Poverty reduction and social development in Bangladesh: a study from spatial perspective

Abstract

Spatial polarization and geo-spatial inequality occur in case of development around the world, Divergences are predominantly apparent in different regions in case of development in Bangladesh. Importance of location and space for development is yet to receive a!tcntion in policy agenda of Our country. This study is an attempt to analyze the spatial variation of development in Bangladesh in terms of poverty reduction and social development at regional levels in Bangladesh_ At the same time, inter-regional variation of development in the counlry will be assessed in this study \0 find out the relationships between poverty incidences and associated factors of development at regionai levels in Bangladesh. Generally sociai development entails a lot of m;pects of de,'elopment but this study is limited to the study of social development indicators selecied from Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP, 2005) of the country which mainly encompasses educalion and health indicators that generally represent the nonincome aspeds of poverty. Secondary dala from various sources ha,'e been used for this study and the main Source of data was the various reports eonduded by Bangiadesh Bureau of Statistics. Main limitation of the study was unavailability of recent data reiated to poverty and social development in Bangladesh especially at district levels. Howcver, this study reveals that though Bangladesh ha, been _>ucceededin reducing poverty at recent times, the rate of reduction of poverty waSnot homogenous acros, the regions. The western part of the muntry is iagging in redudion of poverty than its eastern counterpart, North-west regions of the country have ~en obser\'ed with higher incidences of poverty whereas central regions of the country are quite developed with lower incidences of poverty, Nonetheless, the social development scenario of the counlry reveals that, social development is not solely related with poverty incidence, but there are some other factors which play significant roles here. As a result, SOme poverty stricken regions such as southern part of the counlry have been found developed in terms of social de,'elopment especiolly in education and health indicators. However in terms of educational attainment, spatial concentration of advanced regions has been found in the central, southern-coastal, south-eastern regions of the country, The northern part of lhe country is quite underdeveloped in compaIlson to the southern part of the country and this division is quite evident, The lagging regions are northeastern, central-north, central-western regions of lhe country, Moreover, spatial concentration of developed regions in health outcomes has been found in central, northeast, central-norlh and south-west regions_ The western part of the country i, comparatIvely in beller situation in health than the eastern part of the country. 11'e lagging regions in terms of composite Score of health indicators arc north-west, l'entralnorth, central-~[[st, southern coastal and south-east hilly regions. Accordmg 10 this study, spatial disparity in development is extreme among different regions of the country in terms of manufacturing ll1dustrialization. private investment, private lwalth faeilities, overseas employment, urbanization, etc_ This study finds that, ,ignificant factors which considerably influence the poverty incidences of any region are electrification, urbanization, number of co-operati\'~s, industrialization, establishment" overseas employment etc. According to the findings of the study, some recommendations have been given to uplift the Jogging regions of the country and to ensure regional harmony in overall development of the country which may' help in framing suitable development policy at national level to pursue balanced development at regional strata.