Structural Change and Dynamics of Labor Markets in Bangladesh

229 Pages·2018·7.238 MB·English

by  Selim Raihan

South Asia Economic and Policy Studies
Editor
Selim Raihan
Structural Change
and Dynamics of
Labor Markets in
Bangladesh
South Asia Economic and Policy Studies
Series editors
Sachin Chaturvedi, RIS for Developing Countries, New Delhi, India
Mustafizur Rahman, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dhaka, Bangladesh
Abid Suleri, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan
Dushni Weerakoon, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka
The Series aims to address evolving and new challenges and policy actions that
maybeneededintheSouthAsianRegioninthe21stcentury.Itventuresnicheand
makes critical assessment to evolve a coherent understanding of the nature of
challengesandallow/facilitatedialogueamongscholarsandpolicymakersfromthe
regionworkingwiththecommonpurposeofexploringandstrengtheningnewways
toimplementregionalcooperation.Theseriesismultidisciplinaryinitsorientation
and invites contributions from academicians, policy makers, practitioners, consul-
tants working in the broad fields of regional cooperation; trade and investment;
finance; economic growth and development; industry and technology; agriculture;
services; environment, resources and climate change; demography and migration;
disaster management, globalization and institutions among others.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15400
Selim Raihan
Editor
Structural Change
and Dynamics of Labor
Markets in Bangladesh
123
Editor
Selim Raihan
University of Dhaka
Dhaka,Bangladesh
and
SANEM
Bangladesh
ISSN 2522-5502 ISSN 2522-5510 (electronic)
SouthAsiaEconomic andPolicy Studies
ISBN978-981-13-2070-5 ISBN978-981-13-2071-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2071-2
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2018950950
©SpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.2018
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor
for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:152BeachRoad,#21-01/04GatewayEast,Singapore189721,
Singapore
Preface
Bangladesh’sachievementineconomicgrowthoverthelastdecadehasbeenquite
robust. The country has recently been upgraded from a low-income country
(LIC) to a lower-middle-income country (LMIC) as per the World Bank’s classi-
fication.ThereisanaspirationtograduatefromtheLDCstatus by2024asperthe
UnitedNations’classification.TheSeventhFive-YearPlansetsanambitioustarget
of8percentgrowthinGDPby2020.Therearealsosteepdevelopmenttargetstobe
achievedundertheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)by2030.Allthesewill
require an enormous leap forward from the current level of economic growth rate
andsustainingitinthefuture.Thesituationalsodemandsaconsiderablestructural
change inthe economy,leading tolarge-scale economicdiversification, promotion
oflabor-intensiveandhigh-productivity sectors, inboth farmandnonfarmsectors,
and interventions to enhance productivity, job, and income in traditional and
informal activities where there are large pools of surplus labor.
Against this backdrop, this volume titled Structural Change and Dynamics of
LaborMarketsinBangladeshcoversawiderangeofissuesrelatedtolabormarkets
in Bangladesh. These include structural change and employment creation, factors
affectingthechoicebetweenfarmandnonfarmemployment,employmentstatusand
well-beingofruralhouseholds,factorsinfluencingfemalelaborforceparticipation,
unpacking unpaid family labor, dynamics of employment in the urban informal
sector, social protection programs impacting on labor force participation behavior,
impactofbothinternationalandinternalremittancesonthedomesticlabormarket,
some estimates of the first demographic dividend in Bangladesh, role of education
andskilldevelopmentinthetransitionfrom‘good-enough’jobto‘decent’job,issue
of agricultural seasonality in skill training, and policy simulations using social
accountingmatrix and computable general equilibrium frameworks.
We wish to extend our sincere gratitude to IDRC, Canada, for their financial
support to successfully publish this volume. It is our pleasure to thank Edgard
Rodriguez,IDRC,Canada,forhissupportandadvice.Wearepleasedtorecognize
the contributions from authors and co-authors of the chapters in this volume. The
list includes Selim Raihan, Bazlul Haque Khondker, Simeen Mahmud, Sayema
Haque Bidisha, Abu Parves Shonchoy, Nafiz Ifteakhar, Mir Tanzim Nur Angkur,
