CAPABILITY APPROACH AND STATUS OF POVERTY IN BANGLADESH

Transcription

1 CAPABILITY APPROACH AND STATUS OF POVERTY IN BANGLADESH Md. Al Amin Islam

2 This report has been prepared as a chapter for a forthcoming book Measuring Multidimensionality State of Poverty in Bangladesh 2013, edited by Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir to be published by Shrabon Prokashani, Dhaka in October 2013 Copyright: Unnayan Onneshan The content of this publication may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes with proper citation (please send output to the address mentioned below). Any other form of reproduction, storage in a retrieval system or transmission by any means for commercial purposes, requires permission from the Unnayan Onneshan. For orders and request please contact: Unnayan Onneshan House: 16/2, Indira Road, Farmgate, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh. Tell: + (880-2) , ; Fax: + (880-2) info@unnayan.org; Web:

3 CAPABILITY APPROACH AND STATUS OF POVERTY IN BANGLADESH Md. Al Amin Islam 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter evinces the poverty in terms of capability. This approach has been particularly shaped by the writings of Amartya Sen (Sen, 1985) on human freedoms, entitlements and empowerment. In this approach, a variety of ideas has been brought together that was hitherto excluded from traditional approaches to the welfare of economics. What individuals are able to do (i.e., capable of) is the mainstream of this approach. Within this paradigm, poverty is defined as a function of failure to achieve certain minimal or basic capabilities that include the ability to satisfy certain crucially important functioning up to certain minimally adequate levels (Ruggeri Laderchi, 2003). It also measures human poverty as the deprivation in three essential elements of human life: longevity, knowledge and a decent standard of living. Capability approach of Amartya Sen has become particularly relevant in the poverty discourse, having seriously criticising the one-dimensional consumption or income-based measurement of poverty and inequality. He has established the equilibrium between the absolute and relative approaches, and developed non-income indicators to identify the poor. The capability approach has been advanced in somewhat different directions by Martha Nussbaum, who has used the capability approach for the foundation of a partial theory of justice. It inquires whether people are well-nourished, or the conditions for this capability, such as sufficient food supplies and food entitlements, are met. It also seeks for the accession of people to quality education, to real political participation, to community activities which support them to contend with struggles in daily life and which foster real friendships to religion that console them as well as give them peace of mind. For some of these capabilities, the main inputs are financial resources and economic production, but for others it can also be political practices, such as the effective guaranteeing and protection of freedom of thought, religion or political participation, or social or cultural practices etc. The capability approach thus, covers the terrain of human wellbeing. Development and well-being are regarded in a comprehensive and integrated manner, and much attention is paid to the link between material, mental, spiritual and social well-being, or to the economic, social, political and cultural dimensions of life. The capability approach to wellbeing and development thus evaluates policies according to their impact on the capabilities of people. In the above circumstances, the chapter aims to measure the human development and inequality based on the capability approach. 2 LIFE EXPECTANCY A cognitive development in health care is the precondition to live longer. Bangladesh has some positive achievements in case of health care. The progress in life expectancy of Bangladesh at birth is reviewed here which is one of the HDI indicators (Figure 1). Between 1980 and 2012, life expectancy at birth increased by 14 years with a rate of increase of 2.5 percent per annum. The rate of increase in life expectancy at birth was higher between 1980 and 2000 than the rate

4 between 2000 and 2012 which was 0.86 percent and 0.57 percent per annum respectively. People are living longer than ever. The primary reason for this success is the changes in the health seeking behaviours. Advances against preventable diseases like diarrhoea, malaria, tuberculosis and cholera have also helped people to live longer. The increasing trend of life expectancy at birth is fueled by declining poverty, better awareness, and public education campaigns by the government as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Figure 1: Life expectancy at birth Source: Author s calculation based on World Bank, GROSS NATIONAL INCOME (GNI) PER CAPITA Economic growth is important for reducing poverty and generating the resources necessary for human development and environmental protection. Economic growth alone, however, does not guarantee human development. Well-functioning civil institutions, secured individual and property rights, and broad-based health and educational services are also vital for raising overall living standards. Despite its shortcomings, GNI 1 remains a useful proxy measure for human well-being. The per capita GNI in Bangladesh was USD 649 in 1980 and last reported at USD 1785 in 2012 (UNDP, 2013) i.e., it grew approximately threefold since 1980 as an unprecedented rate of increase of 7.96 percent per year. 1 Gross National Income (GNI) is the total value of goods and services produced within a country (i.e. its Gross Domestic Product), together with its income received from other countries (notably interest and dividends), and less similar payments made to other countries.

