Bangladesh, former West Pakistan, share many things in common. Especially the bad things are more similar. Like, corruption, intolerance, family politics, the rich-poor gap, social injustice, etc. Both countries have passed through many political ups and downs and faced military dictatorships. The social fabric is almost similar. Of course, there must be some differences too, which is very much rational and expected too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing desired to be learned from Bangladesh is its economic development. The World Bank recently released and cataloged an item named \u201cUnpacking the Silent Economic Revolution in Bangladesh\u201d under the International Comparison Program publications program on their website. Bangladesh has become one of the fastest-growing countries in the world. In particular, Bangladesh\u2019s achievements in poverty alleviation are worth mentioning. Poverty alleviation is the main task of the World Bank. So, it is also happy with this achievement of Bangladesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hartwig Schaefer, the outgoing Vice-President of the World Bank\u2019s South Asian region, praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for Bangladesh\u2019s economic development. At the same time, he promised that the World Bank would stand by the overall development of Bangladesh. At the meeting, World Bank Vice-President, Hartwig Schaefer, praised Bangladesh. He lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and said, \u201cBangladesh is now far ahead of its neighboring countries in various economic and social directions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Bank (WB)-International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meeting in 2022 lauded Bangladesh for successfully implementing its policies to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and economic recovery from its effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it\u2019s worth noting that the ICP is one of the largest statistical initiatives in the world. It is built on a partnership of international, regional, sub-regional, and national organizations that work under a strong governance framework and adhere to a set of statistical methodologies, and it is supervised by the World Bank under the auspices of the United Nations Statistical Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World Bank cataloged 31 pieces under its ICP Articles 2022-2021\u2032 program on their website to understand the countrywide PPP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the pandemic, Bangladesh has outperformed the rest of South Asia in terms of economic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The outcomes of the most recent (2022) round of the International Comparison Program are summarized in these articles (ICP). The ICP is a global statistical partnership that collects comparative price data, compiles precise expenditure values for countries\u2019 gross domestic product (GDP), and estimates purchasing power parities (PPPs) for economies around the world. By converting currencies using PPPs rather than market exchange rates, it is possible to compare the output of economies and the material well-being of their citizens in real terms (that is, controlling for differences in price levels). Many countries in the world take part in the ICP\u2019s 2022 round in full. The World Bank\u2019s International Comparison Program website has the complete results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ICP\u2019s main aims are to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) Calculate purchasing power parities (PPPs) and price level indexes (PLIs) for participating economies;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2) Using PPPs, convert gross domestic product (GDP) volume and per capita metrics, as well as their expenditure components, into a common currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3) PPPs are a measure of what an economy\u2019s local currency can buy in another based on the price of a common basket of goods and services in each participating economy. Conversions based on market exchange rates reflect both price and volume disparities in spending, making them unsuitable for volume comparisons. PPP-based spending translations remove the effect of price level variations between economies, leaving only differences in volume to reflect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ICP provides reliable global economic data that allows countries to compare their prices, economic size, and material well-being to those of other countries. An economy that participates in the ICP gains access to a variety of capacity-building initiatives that aid in the development of national statistical capacity in the areas of price statistics and national accounts, as well as data collecting and quality assurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World Bank included one of the items titled \u201cBangladesh\u2019s silent economic revolution\u201d out of 31 items for the 2022-21 ICP articles. The article is excellent to understand the socio-economic condition of Bangladesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World Bank said through the article that after declaring independence from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh celebrated its golden anniversary of freedom last year. Bangladesh\u2019s image and identity in the international community have evolved over the years. It has progressed from being a recipient of aid to becoming a donor. In the country, there has been a quiet revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The global economy has been destroyed by the Coronavirus epidemic. All of South Asia\u2019s economies, including Bangladesh\u2019s, have been adversely affected. Despite the pandemic, Bangladesh has outperformed the rest of South Asia in terms of economic development. The manufacture and export of ready-made clothing, as well as remittances from expatriates, have helped the country attain this accomplishment in its 50th year of independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Bank, an international lending organization, has given the South Asian economy a favorable outlook for overcoming the pandemic\u2019s consequences. South Asia\u2019s gross domestic product (GDP) could expand by 7.2 percent on average in the fiscal year 2021, according to a report titled South Asian Economic Bounce Back but Face Fragile Recovery. After that, the average growth in the fiscal year 2022 may be less than 4.4 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bangladesh has outpaced its two neighbors, India and Pakistan, in terms of economic development. For the current fiscal year, the government has set a growth target of 6.1 percent, with a target of 7.2 percent for the following fiscal year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Bangladesh exceeded India in terms of GDP for two years in a row, and Bangladesh surpassed India in some social metrics seven years ago. Bangladeshi girls, for example, have a greater percentage of schooling and female birth than Indian girls. Bangladesh has a lower baby and under-five mortality rate than India. India is a massive nation. States like Bihar and Chhattisgarh, as well as Delhi and Punjab, are among them. As a result, the true picture of everyone does not emerge on average. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is unquestionably doing well. As a result of the rise in per capita GDP and wealth, we must consider a variety of social indices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS), an international think tank based in Toronto, Canada, Bangladesh, which former US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger acerbically referred to as a \u201cbottomless basket case\u201d in 1972, has performed better than Pakistan, the nation it separated from, in the last 50 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IFFRAS wrote in an article titled \u201cBangladesh and Pakistan \u2013 Formerly One Nation, today a World Apart,\u201d published on July 30, 2021, that Bangladesh\u2019s growth rate was far higher than Pakistan\u2019s even before the epidemic, at 7.8 percent in 2018-19 compared to 5.8 percent in Pakistan. This was a hot topic in October of last year when the IMF predicted Bangladesh\u2019s progress for the first time. There has been a lot of coverage of this in the Indian press. Bangladesh hosts discussions as well. Kaushik Basu, the former World Bank chief economist, tweeted about Bangladesh. \u201cAccording to IMF forecasts, Bangladesh would exceed India in per capita GDP,\u201d he added. The good news is that any newly developed economy will prosper. Surprisingly, India has fallen behind, having been 25% ahead five years ago. Now is the time for India to adopt a bold fiscal and monetary strategy.\u201d Bangladesh\u2019s growth is not a result of chance. Bangladesh\u2019s, India\u2019s, and Pakistan\u2019s economies have risen at a considerably quicker rate since 2004. Until 2016, this progress was maintained. However, in 2017, things began to shift. During the Coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh\u2019s growth rate accelerated dramatically. India\u2019s population has increased by 21 percent in the last 15 years, whereas Bangladesh\u2019s has increased by 18%. All of this has had an impact on per capita income. Bangladesh\u2019s per capita GDP was half that of India even in 2007. India\u2019s per capita GDP was 70 percent larger than Bangladesh\u2019s in 2004. Now, the World Bank showers praise for Bangladesh\u2019s economic achievement. This is the World Bank\u2019s recognition of the \u201cBangladesh\u2019s silent economic revolution\u2019 through the \u2018ICP Articles 2022-2021\u2032 program\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite all the bad things, the Government formulated the right policies and provided enabling environment for economic activities. As a result of friendly policies and the hard work of the public, economic developments were possible. If the same pace of development kept on, Bangladesh may surpass the whole region and join the club of rapidly growing economies of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no harm to learning from the Bangladesh model and one should not feel shy about replication its successful policies. Once we decide to change our fate with our own struggle, there exists a huge potential and capacity in this nation. It requires only a strong will and uninterrupted struggle, hard work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n