The invisible ones: Marginalised demographic groups in the urban area
To achieve peak performance and maximise profits, companies must prioritise initiatives that enhance their workers' physical and mental wellbeing
The research on poverty primarily focuses on rural poverty, so policymakers prioritised efforts to alleviate rural poverty. However, urban poverty is decreasing at a slower rate than rural poverty in the South Asian region, which raises the possibility of absolute increases in the numbers of urban poor.
In Bangladesh, over the last 30 years, the national poverty headcount has declined continuously. From 56.7% in 1991–1992, the poverty headcount declined to 18.7% in 2022. Other than the year 2000, rural and urban poverty followed the same downward trend. In 1991–1992, the poverty headcount in the urban area was 42.8%. The rate declined to 14.7% in 2022. However, the standard of living of the urban poor is usually worse than that of the rural poor, as the livelihood in the urban area is more expensive than in the rural area.
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According to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2022, the total expenditure per household in urban and rural areas is Tk41,424 taka and Tk26,842. Though the per capita income in the urban area is Tk10,951, which is higher than the rural area's Tk6,091, it may not represent the actual scenario of the urban marginalised demographic for higher income inequality.
According to HIES 2022, the Gini coefficient (a measure of economic inequality; higher values indicate higher inequality) of income is 0.539 in the urban area and 0.446 in the rural area. In 2016 and 2010, the values of the Gini coefficient in urban areas were 0.498 and 0.452. The increasing trend represents the gradual increase in income inequality in urban areas.
45.23% of the income is concentrated among the top 10% of people in the urban community. This trend has been increasing significantly over the past decade. In 2010 and 2016, the top 10% of people in the urban community earned 34.77% and 41.44% of the total income, respectively. On the other side, the lower 5 deciles, which include 50% of the population of the urban community, collectively hold only 16.71% of the income.
Unfortunately, the lowest decile holds 1.46% of the income, and the huge gap between deciles 1 and 10 clearly highlights the severity of income inequality. This higher income inequality has made the lives of the urban marginalised demographic groups more challenging.
To lift these socioeconomically vulnerable populations in urban areas out of proverty, the country must prioritise improving living conditions, providing access to basic services, ensuring labour rights, and promoting inclusive urban planning. Providing affordable housing, access to education and healthcare services, expanding the area of social safety net programmes, and establishing community-based initiatives can be some important steps to address the challenges faced by socio-economically marginalised groups.
These measures require a coordinated effort from the government, civil society and international organisations. Apart from a suitable livelihood and environment, physical and psychosocial security are important for the urban poor to ensure shock-responsive social protection.
Shock-responsive social protections are focused on addressing shocks that affect a substantial portion of the population. It involves modifying standard social protection programmes and systems to handle the alterations in the environment and requirements resulting from widespread shocks.
Shock-responsive social protection for demographically marginalised groups in urban communities is an essential strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of various shocks. These shocks may include economic downturns, natural disasters, pandemics and other unforeseen events. Shock-responsive social protection programmes have to be designed to provide effective support to urban communities during difficult times.
The initial step in implementing a shock-responsive social protection programme is to identify vulnerable individuals to ensure protection for those who need it most. There are various types of social security programmes initiated by the government of Bangladesh, such as cash transfers, food security and employment generation programmes, stipend programmes, cash/transfer of materials, credit support programmes, assistance for special communities, and development programmes.
The total budget for these programmes is Tk1,26,090 crore, which is 16.58% of the total national budget for FY 2023-24. The shock-responsive social protections need to be flexible with the severity of the shocks. Providing training and capacity-building programmes for urban marginalised groups may increase their resilience to shocks. These trainings include financial literacy, vocational training, entrepreneurship development, etc.
Proper coordination and strong partnerships among government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and international donors are very important to ensure a coordinated response to shocks. Addressing the issues faced by marginalised groups is important to ensure social justice and inclusivity and reduce societal inequalities. Furthermore, the well-being and empowerment of marginalised demographic groups are integral to building a sustainable, equitable and prosperous future for society as a whole.
Eshrat Sharmin is a Senior Research Associate at the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Email: sharminishrat4@gmail.com
Takrem Ferdous Surid is a Research Associate at the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Email: suridferdous20@gmail.com
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
