Editorial
Striving for MIC status
Well-thought-out strategy is need of the hour
Having got used to the appellation of LDC (Least Developed Country) for our economic status since 1975, it sounds exhilarating when the finance minister AMA Muhith makes a strong case for upgrading it to a Middle Income Country (MIC) at the fourth LDC conference of the UN to be held in Istanbul in May next year. But what advantage the country and its people will gain from such enhancement of status under the new category of MIC?
Sure enough, Bangladesh must lay its claim to any place on the world stage that it has truly earned. And if by being categorised under the rubric of an MIC means a markedly improved standard of living for the common people, then the government must press ahead with such aspiration.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ranked Bangladesh as the 48th largest economy of the world in 2009 with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 256 billion, while its growth rate (GDP) was estimated at 6 per cent. Interestingly, the IMF's ranking does speak positively for the economy. Meanwhile, the economy has also made some progress in terms of improving the human development index (HDI), which is due to reduced infant mortality rate, better gross secondary school enrolment record and adult literacy records and other indicators relating to human capital status. Similarly, the factors that determine the economic vulnerability criteria, such as demographic growth rate, export volume, preparedness against natural calamities, contribution to the GDP from the industry and service sectors vis-à-vis agriculture and so on have also undergone some improvement over the years. However, the per capita income at US$ 750 per head is still well below graduation threshold of US$1056.
So, in spite of some positive developments on the economic and human development fronts, Bangladesh will still have to go a long way to achieve its longed-for status as a Middle Income Country (MIC). And to cap it all, the best performance that Bangladesh needs to make on its way to the longed-for status of a Middle Income Country will be to concentrate all its efforts on vastly improving its human development capital as well as reducing the ever widening income gap between the poor and rich through proper distribution of the Gross National Income (GNI) among the population. For the aggregate income of a nation is apt to hide the extreme poverty of the majority of the population, while a handful among them might be enjoying the lion's share of the benefits of economic growth.
While striving for reaching the status of an MIC, we cannot lose sight of the fact that it is the quality of life of the population that should be the primary focus of all development activities. It is, therefore, expected that the present government would devise its strategy accordingly to achieve the status of an MIC within the next two or three decades.
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