Structural Change and Dynamics of Labor Markets in Bangladesh

Description

Outlining important policy requirements for Bangladesh to become an upper middle-income country, the book presents research work conducted during the project “Changing Labor Markets in Bangladesh: Understanding Dynamics in Relation to Economic Growth and Poverty,” sponsored by the International Development Research Center (IDRC), Canada. Bangladesh has experienced remarkable economic growth rates over the last decade. The country has recently been upgraded from a low-income country (LIC) to a lower-middle-income country (LMIC) as per the World Bank’s classification system. By 2024, the country also aspires to graduate from the United Nation’s list of least developed countries (LDC). The 7th five-year plan sets an ambitious target of 8 percent growth in GDP by 2020. There are also steep development targets to be achieved under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. All these will require an enormous leap forward from the current level of economic growth rate and sustaining it in the future. The situation also calls for considerable structural change in the economy, facilitating large-scale economic diversification. Rapid expansion of labor-intensive and high-productivity sectors, both in the farm and nonfarm sectors, is thus crucial for Bangladesh. Further, this should take place in conjunction with interventions to enhance productivity, jobs and incomes in traditional and informal activities where there are large pools of surplus labor. Given its relevance for Bangladesh and applicability to many other developing countries, the book offers a unique and pioneering resource for researchers, industry watchers as well as policy makers. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxxii Structural Change in Bangladesh: Challenges for Growth and Employment Creation (Selim Raihan)....Pages 1-18 What Determines the Choice Between Farm and Nonfarm Employments in the Rural Bangladesh? (Selim Raihan, Syer Tazim Haque)....Pages 19-32 How Does Employment Status Matter for the Well-Being of Rural Households in Bangladesh? (Selim Raihan, Fatima Tuz Zohora)....Pages 33-49 Female Labor Market Participation in Bangladesh: Structural Changes and Determinants of Labor Supply (Simeen Mahmud, Sayema Haque Bidisha)....Pages 51-63 Unpaid Family Labor: A Hidden Form of Labor Market Discrimination of Women in Bangladesh (Sayema Haque Bidisha, Selim Raihan)....Pages 65-78 Dynamics of Employment in the Urban Informal Sector in Bangladesh (Selim Raihan, K. M. Nafiz Ifteakhar, Mir Tanzim Nur Angkur)....Pages 79-91 Some Estimates of First Demographic Dividend in Bangladesh: An Application of the Bangladesh National Transfer Account (Bazlul H. Khondker, Muhammad Moshiur Rahman)....Pages 93-107 How Does Social Protection Affect Labor Force Participation in Bangladesh? (Selim Raihan, Israt Jahan)....Pages 109-123 How Do Education and Skill Development Affect the Transition from “Good-Enough” Job to “Decent” Job? (Selim Raihan, Mahtab Uddin)....Pages 125-140 Does Participation in Vocational Training Differ on Agricultural Seasonality? (Israt Jahan, Abu S. Shonchoy)....Pages 141-154 How Does Remittance Affect Labor Force Participation Behavior and Employment Choice in Bangladesh? (Selim Raihan, Muhammad Moshiur Rahman, Andilip Afroze, Mahtab Uddin)....Pages 155-170 Backward and Forward Linkages in the Bangladesh Economy: Application of the Social Accounting Matrix Framework (Bazlul H. Khondker)....Pages 171-187 Economy-Wide and Employment Effects of Different Scenarios in Bangladesh: Application of a CGE Model (Selim Raihan)....Pages 189-205