v
vi Preface
MuhammadMoshiurRahman,FatimaTuzZohora,SyerTazimHaque,IsratJahan,
Mahtab Uddin, and Andilip Afroze.
Finally, we would like to thank Sk. Ashibur Rahman Anjon, Raisa Tamanna
Khan, Sunera Saba Khan, Nabila Hasan, Wahid Ferdous Ibon, and Md. Jillur
Rahman for their excellent support services.
Dhaka, Bangladesh Selim Raihan
Contents
Structural Change in Bangladesh: Challenges for Growth and
Employment Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Selim Raihan
What Determines the Choice Between Farm and Nonfarm
Employments in the Rural Bangladesh?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Selim Raihan and Syer Tazim Haque
How Does Employment Status Matter for the Well-Being of Rural
Households in Bangladesh? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Selim Raihan and Fatima Tuz Zohora
Female Labor Market Participation in Bangladesh: Structural
Changes and Determinants of Labor Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Simeen Mahmud and Sayema Haque Bidisha
Unpaid Family Labor: A Hidden Form of Labor Market
Discrimination of Women in Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Sayema Haque Bidisha and Selim Raihan
Dynamics of Employment in the Urban Informal Sector
in Bangladesh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Selim Raihan, K. M. Nafiz Ifteakhar and Mir Tanzim Nur Angkur
Some Estimates of First Demographic Dividend in Bangladesh:
An Application of the Bangladesh National Transfer Account. . . . . . . . 93
Bazlul H. Khondker and Muhammad Moshiur Rahman
How Does Social Protection Affect Labor Force Participation
in Bangladesh?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Selim Raihan and Israt Jahan
vii
viii Contents
How Do Education and Skill Development Affect the Transition
from “Good-Enough” Job to “Decent” Job? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Selim Raihan and Mahtab Uddin
Does Participation in Vocational Training Differ on Agricultural
Seasonality? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Israt Jahan and Abu S. Shonchoy
How Does Remittance Affect Labor Force Participation Behavior
and Employment Choice in Bangladesh? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Selim Raihan, Muhammad Moshiur Rahman, Andilip Afroze
and Mahtab Uddin
Backward and Forward Linkages in the Bangladesh Economy:
Application of the Social Accounting Matrix Framework. . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Bazlul H. Khondker
Economy-Wide and Employment Effects of Different Scenarios
in Bangladesh: Application of a CGE Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Selim Raihan
Editor and Contributors
About the Editor
Dr. Selim Raihan is Professor in the Department of Economics, University of
Dhaka,andExecutiveDirectoroftheSouthAsianNetworkonEconomicModeling
(SANEM).HeholdsaPh.D.fromtheUniversityofManchester,UK.Hepossesses
vast expertise in research on international trade, labor market dynamics, poverty,
economic growth, and political economy analysis of growth and development. He
has a long experience in teaching international trade, economic modeling, quanti-
tative economics, econometrics, development economics, and poverty dynamics at
the University of Dhaka. He is Editor of a monthly digest Thinking Aloud, pub-
lished from SANEM. He has a number of publicationsin reputed journals and has
alsowrittenseveralbooksandchapterspublishedbyreputedpublishersinLondon,
New York, New Delhi, and Dhaka. He has worked for several national and
international organizations including the Asian Development Bank, the World
Bank, UNDP, UNESCAP, UNCTAD, IFPRI, the Commonwealth Secretariat,
FAO, the European Commission, ILO, IDRC, DFID.
Contributors
Ms. Andilip Afroze is Research Associate at the South Asian Network on
Economic Modeling (SANEM). She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees
from the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka. Her major areas of
interest include labor economics, international trade, and development economics.
MirTanzimNurAngkur isLecturerintheDepartmentofEconomics,EastWest
University, and Research Associate at the South Asian Network on Economic
Modeling (SANEM). He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the
Department of Economics, University of Dhaka. His research interests lie in the
areas of international trade, global value chain, and informal sector.
ix