Corporate ownership should include workers' stake to reduce inequality: Rehman Sobhan
He proposes a model in which workers would have a share in corporate ownership, allowing a wider section of society to participate in wealth creation and ownership.
A new corporate ownership model that gives workers a stake in the ownership of businesses is needed to reduce inequality and expand wealth ownership, said economist and Centre for Policy Dialogue Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan.
"The right to own wealth must be spread among a broader section of society," he said at the Syed Humayun Kabir Memorial Research Conference 2026 at a hotel in Dhaka yesterday (17 September).
He proposed a model in which workers would have a share in corporate ownership, allowing a wider section of society to participate in wealth creation and ownership.
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"Until the importance of such alternatives is recognised at the academic and political levels, we will continue to live in an unequal and unjust world where not only economic power but also political power remains concentrated in the hands of a few," he said.
The conference was jointly organised by Banglar Pathshala Foundation and Sajeda Foundation.
Cornell University economics professor and former World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik Basu said vast amounts of wealth were concentrated in the hands of a small section of society, with inequality reaching "unacceptable levels".
"We need to rethink what policy alternatives are available to us," he said, adding that the world was going through a turning point rarely seen before.
Referring to the growing debate over artificial intelligence, Basu said a large share of the population in developing and emerging economies such as Bangladesh depends on labour for its livelihood.
"We are therefore seeing signs of a pressure or crisis that is becoming a matter of concern for society," he said, stressing the need to bring knowledge, ethical thinking, social initiatives, research and activism into discussions on addressing the crisis.
The daylong conference also featured video remarks from eminent lawyer Kamal Hossain. TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman, Sajeda Foundation Chairperson Farooq Sobhan and Adviser Shehzad Munim, Supreme Court lawyer Rashna Imam, icddr,b Emeritus Scientist Firdausi Qadri, PKSF Managing Director Md Fazlul Kader, BRAC University Board of Trustees member Abdul Mueid Chowdhury and Renata CEO and Managing Director Syed S Kaisar Kabir also spoke at the event.
