The Non-farm Road to Higher Growth: Comparative Experience and Bangladesh's Prospects The Non-farm Road to Higher Growth: Comparative Experience and Bangladesh's Prospects

Shahid Yusuf
Additional contact information
Shahid Yusuf: World Bank

Bangladesh Development Studies, 1996, vol. 24, issue 3-4, 195-248

Abstract: To prevent poverty and unemployment from becoming socially insupportable and politically explosive, Bangladesh must aim for a growth rate of 7-8 per cent using the most labour intensive techniques while still being efficient. The paper explores the role that non-farm sector can play in supporting this push for higher growth, and the lessons regarding non-farm development that can be derived from examining the experiences of growing countries in Asia. The thesis of this paper is that rapid growth in Bangladesh is likely to be a function initially of agricultural productivity and prosperity. It will be difficult to expand non-farm income if agriculture is stagnant. Comparative experience from some of the successful East and Southeast Asian countries and empirical evidence from Bangladesh suggest that investment in transport infrastructure and the mechanisation of farming would give the strongest push to agriculture and generate the most potent spread effects. Agricultural growth stimulate growth of RNF activities through demand and input-output linkages. But in order to turn rural manufacturing into a leading sector with the potential to employ a large number of people and good export prospects, impetus must come from other directions as well.

Keywords: Rural industries; Industrial agriculture; Local government; Economic development; World Bank; Urban agriculture; Farm economics; Rural economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:badest:0366

Access Statistics for this article

Bangladesh Development Studies is currently edited by Dr. Binayak Sen

More articles in Bangladesh Development Studies from Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) E-17, Agargaon, Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka 1207. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Meftaur Rahman, Cheif Publication Officer, BIDS ().