5 Figure 2: Per capita gross national income 4 YEARS OF SCHOOLING Source: Author s calculation based on UNDP, 2013 Education is strongly associated with the reduction of poverty in Bangladesh (Asadullah 2005; Asadullah and Rahman 2005; Al-Samarrai 2007a). Bangladesh has got some achievements in educational sector during the 1980s when enrollment expanded and gender differences narrowed. The expected years of schooling and mean years of schooling in Bangladesh have increased. 4.1 Expected Years of Schooling Over past few years, Bangladesh has seen progresses in the enrollment at primary as well as secondary levels of education. These progresses have been seen through the realisation of education, increasing awareness among people and the reduction of income poverty etc. Figure 3: Expected years of schooling Source: Author s calculation based on UNDP, 2013 The gross enrollment ratios are now 100 percent or higher for primary education in the country, and both groups have made substantial strides in higher levels of education as well. Still, there exist large gaps in Bangladesh that needs to be shrunk. Increased enrollment is reflected in

6 expected years of schooling 2, which rose up from 4.4 years in 1980 to 7 years in 2000 with an annual increase rate of 2.95 percent. Furthermore, expected years of schooling have reached to 8.1 years in 2012 from 7 years in 2000 posing a rate of increase of 1.31 percent per year. Again, the rate of increase in expected years of schooling was 2.63 percent per year over the period from 1980 to 2012 (Figure 3). According to the historical track record, if this trend continues, the expected years of schooling might reach at 8.74 years by Mean Years of Schooling Mean years of schooling 3 in Bangladesh showed an increase across the country for both men and women. Mean years of schooling inculcated to 2 years in 1980 and then increased to 3.7 years in 2000 with a rate of increase of 4.25 percent per year. Again, mean years of schooling increased to 4.1 years in 2012 following an annual rate of increase of 0.90 percent from If the historical track record for the period of (annual rate of increase 3.28 percent) continues, the mean years of Schooling of the country might reach at 4.5 years by Figure 4: Mean years of schooling Source: Author s calculation based on UNDP, TRENDS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX (HDI) Human Development Index (HDI) attempts to measure the development of human being. Consequently, a high HDI means a high level of human development has been achieved. Internationally in 2012, a country with an HDI of or higher is said to have a very high level of human development. On the other end of the pole, countries with an HDI lower than indicates a low human development category of the country. The HDI value of Bangladesh has been calculated at in 1980, which increased to in 2000 following an annual rate 2 Expected years of schooling: Number of years of schooling that a child of school entrance age can expect to receive if prevailing patterns of age-specific enrolment rates were to stay the same throughout the child s life. 3 Mean Years of Schooling: Average number of years of education received by people ages 25 and older in their lifetime based on education attainment levels of the population converted into years of schooling based on theoretical durations of each level of education attended.

7 of 1.9 percent. Further it reached to in 2012 with a slower rate of increase of 1.6 percent per annum than that of period of 1980 to Moreover, in the period of 1980 to 2012, the HDI value increased with a slower rate of development of 2.0 percent per year. Continuation of this rate without taking any initiative indicates that the HDI might reach at in 2015, which may further indicate a huge shortfall from the high level HDI value 0.758, const ant Figure 5: Trends of human development index (HDI) in Bangladesh Source: Author s calculation based on UNDP, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX (HDI) AND INEQUALITY ADJUSTED HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX (IHDI) Adjusting Human Development Index for inequality reflects the inequality in each dimension of the HDI. It is called the Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI), a measure for the level of human development of people in a society that accounts for inequality. Under the condition of perfect equality, the HDI and the IHDI are equal. Figure 6: HDI and inequality adjusted HDI of Bangladesh Source: UNDP, 2013

