Questionable BBS GDP Statistics

[Black_cats]

Laughing like a clown doesn’t make anyone intelligent. Here someone talking about Real GDP growth but referencing Nominal GDP without even counting the inflation part and trying to be funny like a joker.

Due to the inflation part added minor adjustment with Real gdp doesn’t have any major impact on Nominal / Compound GDP.

It is not possible for any country to falsify Real GDP for long time without having major impact on the economy.

The entire thread is devoid of merit and opened based on speculation and violated forum rule on number of occassion.

@WebMaster can you please close the thread or merge it with existing thread on same topic where same OP also contributed.

GDP Growth has now become a political number: the CPD

GDP Growth has now become a political number: the CPD Aug 16, 2020 The Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a private research institute, thinks that the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) has now become a political 'sensitive' number to show the success of the government. Demanding the...

defence.pk

 

[bluesky]

Like the distorted 3 million killed in the Liberation War, the BBS (read GoB) is also inflating the GDP figures continuously. Now, when the same GDP figures are causing BD to lose its status as an LDC and with all its privileges gone with the developed countries, the govt is begging them not to withdraw these for the next few years. Come 2026, the GoB will again beg them to do the same.

BAL has caused the country's culture to become diluted with false propaganda and, look good one. The result is we will keep on begging the developed countries' continuous mercy.

Someone here should re-study the definition of GDP in connection with inflation. Since when inflation is part of GDP figures? Rather, it is deducted from the gross figure.

 

[SpaceMan18]

Like the distorted 3 million killed in the Liberation War, the BBS (read GoB) is also inflating the GDP figures continuously. Now, when the same GDP figures are causing BD to lose its status as an LDC and with all its privileges gone with the developed countries, the govt is begging them not to withdraw these for the next few years. Come 2026, the GoB will again beg them to do the same.

BAL has caused the country's culture to become diluted with false propaganda and, look good one. The result is we will keep on begging the developed countries' continuous mercy.

Someone here should re-study the definition of GDP in connection with inflation. Since when inflation is part of GDP figures? Rather, it is deducted from the gross figure.

I mean AL doesn't really give a $hit about Bangladesh anyways lol , the economy is developing idk if it's developing fast though. Either way the chances of Bangladesh becoming upper middle income country or developed country is a 50/50 chance.

Bangladesh may have " political stability " but it's a police state like China just with less cameras. There is no freedom of speech and the police is also corrupt. Corruption is everywhere in Bangladesh and our education is decent quality and no one cares about learning anymore just grades.

The economy is diversifying but again we need better talented students to work in these factories , and of course we can't get talented students if the education system is poor.


Bangladesh yet can't even make it's own infrastructure which is sad , a flyover is seen as a mega project which tells a lot.

 

[VikingRaider]

This is Toyota car price, just converted into USD to see the comparison with BD. PS: Juta means Million

Fortuner for example is around 35.000 USD-49.500 USD

View attachment 702276

More list in here

Toyota Indonesia - Daftar Harga Mobil Toyota Terbaru | Oto

Lihat daftar harga mobil Toyota terbaru, promo April 2024, baca review redaksi, dealer. Dapatkan harga kredit Toyota terbaik hanya di oto.com

www.oto.com

But most Indonesia dont buy car in cash, but through credit.

This is the car import duty in Bangladesh.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2019/09/21/reconditioned-car-imports-take-a-nosedive-industry-people-cite-high-tariff-rising-trend-of-ridesharing-as-major-factors#:~:text=According to the NBR, importing,trade VAT on tariff value.


Perhaps our govt has a fixed mind setting and that is ,only who earn money by taking bribe or by looting people are allowed to buy an SUV!

However the decision was made by previous govt as far I can remember.

late Saifur Rahman ( finance minister) was the master mind ,if I can remember correctly!

On the other hand blood sucker MPs can buy duty free cars as VIP person .

 

[Indos]

I mean AL doesn't really give a $hit about Bangladesh anyways lol , the economy is developing idk if it's developing fast though. Either way the chances of Bangladesh becoming upper middle income country or developed country is a 50/50 chance.

Bangladesh may have " political stability " but it's a police state like China just with less cameras. There is no freedom of speech and the police is also corrupt. Corruption is everywhere in Bangladesh and our education is decent quality and no one cares about learning anymore just grades.

The economy is diversifying but again we need better talented students to work in these factories , and of course we can't get talented students if the education system is poor.


Bangladesh yet can't even make it's own infrastructure which is sad , a flyover is seen as a mega project which tells a lot.

This data shows decline performance on Bangladesh Small and Medium size businesses. I think this data shows that Bangladesh economy is falling during 2020, some thing that is actually happening almost on all nations. Have the offcial growth rate number been published yet ?

Among the changes reported in business environment during the period February to April 2020, Pakistan was the best performer in the region (in terms of percentage) with only 36.44% of respondents reporting a significant decline in domestic demand.

