S Asia's growth fails to address inequality

South Asian nations, including Bangladesh, have achieved decades of steady economic growth yet failed to stem the widening gap between rich and poor, said Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Speaking at a seminar in Dhaka on Tuesday, he warned that inequality across the region has deepened despite repeated waves of policy reforms and rising prosperity.

Referring to Bangladesh's own experience, Professor Sobhan lamented that even after 17 years of reform efforts, no serious attempt has been made to address the structural roots of inequality.

"We have grown, we have reduced poverty, but we have also become a much more unequal society in every South Asian country," he said, arguing that policy frameworks continue to prioritise short-term welfare over long-term justice.

"Even in a country led by a professor like Dr Yunus, inequality remains largely unaddressed," Prof Sobhan added.

He was speaking at the launch of 'Apostles of Development: Six Economists and the World They Made', a new book by Yale University Professor David C. Engerman, which reflects on the intellectual legacies of South Asia's development thinkers.

The event, hosted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) at its conference room, became a platform for a broader critique of how governance failures and elite capture have undermined the region's social equity goals.

The book profiles six South Asian economists, including Prof Rehman Sobhan, who completed the Economics Tripos at Cambridge in the mid-1950s. It traces how their intellectual journeys helped shape development thinking across the region.

Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud, speaking as the chief guest, noted that Bangladesh has yet to establish a sustainable and accountable system of governance.

Even after more than half a century of independence, he said, the country has not developed a stable political framework that ensures genuine representation of the people.

"As a result, achieving only basic and limited objectives has now become the main goal in the current context," he said.

Dr Mahmud emphasised the importance of an independent judiciary, a strong parliament, and robust national institutions to uphold good governance. Without a meaningful and accountable democracy, he warned, Bangladesh's development cannot be sustainable.

He added that balancing political and economic power is essential to ensure justice in society.

While Bangladesh cannot move away from a market-based economy, the state must play a role in ensuring fairness and social equity, he stressed.

At the event, David C. Engerman highlighted the contributions of the economists featured in his book, describing Professor Rehman Sobhan as "a profound thinker on structural inequality."

He noted that Sobhan played a pivotal role in Bangladesh's creation, was a freedom fighter, and remains a strong advocate for equity and social justice.

Other speakers included Dr Salim Rashid, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Dr MM Akash, former Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka.

Dr Binayak Sen, former Director General of BIDS, joined virtually, while Professor Dr A.K. Enamul Haque, BIDS Director General, moderated the session.

Speaking as a special guest, Professor Sobhan said that prevailing policy frameworks in Bangladesh and across South Asia continue to prioritise short-term welfare and growth incentives while ignoring the structural causes of inequality. He pointed to issues such as concentrated asset ownership, elite dominance over policymaking, and limited opportunities for marginalised groups, which have perpetuated injustice and social imbalance.

"We have grown, we have reduced poverty, but we have also become a much more unequal society in every South Asian country," he said.

This inequality, he warned, extends beyond economics-allowing financial elites to capture state institutions and eroding the foundations of democracy.

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