelihoods, universal social security, self-empowerment, political freedom, and social inclusion, said Rizwanul Islam.

Osmani explained that in response to Covid-19, although the government had taken fiscal measures in the type of the stimulus package to provide growth-oriented monetary support, it lacked protection-oriented monetary support that focuses on social security and inclusion.

Pointing out to many independent studies done by SANEM, OXFAM, BIGD/PPRC, he explained that although the studies’ methodology could be questioned, the normal conclusion by the studies should be understood.

A survey carried out between June 20 and July 2 this past year by BIGD/PPRC figured more than 60% of the indegent and low-income population who suffered income losses due to the Covid-19-induced downturn did not receive any support from the general public and private sectors.

Only 39% of households got some assistance between April and June, nonetheless it amounted to a paltry 4% of their lost income, the analysis found.

In an earlier survey of the same group of households, it was found that that they had lost up to 80% of their income soon after the lockdown.

Suppose the support provided by the government helped recover a meager 4% of lost income. If so, it is hard to imagine how the marginalized groups could have avoided a shortage of food as a result of these programs, as claimed by the Ministry of Finance, it concluded.

According to a report by SANEM, the situation didn't improve even six months following the lockdown was relaxed in May-June, according to a large-scale sample survey completed during November and December 2020.

When compared to benchmark of 2018, the poverty rate was as high as 42% compared to the benchmark of 21.6%, and extreme poverty to be 28.5% compared to the benchmark of 9.4%.

Meanwhile, expenditure, especially non-food expenditure, fell sharply in 2020. The extreme poor lowered their expenditure on non-food items by as much as 63%, furthermore to cutting down shelling out for food by 30%, while expenditure on education was sacrificed across all income strata.

Speakers at the event underscored the value of considering political economy - which vastly shapes the economical frameworks - in assessing development induced by any administration and its own socio-economic and political views.