Publication: Bangladesh Social Protection and Labor Review: Towards Smart Social Protection and Jobs for the Poor
Date
2016-03
ISSN
Published
2016-03
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Over the past decade, Bangladesh has
achieved strong economic growth and impressive poverty
reduction. The country’s great strides in human development,
reflected in the lowered fertility rate, improved health and
epidemiological outcomes, and progress in education, among
others, are paving the way for its continued development and
economic growth. Despite much progress, however, poverty and
vulnerability remains a great challenge. In particular,
persistent gaps across different populations exist often due
to the labor market conditions experienced by marginalized
workers (including unskilled laborers, females, youth, and
migrants). In light of such dynamic changes in Bangladesh,
the role of comprehensive Social Protection and Labor (SPL)
policy to facilitate poor and vulnerable households to
adequately respond to and manage various risks, is greater
than ever. The recently endorsed National Social Security
Strategy (NSSS) proceeds in this direction by adopting the
lifecycle approach. This Social Protection and Labor Review
report complements the NSSS with discussions on specific
issues and policy recommendations. The report reviews the
landscape of the sector, identifies key challenges to be
overcome, and provides options for policy intervention.
Overall, the review emphasizes the need for policy direction
to shift from individual programs towards an overall
strategy for households; from fragmented safety nets towards
a comprehensive system; and from (ex-post) disaster reliefs
towards (ex-ante) promotion of productive income generating
activities. Therefore, the report greatly underscores the
importance of strengthening labor market intervention and
developing social insurance while addressing implementation
challenges related to existing social assistance programs.
In contrast to the multitude of various social assistance
programs, Bangladesh currently lacks effective measures to
promote labor market employment and productivity and
adequate social insurance to hedge various risks. In the
short term, the report suggests that policy efforts need to
be made to introduce active labor market programs to provide
greater employment opportunities, particularly for
disadvantaged populations. Strategies to develop a pension
system that can cover workers regardless of their type of
employment are also needed. These measures will serve as
building blocks for broader policies for more, better, and
inclusive jobs, and a comprehensive social insurance system,
which will contribute to the country’s goal of achieving
middle income country status by 2021.
Citation
“World Bank. 2016. Bangladesh Social Protection and Labor Review; Bangladesh Social Protection and Labor Review : Towards Smart Social Protection and Jobs for the Poor. Bangladesh Development Series,no. 33;. © World Bank, Dhaka, Bangladesh. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/25265 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”