Growth without job creation is misleading

JOB creation is high on the priority in any developing economy but Bangladesh is lagging behind to translate its 7 percent GDP growth per annum to reflect in similar growth in employment creation and income generation for the mass people. At a regional seminar in the city early this week, speakers said such mismatch is also noticeable in other South Asian countries. Despite registering higher growth in the past three decades, South Asian countries have failed to translate growth into enough job creation and income generation of its mass people. Bangladesh situation is distinctly noticeable by higher growth but it has also failed to create enough jobs, reduce income inequality and deliver good governance far away from its potentiality.

Compared to European economic development that followed great industrialization and urbanization of their societies supported by spread of education, South Asia has failed to make good use of its potentials to put its resources to translate into accelerated development. In the opinion of an Indian Researcher who made presentation in the seminar, the surplus labour in agriculture in South Asia is absorbed by informal sectors due to disappointing number of employment creation in manufacturing. This is sad. In terms of employment creation and structural change, Bangladesh has however done better than most South Asian countries but worse than Southeast Asian nations. In fact “growth can create jobs and jobs can create growth again” and we believe employment generation must be an integral part of policy-making.

The Indian expert has rightly pointed out the paradox of high spending but poor job creating activities. High growth without bringing benefit of development to mass people by way of more job creation, income generation and equitable distribution of wealth, is misleading. In Bangladesh more spending for public servants is calculated as contributing to higher GDP growth, but it has nothing to do with common people’s development. Higher budgetary spending and job creation are two different things and here our policy makers are misleading the growth.

Looking at South Asia as a region, we believe it is missing most of its growth potentials as speakers said by holding intra-regional trade at only 5 percent of total trade while trade within the ASEAN block stands at 26 percent. It means South Asia has much to gain by increasing trade within itself which will contribute to creating more jobs and income for the working people in every country. We must say, free trade within South Asia must open in shortest possible time removing all barriers. This is a world of inter-dependence and South Asia is very much exploiting it with outside world without exploiting the benefits regionally. We must avoid such narrow outlook to develop the region together.