A welfare economist

In the mixed economy there is coexistence of public and private sectors. The economy of Bangladesh is a major developing mixed economy. In South-Asia, it is the second-largest economy and 35th largest in the world in nominal terms, and 25th largest in by purchasing power parity terms (PPP).

It has been transitioning from being a frontier market into an emerging market and therefore it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. As far as growth and development prospects of Bangladesh economy are concerned, we cannot neglect the outstanding role of Mohammad Yunus.

Alfred Marshal rightly argues that money is not be all and end all of life. Wealth is a means not an end because end being material welfare of mankind. It is not wrong to label Yunus as a welfare economist who advocates "social businesses" solving economic and social problems rather than simply creating wealth.

According to him, whatever profit is generated out of wealth creation, it must be reinvested or ploughed back to create more value. The microfinance lender, Grameen Bank he founded, was basically rooted in this notion thereby helping to boost economic growth and alleviate poverty in Bangladesh.

He rightly deserve tags such as economist, banker, entrepreneur, politician and civil society leader. In 2006, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering microcredit and microfinance notions. Microcredit is a form of microloan to needy borrowers who naturally lack supportive credit history or security balanced employment.

He was honoured for his efforts in the alleviation of poverty and the poor women empowerment through Grameen Bank. He believes that poverty is a "threat"  causing socio-economic problems ranging from trafficking to terrorism.

Through microcredit institution, he was successful in blending capitalism with socialism or social responsibility and reducing the threat of poverty to a certain extent. His microcredit or microfinance theory is role model for many economies of the world. Many countries seek his special economic advice on important macroeconomic issues so as to bring macroeconomic stability.

His high intellectual capacity bore highest fruits when he was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee to neighbouring India. Since 8 August 2024 Muhammad Yunus has been serving as the Chief Advisor of the Bangladesh interim government.

Democracy is government of the people, for the people, and by the people. Real democratic setup has the capacity to raise both standard of living and quality of life of the masses. It can have dual effect: on one hand, it can bring good governance and on another hand, it can develop good political economy. Moreover, it can develop community leadership of which self-help groups are best example.

In 1984, Mohammad Yunus received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership for his pioneering efforts in enabling rural men and women to become economically self-sufficient through sound group-managed credit. His groundbreaking work inspired similar research projects in Indonesia , Philippines, and Pakistan, with their founders also receiving this prestigious Award. As a result, we find more and more development of self-help groups across globe. It helped in the mobilization of savings and improved livelihood security of the masses.

As a chief economic advisor and head of Bangladesh interim government, his policy and statistical functions must be upto the mark. He must offer best economic policy inputs on industrial, infrastructure, and economic development.

He is supposed to give best economic advices pertaining to Industrial Policy formulation, Foreign Trade Policy with respect to manufacturing sector in general. Here special emphasis is made on industrial  or manufacturing issues relating to bilateral and multilateral trade. Also, Industrial taxes and duties related issues need focus. As an economic expert, he must critically examine multilateral and bilateral issues and processing Policy Notes with better economic implications and anticipated outcomes.

Unemployment is the biggest threat nowadays and there is a trade-off between inflation and unemployment. To have a check on inflation and unemployment at the same time, it is important to develop better price indices. Accordingly, he must properly compile and release monthly Wholesale Price Indices and monthly Index of Core and Industries Production.

Equally important are Monthly as well as Annual Statistical compilation of important macroecomic indicators. All such efforts will bring good interface between fiscal and monetary policy in the first place and macroecomic stability in the second place.

Dr. Binish Qadri, Former, Assistant Professor, Cluster University , Srinagar