RURAL POVERTY IN BANGLADESH: TRENDS, DETERMINANTS AND POLICY ISSUES

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of rural poverty in Bangladesh, examining its trends, key determinants, and the major policy issues. It analyzes data from household income and expenditure surveys to trace the trends in the incidence and depth of rural poverty over the preceding decades, noting a steady but slow decline. The study then investigates the principal determinants of rural poverty. These include a lack of access to land and productive assets, low educational attainment, vulnerability to natural disasters and health shocks, and social exclusion. The research also explores the role of the growing rural non-farm economy and international remittances as key drivers of poverty reduction. The paper assesses the effectiveness of the government's poverty alleviation strategies and the role of the massive microfinance sector. The analysis concludes by identifying the key policy issues for accelerating rural poverty reduction, including the need for greater investment in rural infrastructure, human capital, and social protection.

Despite significant progress, rural poverty remained the central development challenge for Bangladesh. This paper offers a multi-dimensional analysis of this persistent problem, focusing on its trends, determinants, and the relevant policy issues. The first part of the study is an empirical analysis of the trends. Using nationally representative survey data, it charts the decline in the poverty headcount ratio and explores the changing characteristics of the rural poor. The core of the article is an in-depth examination of the determinants of rural poverty. It moves beyond a simple income-based analysis to a more holistic, livelihoods-based framework. This includes an analysis of the critical role of access to assets (land, capital), the importance of education and health in building human capital, and the severe impact of various shocks and vulnerabilities (from floods to illness) that can push households back into poverty. The paper gives special attention to the two major engines of poverty reduction in rural Bangladesh: the expansion of the rural non-farm economy, which has created new employment opportunities outside of traditional agriculture, and the transformative impact of remittances from migrant workers. In the final section, the paper reviews the key policy issues. It assesses the role of government programs, from agricultural extension to social safety nets, and the contribution of the world's largest microfinance industry. The findings suggest that a future strategy for rural poverty reduction must focus on strengthening these existing drivers of growth while also building a more comprehensive system of social protection to help the poor manage risk and avoid falling back into poverty.