Experts at a seminar in Dhaka on Monday highlighted the critical need for decentralisation to address the prevailing socio-economic inequalities in Bangladesh.

The dominance of the ready-made garments (RMG) industry, centred mainly in Dhaka, has contributed to disparities in income, consumption, and social protection, they said emphasising the urgency of diversifying the industrial landscape beyond RMG and improving the infrastructure of divisional and district cities to curb the migration flow from the capital.

Dr Binayak Sen, director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), presented these insights during the seminar chaired by Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, executive director of icddr,b, at the at the Sasakawa Auditorium of icddr,b arranged to celebrate the institutes founding anniversary.

The event featured Dr Lily Nicholls, the high commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh, as the chief guest.

Dr Tahmeed Ahmed acknowledged icddr,b's pivotal role in reducing childhood diarrhoeal disease mortality, advancing maternal and neonatal health, and contributing to global polio eradication efforts.

Dr Binayak Sen's keynote paper highlighted Bangladesh's achievements in food self-sufficiency, population control, and girls' education compared to other South Asian countries though inequality in income, consumption and household expenditure is rising.

 “While 34.5 per cent of households in rural areas are covered by social protection, only 10.1 per cent in urban areas are covered by social protection, although inequality is greater in urban areas,” he said.

“Inequality is increasing—generally, this means that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. But the nature of inequality in Bangladesh is somewhat different. The urban inequality is decreasing even though inflation is increasing rapidly,” he added.

Binyak noted a peculiar aspect of inequality, with urban areas experiencing a reduction despite rising inflation.

In terms of consumption inequality, the Gini coefficient in 2022 was 0.334 at the national level, with 0.356 in urban and 0.291 in rural areas. The tax-GDP ratio decrease alongside increasing government expenditure was also highlighted, impacting the government's spending capacity.

Binayak proposed several policy measures for poverty alleviation, emphasising the importance of implementing these in the short and medium term. The suggestions include smart macroeconomic management, sustainable growth, efficient human resource development, and consideration of geo-economic conditions.

Dr Lilly Nicholls commended icddr,b for its contributions to research and community services, particularly benefiting the underprivileged. She expressed Canada's ongoing support and interest in icddr,b's future endeavours.

The seminar also included a Pitha utsab celebrating local traditions and cultural heritage, attended by dignitaries, development partners, media representatives, and friends of icddr,b, alongside icddr,b staff members.