The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The country's economic development is not progressing with the speed needed to implement the annual development programme by June 2008. Economic development of the country refers to the utilisation of the available resources to increase the national income and the per capita productivity.

Williams and Batricks said, "Economic development refers to a process whereby the people of the country or region come to utlise the resources available and to bring about sustained and increase in per capita production of goods and services." According to Meir and Baldwin, "Economic development is a process whereby an economy's real national income increases over a long period of time."

Most of the economists are of the view that the increase in the national income and per capita productivity is the criterion of the economic development of a country. From that point, Bangladesh has achieved a remarkable economic successes during the period 2001-2006 despite spread of corruptions at all the levels of the state machineries.

But it cannot be said that a country has economically progressed if the costs of living are higher than the real income, if the producers are deprived of their due shares in the sale price and if the country's wealth is accumulated into the hands of the few.

If the government of a country becomes successful in raising the standard of life and reduces the poverty rate and works towards ensuring food, clothing, shelter, education and medicine for every man and woman living within a given territory, then it could be said there has been real economic development.

The present economic situations of Bangladesh should be judged from the aforesaid points and then it will be easy for one to arrive at a conclusion. At present, prices of some of the essentials are too high and it is necessary for the caretaker government to bring down the price at tolerable level.