State Building and Social Policies in Developing Countries: The Political Economy of Development

309 Pages·2022·3.392 MB·English

by  Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir

State Building and Social Policies
in Developing Countries
This book moves away from the orthodox neoliberal paradigm to suggest a new
framework linking social policy with citizenship and transformation. The
interjection of nation building, public society and public provisioning to the
study of education, healthcare and employment caters to the needs of citizens
equitably. By combining and coagulating these three broad arenas of politico-
economic discussion, this book takes a new approach to the analysis of social
policymaking in developing countries to indicate the drivers and triggers
of transformation. It makes comprehensive, thorough critical comparisons
between the trajectories of developed and developing countries, finds out the
gaps in transformation and suggests drivers for changes.
The intentions of social policymaking, as proposed in the book, are to curb
the growing inequalities in the forms of class, power and marginalisation. The
chapters on education focus on provisioning of public goods for skills formation,
innovation and citizenship education. The sections on healthcare centre on
universal health care as opposed to universal health coverage by analysing access,
healthcare-seeking behaviour, price setting, market provisioning etc. For the
chapters on employment, propositions are posited regarding the expansion of
productive capacity, factor mobility and social security to ensure work for all.
Besides theorising education, healthcare and employment based on public
provisioning by the people’s state, underwritten by a public society, the book
provides feasible solutions through data sourced from all major international
organisations. In addition, it recognises the unique postcolonial struggles and
aspirations of the developing countries, and accordingly resorts to defining the
normative principles, reflecting nuances, subtleties and peculiarities.
This book is a continuation of the author’s F iscal and Monetary Policies in
Developing Countries: State, Citizenship and Transformation (Routledge) and will draw
the attention of scholars and researchers who wish to gain a deeper understanding
of, and pragmatic solutions to, social policies that address the transformational
pathways of developing countries, accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir is a professor of economics at the Department
of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has led numerous
projects for diverse organisations including governments, development partners
and international organisations at home and abroad.
Routledge Studies in Development Economics
6 The Economic Consequences of Globalization
on Thailand
Juthathip Jongwanich
7 Cities and Economic Inequality in Latin America
Intra-Urban Inequality in Argentina
Lena Simet
8 Neoliberalism and Unequal Development
Alternatives and Transitions in Europe, Latin America
and Sub-Saharan Africa
Edited by Fernando López Castellano, Carmen Lizárraga
and Roser Manzanera Ruiz
9 Industrialization and Economic Diversification
Post-Crisis Development Agenda in Asia and Africa
Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka and Kaushalesh Lal
10 Digitalization and Economic Development
Edited by Mohamed Sami Ben Ali
11 The Political Economy of Universal Healthcare in Africa
E vidence from Ghana
P hilip C. Aka, Hassan Wahab, and Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh
1 2 State Building and Social Policies in Developing Countries
T he Political Economy of Development
R ashed Al Mahmud Titumir
F or more information about this series, please visit: w ww.routledge.com/series/
SE0266
State Building and Social
Policies in Developing
Countries
The Political Economy of Development
Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir
The right of Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir to be identified as author of
this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Titumir, Rashed A. M., author.
Title: State building and social policies in developing countries : the
political economy of development / Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir.
Description: 1 Edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. | Series:
Routledge studies in development economics | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022002915 (print) | LCCN 2022002916 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032256108 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032256115 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003284222(ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Equality—Developing countries. | Marginality, Social—
Developing countries. | Developing countries—Social policy. |
Developing countries—Politics and government.
Classification: LCC HN980 (ebook) | LCC HN980 .T58 2022 (print) |
DDC 361.6/109172/4 23/eng/20220—dc10
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022002915
ISBN: 978-1-032-25610-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-25611-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-28422-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003284222
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
sister
Mahmuda Ashrafi Ferdousi
brothers
Rashed Al Habib Kamal
Rashed Al Amin Khaled
Rashed Al Ahmad Tarique

Contents

List of Figures xi
L ist of Tables xiii
L ist of Abbreviations xv
P reface and Acknowledgements xvii
PART I
Introduction 1
1 State and Social Policies in Developing Countries 3
Introduction 3
Public Society 6
Public Goods 11
Trends in Education, Healthcare and Employment 18
Summary 22
References 23
2 Social Policy, Public Society and Public Provisioning
in Developing Countries 26
Introduction 26
Public Society and Public Goods 29
A Review 32
A Framework 44
Components 46
Summary 52
References 53
viii Contents
PART II
Education 57
3 Discourses on Investment in Human Capabilities 59
Introduction 59
A Review 61
A Framework 74
Summary 76
References 78
4 Education: Provisioning, Skill Formation
and Citizenship 81
Introduction 81
Public Good and Market Provisioning 82
Skills Formation and Employment 93
Innovation and Education 100
Citizenship Education and Citizen State 104
Summary 105
References 106
5 Institutions and Transformational Pathways for
Education in Developing Countries 108
Introduction 108
Political Settlement and Human Sociality 109
Education and Government Expenditure: A Simulation 119
Impact of COVID-19 120
Policy Roadmap 123
Summary 124
References 125
PART III
Healthcare 127
6 Debates on Provisioning of Healthcare in
Developing Countries 129
I ntroduction 129
A Review 133
S tylised Facts 139
A Framework 141
Contents ix
Summary 142
References 143
7 Universal Health Care: Provisioning and Accessibility 145
Introduction 145
Socially Embedded Values 146
Firms and Price Setting 151
Market Provisioning and Universal Access 153
Country Spotlight: Accessibility Barriers in Bangladesh 155
Health Expenditure and Economic Life 157
Summary 164
References 165
8 Institutions and Transformation of Healthcare
in Developing Countries 167
Introduction 167
Stability and Healthcare Provision 168
Transformability and Healthcare 171
Sustainability and Health Shocks 172
Policy Roadmap 176
Summary 177
References 178
PART IV
Employment and Social Security 181
9 Disquisitions on Employment and Social Security 183
Introduction 183
A Review 185
A Framework 198
Summary 203
R eferences 204
10 Work for All: Skills, Productivity and Wages 207
Introduction 207
Productive Capacity and Skills Formation 210
Factor Mobility, Wages and Inequality 213
Productivity and Labour Extraction Function 216
Spotlight: Employment Trends in Bangladesh 221