8 When there is inequality in the distribution of health, education and income, the HDI of an average person in a society is less than the aggregate HDI. The lower the IHDI, the greater the difference between it and the HDI leads to a greater inequality. The average loss in the HDI due to inequality is about 27 percent that is, for adjusting inequality; the global HDI of in 2012 fell to 0.374, which represents a drop from the low to the very low HDI category. Moreover, the HDI value increased from in 2010 to in 2012 with annual rate of 4.56 percent. On the other hand, the IHDI increased to in 2012 from in 2010 following 4.33 percent annual rate of increase. Though both HDI and IHDI are increasing, the difference between these two remains almost stagnant. Countries with less human development tend to have greater inequality in more dimensions and thus, larger losses in human development occur. 7 MATERNAL MORTALITY RATIO Maternal mortality ratio 4 is one of the important health status indicators. Bangladesh has advanced in reducing maternal mortality rate over the last two decades. It followed a trend of decelerated decline over the period from 1990 to 2005 and then, pursued an increasing pattern between 2005 and Figure 7: Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births) Source: Author s calculation based on World Bank, 2013 The maternal mortality ratio decreased from 800 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 400 per 100,000 live births in 2000 with an annual rate of reduction of 5.0 percent. In 2010, the maternal mortality ratio again decreased to 330 per 100,000 live births from 400 per 100,000 live births in 2000 and the rate of decrease was 3.5 percent during that period. This indicates that while the reduction of the maternal mortality ratio decreased in numeric terms, the rate of reduction is not satisfactory as compared to the previous years and followed a decreasing trend. In , maternal mortality ratio reduced again and the reduction rate was higher as compared to the previous period which was 5.5 percent per annum. 4 The maternal mortality ratio is defined as the number of total deaths of women due to complications of pregnancy, child birth and puerperal per 1000 live births during a year.

9 8 ADOLESCENT FERTILITY RATE (AFI) AND TOTAL FERTILITY RATE (TFI) Adolescent fertility rate (AFR) has steadily been declining in the country during the period of 1997 to Its relative contribution to the total fertility rate (TFR), however, has increased during the same period. In absolute terms, the number of given births per 1,000 women aged decreased from 131 in 1996 to 70 in 2011 with a reduction rate of 3.1 percent per year. The contribution of AFR to TFR increased from 2.9 percent to 3.2 percent with an annual rate of increase of 0.7 percent over the same period. The consequences of AFR raise fundamental concerns about the health and social development of young mothers and their children. Adolescent pregnancy is generally associated with higher rates of maternal morbidity and mortality as well as greater risks for clandestine abortion, delivery complications and low-birthweight infants. Young mothers who leave school early may also deprive from important educational opportunities. Adolescents generally display lower fertility rates than the women in the middle age in terms of their reproductive years. This reflects the evolution of reproductive life cycle of a woman, with lower fecundity at the onset of the reproductive period and a lower risk of conception, given less-frequent sexual activity. As older women appear to take better advantage of family planning services than young women, the contribution of AFR to the TFR is increasing. Figure 8: Share of adolescent fertility rate to total fertility rate Source: Author s calculation based on World Bank, RATE OF PARTICIPATION IN LABOUR FORCE The rate of participation in labour force in the country has steadily declined during the period from 1990 to It decreased from 62.6 percent in 1990 to 60.1 percent in 2011 with an annual reduction rate of 0.19 percent for female. On the other hand, the rate of participation for male decreased to 86.7 percent in 2011 from 89.9 percent in 1990 with the rate of reduction of 0.17 percent per year. It is noticeable that the rate of participation differed by gender. This rate was higher for the male and decreased at a slower rate as compared to the counterparts during the period of

