Whether 'Booming Economy' Has Reduced the Poverty Level in Bangladesh?

Programs that deal with poverty issues in Bangladesh have increased some extent the entitlement of the poor, their social and economic awareness and empowerment. It has contributed improving the poverty situation in the country over the years. The poverty reduction rate over the period of 1990 -2019 was steady and continuous whereas GDP growth rates were steady and continuous over the period 2000 - 2019.Since GDP growth rate is not a good measure of nation's well being, the poverty issue in Bangladesh still remains a challenge and requires effective plans that must begin with emphasizing rural poverty issues under the pro-poor strategies. The historical phenomenon suggests that the relevancy of democracy and good governance are undeniable factors in reducing the poverty in Bangladesh. Thus, rather just economic growth of the nation, policies emphasizing pro-poor activities must be incorporated into policy-design for marginalizing poverty level in Bangladesh. Accordingly, the following approaches can be instrumental reaching the goals sooner than delaying.i) Create jobs that pull up the poor into gainful employment by providing greater economic opportunity. In this scenario, the economic progression located near to the target group can be more productive than the current setup. For example, garment-industry's production sectors can be located in rural areas, which can be a win-win to parties involved. Thus employees even with minimum wages will be in good economic conditions.ii) Create incentives that enable the poor accessing the facilities that are developed with the mission to pro-poor strategies.iii) Infrastructure development should be faster connecting rural areas than emphasizing the city areas for development