Labour force a key driver of economic success: economists

Bangladesh's labour force has been a key driver of the country's transformation from a "bottomless basket" to a middle-income country, economists said yesterday.

Labour plays a significant role in the three pillars of Bangladesh's economic development, namely agriculture, export-oriented garments and remittance, according to Rizwanul Islam, a former special adviser for the employment sector at the International Labour Office in Geneva.

"Although technology and entrepreneurs also contributed significantly, labourers were the real hero," he said.

His comments came at an unveiling ceremony for a book called "Bangladesher Orthanaitik Unnayaner Gatidhara", held at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

The book is authored by Rushidan I Rahman, Rizwanul Islam and Quazi Shahabuddin. The event was organised by BIDS, the Centre for Development and Employment Research (CDER) and University Press Ltd (UPL).

Rice production soared 2.5 times between 1980-81 and 2015-16 and most of the paddy fields are now high yielding varieties.

"This increase in production needs higher amounts of labour," Islam said while giving a brief on the book.

Garment exports and remittance are also mainly the contributions of labourers, he added.

Islam went on to say that the economy is facing a challenge of ensuring higher investment and diversifying export items.

Besides, the investment to GDP ratio needs to rise to 41-47 per cent from the 32 per cent at present to meet the target of being a high-income country within 2041.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic, Ukraine-Russia war and tension of global economic recession only adds to the list of challenges, he said.

Mashiur Rahman, adviser to the prime minister on economic affairs, acknowledged that labour has been the main driver of Bangladesh's GDP growth.

The country's labourers have a psychology to rebound in any tough situation and this resilience is a positive.

"So, their activity strengthens our economy," he said.

Quazi Shahabuddin, former director general of BIDS, said the rise in rice production and improvement in distribution has helped Bangladesh achieve significant success in food security.

However, import dependency on pulses and edible oil remains and this has adversely impacted the nutrition of poor people.

"To ensure sustainable food security, the government needs to take multiple steps," Shahabuddin added.

Bangladesh's GDP growth rate is rising but job creation is going at a slower pace.

"So, the government needs to focus on job creation," said Rushidan I Rahman, executive chairperson of the CDER.

"In addition, female participation in jobs is still low and many of them drop out after joining once so there is also a need for psychological change in society," she added.

Labour highly contributed towards the country's economic development but policy support from the government was also a significant factor, said Binayak Sen, director general of BIDS.

The government has given a number of policy support since 2010 to boost investment, export and GDP growth.

On the other hand, domestic consumption driven economic support was also high, he added.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre, said Bangladesh's people have resilience, which is a key positive side, but they are victims of unjust distribution of benefits.

The labourers, who are the main drivers of our economy, are failing to enjoy quality education and health services, he added.

GDP growth and wealth disparity rose in Bangladesh in a parallel way and the disparity is rising, said Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

"So, the government should focus on it," he added.

Planning Minister MA Mannan spoke as chief guest while Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, Abdul Mazid, former chairman of the National Board of Revenue, and Kazi Iqbal, senior research fellow of BIDS, were also present.