10 Figure 9: Labour force participation rate in Bangladesh Source: Author s calculation based on World Bank, PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN NATIONAL PARLIAMENT Today, the participation of women is significant in modern democracy as adequate representation is essential to form a proper government. One important factor of the representative democracy is that all citizens, regardless of gender, have equal opportunities to participate in politics. Furthermore, the increased representation of women in elective positions of power is a matter of justice and equity. However, representation of women in many legislatures, the most powerful institutions of democratic nations, is often limited. Critics have seen the absence of women from national legislatures as an indication of the absence of full democracy because, lacking women, they cannot easily enact laws that are crucially needed for women and children (Lijphart, 1991; Burrell, 1997; Lovenduski, 1997). In case of decision making process in the parliament of Bangladesh, in 2000, the total seats in national parliament were 330, whereas the reserve seats for women were 30 only. 45 reserve seats for women have been added and the total seats of the parliament have increased at 345 in In 2012, 50 reserve seats for women have been included further to be totaled at 350. In other words, the seats of women in national parliament increased from 10 percent in 2000 to 17.3 percent in 2006 and further increased to 19.9 percent in This rate of advancement in decision-making for women is yet very low. This is a consequence of a number of factors, including responsibilities of the women towards family and children, the negative attitudes and discrimination of political parties, conservative religious and cultural doctrines, discriminatory socio-economic conditions, electoral systems, the nature of a regime and financial barriers (Rule, 1994a, 1994b; Liswood, 1999; Harris, 2001). Often the factors are interrelated and difficult to separate from one another. It is mostly identified into two interacting causal factors, supply and demand, which result in the under-representation of women. The supply-side factor means women do not come forward and/or they are not interested in politics. The demand side factor is related mainly to the selectors, or political parties, where such parties create discrimination for the nomination of women.

11 Figure 10: Participation of women in national parliament Source: Author s calculation based on World Bank, ACCESSION IN SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION The progress in the female gross enrollment is comparatively slower in the secondary and tertiary levels compared to the primary level. The improvement in primary has occurred mostly due to several income assistance programmes like budgetary allocation of the government for girls education, free primary education, massive stipend programmes and food for education programme. However, the rate of gross enrollment for girl at secondary level fluctuated a little bit in the period of which was higher than that of its counterpart. The female gross enrollment at secondary level was 49.0 percent in 2000 which reached at 53.1 percent in 2003 with an annual rate of increase of 2.8 percent. Conversely, for male, this enrollment decreased from 47.4 percent to 47.8 percent with the rate of increase of 0.3 percent per annum over the same period. Again, this enrollment reached at 48.5 and 42.5 in 2008 for female and male followed by 1.8 and 2.2 percent annual rate of decrease respectively. Furthermore, this rate increased to 56.0 percent and 48.0 percent in 2011 from 48.5 and 42.5 for female and male with an annual rate of increase of 5.2 percent and 4.3 percent respectively. The rate of gross enrollment at secondary level increased at a slower rate of 1.32 percent and 0.11 percent respectively for female and male over the period from 2000 to The rate of gross enrollment for female at secondary level found higher as compared with the male counterparts. A combined effects of various affirmative programmes such as the female secondary school project (FSSP) financed by the government of Bangladesh (GoB), the female secondary school assistance programme (FSSAP) assisted by the World Bank (WB), the female secondary education stipend project (FESP) assisted by the Norwegian Agency for development (NORAD) have resulted in some improvements in female enrollment at the secondary level.

