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The prices of essential commodities will go up typically after the annual national budget is announced, two-thirds of the respondents of a recent survey on the impact of national budget on the public life, particularly on the poor and extreme poor communities thought.
According to the survey reports, one-fifth of the respondents think that yearly budget announcements have nominal effect on public life. Another 17 per cent respondents do not have any idea what a national budget is about.
The survey was carried out as part of an ongoing bigger research work to comprehensively measure the impact of the national budgets on the poor and extreme poor, people residing at the bottom of the income pyramid.
BRAC, and research bodies iSocial and Unnayan Shamannay have undertaken this 7-year-long research spanning from 2019 to 2025. The survey findings were presented on Tuesday at a press conference titled “National Budget 2019-2020: Impact on the poor and extreme poor” at the CIRDAP auditorium in the city.
The organizers said, in this research a robust data model is being developed, which is based on all relevant macro-economic variables and policy actions. The data model, once fully developed, will help run simulation to check impact and implications of small changes in macroeconomic decisions on household economy and marginalized individuals. It will also help identify gaps and priorities so that macroeconomic decision making become more cohesive and inclusive.
The speakers further said, a major area of work for the research is to rigorously measure the impact of many different economic variables and policy implementation on economic activities, decision making and overall wellbeing at household level.
Eminent Economist and former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman, Senior Research Fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr Nazneen Ahmed, Economist and Chief Executive Officer of Infolady Social Enterprise Limited (iSocial) Dr Ananya Raihan and Director of BRAC KAM Morshed joined the panel discussion at the event.
In the discussion, Dr Atiur Rahman said, “Readymade garment factory workers may lose their job any time when they reach middle age. When they return home empty handed after being fired they lose respect in the eye of other members of their families.
A pension scheme for such workers will be highly beneficial. Such schemes will help boost the socio-economic development of all people across class. Most of the respondents in this survey have urged the government to increase both initiatives and subsidies in the sectors of education, healthcare and youth employment.”
The organizers said, the survey was done among a total of 4800 randomly selected respondents, divided in 12 categories of people from three economic strata, namely extreme poor, poor and middle income. Its findings are grouped in three categories – effectiveness of social security services, public perception about different priorities of the national budget, and disaster preparedness and mechanism in the marginalized households.
Source (AA)
