Reaping Demographic Dividend in Bangladesh: Challenges and Prospects
Demographic change in Bangladesh is opening up new economic opportunities. As in many countries, declining infant and child mortality helped to spark lower fertility, effectively resulting in a temporary baby boom. As this cohort moves into working ages, Bangladesh finds itself with a potentially higher share of workers as compared with dependents. If working-age people can be productively employed, Bangladesh’s economic growth stands to accelerate. Theoretical and empirical literature on the effect of demographics on labor supply, savings, and economic growth underpin this effort to understand and forecast economic growth in Bangladesh. Policy choices can potentiate Bangladesh’s realization of economic benefits stemming from demographic change. Failure to take advantage of the opportunities inherent in demographic change can lead to economic stagnation.