12 Figure 11: Gross enrollment rate at secondary and higher education Source: Author s calculation based on World Bank, 2013 Despite moderate progress in female education, a large portion of female is yet to get the real light of education. Female gross enrollment rate at tertiary level is much lower than that of their male counterparts. Socio-economic and cultural factors as well as institutional matters are largely responsible for such inequality towards the education of female. Female enrollment was only 3.6 percent in 2000 and increased to 11.2 percent in The rate of male enrollment, on the other hand, also increased over the same period which is, however, far away from their female counterparts. Widespread poverty and less empowerment of women might be responsible for such differences in enrollment between men and women. In Bangladesh, female comprises about half the total population. So, it is difficult to reach at the desired target of development unless efforts are accelerated to improve the female education. 12 EMPLOYED PERSONS BY MAJOR OCCUPATION Economic participation and decision-making power, is measured by the two indicators: the percentage shares of administrative and managerial positions as well as the percentage shares of professional and technical positions of women and men. It is found that 4.8 percent of the total employed men engaged themselves in professional and technical positions in On the contrary, this percentage was 4.38 for women in the same year. The percentage shares in professional and technical positions of men increased at a slower rate from 4.8 percent in 2005 to 4.99 percent in On the other hand, the percentage shares of women decreased from 4.38 percent to 3.18 percent during the same period. In case of administrative and managerial positions, the percentage shares of men increased from 0.46 percent in 2005 to 1.57 percent in 2010, while increased from 0.2 percent to 0.59 percent for women in the same period. Table 1: Persons (15 years and above) employed in major occupation (in thousands) Rate of Growth (in percentage) between 2005 to 2010 Men Women Men Women Men Women

13 Total Professional and Technical Administrative and Managerial Source: Author s calculation based on labour force survey, , GENDER INEQUALITY The Gender Inequality Index was introduced in order to correct the shortcomings of the Gender Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM). Gender equality is both a core concern and an essential part of human development. Often the discrimination against women is found in healthcare, education and the labour market, which restricts their freedoms. Such extent of discrimination can be measured through the Gender Inequality Index (GII), which captures the loss of achievement due to gender inequality in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and labour market participation. The higher GII value indicates the greater discrimination. The value of GII was in 2005 which has reduced to in 2012 with a reduction rate of 2.32 percent per annum. In other words, the gender inequality in Bangladesh is decreasing gradually. Furthermore, the annual rate of reduction was 1.87 percent in the period of which was higher than the period of as 1.22 percent. This index also captures some of Nussbaum s 10 Central Capabilities (senses, imagination and thought; affiliation; and control over ones environment). Figure 12: Gender inequality index 14 CRITICISMS Source: Author s calculation based on UNDP, 2013 Since 1995, much debate has been arisen surrounding the reliability and availability of the data used. Difficulties are faced due to adequate comparisons between different countries. More specifically, there has been debate over the component of life-expectancy. As it is mentioned previously, the life expectancy is adjusted to assume that the women will live normally longer than the men. It has been argued that it would strive to attain the same life-expectancy for

14 women and men if true equality needs to be promoted, despite what might be considered as a biological advantage. In terms of policy implications, this could only be achieved through providing preferential treatment to males, effectively discriminating against females; however, this may seem as paradoxical. Equality of the genders implies that women and men as well as girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections. It does not require that girls and boys, or women and men, be the same, or that they be treated exactly alike. Income gap is another area of debate surrounding the gender-related development index. The GDI considers income gaps in terms of actual earned income. This has been said to be problematic because often, men earn more money than women and shared their income to others. Additionally, GDI does not consider the value of care work as well as other work performed in the informal sector (such as cleaning, cooking, housework, and childcare). A more straightforward picture of gender inequality can provides through separate Human Development Indices for males and females. In terms of the Gender Employment Measure (GEM) in particular, an elite bias is often said to be represented. To measure inequality, only the most educated and economically advantaged women are considered and focus mainly on the higher echelons of society. Women in lower levels of employment or in the informal sector, where many women are in poor, not reflected in grassroots organisations or at the local political level. It is also often argued that participation of women in parliament is not adequate indication of progress in gender empowerment. Moreover, to make it less elitist, female representation in local government instead of only national government should include in GEM. Nussbaum s Central Human Capabilities address issues of equality, political freedom, creativity and the right to the self, as do the various indices that are based on capabilities. It is evident that these measures are subjective. The protection of and commitment to human development are too important matters even the measures of well-being may be problematic, to be left on the sidelines. 15 CONCLUSIONS The capability approach of Amartya Sen stands for the foundation of the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is a summary of human development around the world and implies whether a country is developed, still developing, or underdeveloped. The value of Human Development Index (HDI) in 2012 indicates a low human development and shortfalls from medium human development and a very far from the high human development category. After adjusting the inequality, which exists in each dimension of HDI, the HDI fall to in 2012, indicates a drop from low to very low HDI category. Result of this chapter indicates that the HDI increased along with Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI), but the rate of increase in IHDI (6.50 percent per annum) is lower than the rate of increase in HDI (6.84 percent per annum) over the period of 2010 to This higher rate of increase in HDI and the lower rate of increase in IHDI indicate that there exists inequality in terms of capability. Though, now-a-days, women enjoy more freedom and power than ever before, they are still disadvantaged when compared to men in virtually all aspects of life. However, gender inequality has decreased at decreasing rate of 1.66 percent annually over the period of 2005 to The value of Gender Inequality Index in 2012 indicates Bangladesh is yet far from equality because of deprivation of women in equal access to education, health care, capital, and decision making

