UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

South Asia
Revamping industry
Although Bangladesh’s economy is based predominantly on
agriculture (16% of GDP in 2013), industry contributes more
to the economy (28% of GDP), largely through manufacturing
(Figure 21.10). The National Industrial Policy (2010) sets out to
develop labour-intensive industries. By 2021, the proportion
of workers employed in industry is expected to double to 25%.
The policy identifies 32 sectors with high-growth potential.
These include established export industries such as the readymade
garment sector, emerging export industries such as
pharmaceutical products and SMEs.
The National Industrial Policy also recommends establishing
additional economic zones, industrial and high-tech parks
and private export processing zones to drive rapid industrial
development. Between 2010 and 2013, industrial output already
grew from 7.6% to 9.0%. Exports remain largely dependent
on the ready-made garment sector, which contributed 68%
of all exports in 2011–2012, but other emerging sectors are
growing, including shipbuilding and the life sciences. This
industrialization policy is in line with the current Sixth Five-year
Plan (2011–2015), which sees industrialization as a means of
reducing poverty and accelerating economic growth.
Three months after the Rana Plaza tragedy in April 2013, in
which more than 1 100 mainly female workers in the garment
industry perished when a multi-storey factory collapsed, the
International Labour Organization, European Commission
and the Governments of Bangladesh and the USA signed the
Sustainability Compact agreement. This agreement set out
to improve labour, health and safety conditions for workers
and to encourage responsible behaviour by businesses in the
Bangladeshi ready-made garment industry.
The government has since amended the Labour Act. The
amendments include the adoption of a national occupational
safety and health policy and standards for safety inspections
and the strengthening of laws in support of freedom of
association, collective bargaining and occupational safety and
health. Safety inspections have been performed in exportoriented
garment factories and public factory inspection
services have been given more resources. The findings of their
ongoing inspections are being made public. For its part, the
private sector has put in place an Accord on Factory and Building
Safety in Bangladesh and an Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety
to facilitate factory inspections and improve working conditions.
Poor infrastructure a deterrent for investors
According to the World Investment Report 2014, Bangladesh was
one of the top five host countries for FDI in South Asia in 2012
and 2013. FDI net inflows nearly doubled from US$ 861 million
in 2010 to US$1 501 million in 2013. Although FDI outflows were
low, they did increase from US$ 98 million in US$ 130 million
over the same period.
However, UNCTAD’s Investment Policy Review of Bangladesh
(2013) observed that, when FDI inflows were analysed relative
to population and as a share of GDP, they were consistently
lower in Bangladesh than in some more populous countries
such as India and China. The FDI stock of Bangladesh was even
lower in 2012 than that of smaller countries such as Cambodia
and Uganda. The Investment Policy Review found that FDI
was instrumental in mobile telephony, substantial in power
generation and catalytic but not predominant in garments. The
study also found that the poor quality of infrastructure was a
major deterrent for potential investors. It suggested that better
infrastructure and an improved regulatory framework would
foster sustainable investment through FDI.
BHUTAN
Happiness in times of social change
The Kingdom of Bhutan’s approach to all
aspects of national development is guided by its focus
on the overarching concept of gross national happiness.
This concept is encapsulated in Bhutan 2020: A Vision for
Peace, Prosperity and Happiness, the country’s development
blueprint since 1999. Bhutan 2020 identifies five principal
development objectives: human development; culture and
heritage; balanced and equitable development; governance;
and environmental conservation.
The Bhutanese have the third-highest level of income in
South Asia after the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Per-capita GDP
rose steadily between 2010 and 2013 (Figure 21.1). Over the
past decade, the traditional, mainly agricultural economy has
become more industrialized (Figure 21.10). As the contribution
from other sectors has risen, the role of agriculture has
declined.
Traditionally, Bhutanese women have held a relatively elevated
position in society; they tend to have greater property rights
than elsewhere in South Asia, with women rather than men
inheriting property in some areas. Industrial development over
the past decade appears to have had a negative impact on the
traditional place of women in society and their participation
in the labour force. The employment gap had been narrowing
since 2010 but started widening again in 2013, by which time
72% of men were in gainful employment, compared to 59% of
women, according to the National Labour Force Survey Report
(2013). The unemployment rate nevertheless remains low, at
just 2.1% of the population in 2012.
A focus on the green economy and IT
Bhutan’s private sector has thus far played a limited role in the
economy. The government plans to change this by improving
the investment climate through policy and institutional
reform and by developing the IT sector, in particular. In 2010,
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