Poverty Dynamics Amidst Climate Change, Economic Instability and Political Unrest in Bangladesh

This paper traces how intersecting crises compound and shape poverty dynamics in Bangladesh. This includes consideration of how these crises keep people in poverty over extended periods of time (chronic poverty) and place those who have escaped poverty at risk of renewed impoverishment (transitory escapes), as well as how some poverty escapes are sustained in a time of intersecting, systemic, and compounding crises and rapid change. What can we learn from those who cope successfully with such crises and are able to move out of poverty and sustain their escape?

This mixed-methods study integrates quantitative analysis of the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) (2011–2019) (merged at the union level with georeferenced data on floods, droughts, and political violence) with qualitative data newly collected in late 2024. The qualitative component draws on life history interviews, gender-disaggregated and long term resident focus group discussions, and key informant interviews with informants selected through purposive sampling in rural and urban areas of the country to capture variation in exposure to crises and poverty trajectories.

Authors: Vidya Diwakar, Lucia da Corta, Syeda Salina Aziz, Taslima Akter, Raihan Ahamed, Rabeena Sultana Ananna, Marta Eichsteller

Women’s Agency Amid Shocks: A Gendered Analysis of Poverty Dynamics and the Implications for Social Protection in Bangladesh, Peru and the United Republic of Tanzania

The world has experienced multiple crises in recent years– the COVID-19 pandemic, food, fuel and financial crises, climate-related disasters and violent conflict. The need for universal, gender-responsive social protection systems is urgent in this context. This paper employs quantitative panel data and qualitative interviews to present an analysis of gender, poverty dynamics and social protection in three countries spanning different geographies– rural Bangladesh, Peru and the United Republic of Tanzania – amidst shocks and crises. It also examines the implications of these results for social protection system design and implementation.

Results highlight high rates of transient poverty in all three countries, reflecting underlying vulnerability of households and crises-driven downward income mobility. In the face of shocks, women’s resources (e.g., education levels and ownership of phones or financial accounts) and agency within and outside of the household (e.g., right to sell land, comfort in speaking up on public needs) are a critical means of support household resilience. However, adverse financial inclusion and other barriers constrain these efforts. Moreover, low social protection coverage has limited the ability of households and women within them to draw on social protection entitlements to maintain resilience during shocks. Though there was a surge in social protection responses during COVID-19, results suggest that this remained largely inadequate in guarding women’s resilience during the pandemic. Based on the study findings, we derive implications for policymakers and practitioners regarding the gender-responsive design and implementation of social protection during shocks, stressors and crises.

Author: Vidya Diwakar, Deputy Director, Chronic Poverty Advisory Network; Research Fellow, IDS

Read the full paper here

Read the related UN Women blog ‘Gender and poverty amid crisis: What matters for resilience?’ here

Delegating Authority in Bangladesh to Manage the Covid-19 Pandemic

Bangladesh, like most countries, grappled with the harsh conditions of Covid-19, with little infrastructure and set up of institutions to deal with the consequences of the pandemic.

A country with a large informal economy, and an even larger export manufacturing sector it is highly dependent on, the Bangladesh government had tough decisions to make when it came to saving and protecting the lives of millions, as well as ensuring continued economic activity to save livelihoods.

To strike a balance between protecting both these important factors, the central government adopted a unique approach of mobilising and enabling the local government to implement a lot of measures. Their approach was area centric, in that the local government recognised the needs of their districts, and that looked different for different areas of the country, whether rural or urban, agricultural or industrial focused.

This policy brief outlines some of the local measures and responses that worked in minimising the impact of Covid-19 on the dense Bangladeshi population.

Download the policy brief