15 powers in the political, social, and business sectors. Denying women and girls, half the total population, equality and fairness not only hurts them, but also hinders the rest of society. Methodological problems were raised due to data mismatches with the theory and also because of some theories are difficult to apply with the existing poverty data and indices. The state of the art in poverty measurement relies over the multidimensional approaches. Overall, the study suggests that identification and targeting of the poor with combined methods should be more widely adopted, reflecting the concerns for a broad characterisation of poverty. References Al-Samarrai, S. 2007a, Changes in employment in Bangladesh, : The impacts on poverty and gender equity. Working paper prepared for the 2007 Bangladesh poverty assessment, World Bank. Dhaka, The World Bank: 32. Asadullah, M., N and S. Rahman. 2005, "Farm productivity and efficiency in rural Bangladesh: The role of education revisited." Centre for the study of African economies working paper series. CSAE No Asadullah, M., N. 2005, Returns to education in Bangladesh. Queen Elizabeth House Working Paper Series. Oxford. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). 2008, Report On Labour Force Survey , Dhaka, Bangladesh: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). 2011, Report On Labour Force Survey 2010, Dhaka, Bangladesh: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Burrell, B. C. 1997, The political leadership of women and public policymaking (Symposium: Women and Public Policy). Policy Studies Journal.vol.25, no.4, pp Harris, C. 2001, Barriers remain for women. The Press, 6 July: 5. Lijphart, A. 1991, Debate-Proportional Representation: III. Double Checking the Evidence. Journal of Democracy. vol.2, pp Liswood, L. 1999, What makes great leaders? Available at: [Accessed 12 July, 2001] Lovenduski, J. 1997, Gender Politics: A Breakthrough for Women? Parliamentary Affairs. vol. 50, no.4, pp Ruggeri Laderchi, C. et al. 2003, Does it matter that we don t agree on the definitions of poverty? A comparison of four approaches. Oxford: Queen Elizabeth House. Working Paper, No. 107 (May).

16 Rule, W. 1994a, Women s under-representation and electoral systems. Political Science & Politics.vol.27,no.4,pp Rule, W. 1994b, Parliaments of, by, and for the People: Except for Women?, In W. Rule and J. F. Zimmerman (eds), Electoral Systems in Comparative Perspectives: Their Impact on Women and Minorities. Greenwood Press, London: Sen, A. K. 1985, Well-being, Agency and Freedom: the Dewey Lectures. Journal of Philosophy, vol. 82, no. 4, pp UNDP. 2013, International human development indicators. Available at: [Accessed 3 September 2013] UNDP. 2013, International human development indicators. [Accessed 3 September 2013] UNDP. 2013, International human development indicators. [Accessed 3 September 2013] UNDP. 2013, International human development indicators. [Accessed 5 September 2013] UNDP. 2013, International human development indicators. [Accessed 5 September 2013] UNDP. 2013, International human development indicators. [Accessed 5 September 2013] World Bank. 2012, World Development Indicators. Washington DC, USA: The World Bank Group. Available at: [Accessed 12 August 2013]

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