In comparison, 72.29% of enterprises in Bangladesh, 50% in India, 42.52% in Indonesia and 63.5% in Malaysia reported a significant drop in domestic demand.

Pakistan ranks 3rd in govt support for SMEs | The Express Tribune

Pakistan ranks third in terms of support provided by the government to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, revealed the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) on Tuesday.

tribune.com.pk

The data is collected by Asian Development Bank Institute which is quite credible

 

[Destranator]

This data shows decline performance on Bangladesh Small and Medium size businesses. I think this data shows that Bangladesh economy is falling during 2020, some thing that is actually happening almost on all nations. Have the offcial growth rate number been published yet ?

Among the changes reported in business environment during the period February to April 2020, Pakistan was the best performer in the region (in terms of percentage) with only 36.44% of respondents reporting a significant decline in domestic demand.

In comparison, 72.29% of enterprises in Bangladesh, 50% in India, 42.52% in Indonesia and 63.5% in Malaysia reported a significant drop in domestic demand.

Pakistan ranks 3rd in govt support for SMEs | The Express Tribune

Pakistan ranks third in terms of support provided by the government to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, revealed the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) on Tuesday.

tribune.com.pk

The data is collected by Asian Development Bank Institute which is quite credible

The SMEs need to get their act together and stop letting BBS down.

 

[Destranator]

Mr. Finance Minister, balance the sum please
By Mainul Islam
August 28, 2020 at 7:58 AM

There's a heated debate on the GDP growth rate that the government declared for the 2019-20 fiscal. Quoting the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the government recently declared 5.24 per cent GDP growth in FY2019-20. Experts rather vociferously said this unbelievable rate of GDP was ‘manufactured’ in order to show the economic fallout of novel coronavirus pandemic was less due to the unprecedented disaster in the last five and half months from 17 March.
Also Read: So what is the mystery of Bangladesh's success?
The experts considered the GDP growth a tall tale, especially because of the 'magic' in the first eight and half months of the fiscal year that apparently upturned all the negative effects on an economy that had almost come to a halt in the last three and half months. There is another reason for this disbelief: the finance minister had allegedly inflated the growth rates when he was planning minister. BBS works under the planning ministry.
The five components of GDP are, consumption, investment, government spending, exports and imports. All these components were hit hard in the last three and half months of 2019-20 fiscal, statistics provided by the government said. The existence of most of the large, small and medium productive establishments of the country was at stake because of the slump in macro-level consumption in that time. The purchasing power of 90 per cent of the people shrunk and thousands lost their jobs. Almost 40 per cent of the people in the country are below poverty line now.
Also Read: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics lags behind in stats
It is the government that said private investment has declined to 12 per cent of the total GDP in 2019-20 from 24 per cent in the previous fiscal year. The government has also acknowledged that revenue earnings were were Tk 840 billion less than the estimated sum in the 2019-20 budget. The Annual Development Programme (ADP) expenditure of that fiscal year was 80 per cent of the revised ADP, which is generally around 90-95 per cent, the government admitted.
Also Read: Doubt over GDP growth not illogical
The government further said export revenue in that fiscal was 25 per cent less than target. The amount was $6.86 billion less than the previous year. The import expenditure also declined but a lot less than the export earnings. Then by what magic did all these sector-wise disasters not affect the GDP growth? Mr. Finance Minister, will balance the sum please?
Also Read: How true are the statements of the minister and the adviser?
The think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), in an online press conference, claimed that according to their calculations, the GDP growth rate of Bangladesh in 2019-20 fiscal was 2.5 per cent. According to them, the government’s declaration of GDP growth rate as 5.24 per cent has turned it into a ‘political number’, which was unwarranted.
Also Read: CPD uses us as raw material: Finance minister
Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal termed CPD’s GDP calculation as a ‘presumption’ and questioned how CPD came up with their alternative GDP rate. He said CPD uses BBS statistics as ‘raw material’. It does not have any separate process of collecting data. Then, he asked, how did they reach that conclusion?
It would benefit the nation if CPD responded to the finance minister's challenge and clarified their alternative statistics in detail. I strongly believe, CPD would be able to prove that the 5.24 per cent GDP growth rate was the result of ‘data doctoring’ at the behest of the government, if it presents an analysis of BBS' sector-wise statistics. Bangladesh is highly praised around the world for its GDP growth. That is why politically motivated data doctoring of GDP growth rates should be considered unnecessary and counter-productive.
Also Read: BBS data don’t reflect reality: CPD
GDP growth of all the countries has declined due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many countries have even experienced negative growth rates. Would it be believable that only Bangladesh was not affected badly by this pandemic?
As it is, the World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund) indirectly accuses all governments of Bangladesh of data doctoring. For long, World Bank, IMF and many other UN organisations do not consider the government-announced GDP growth as reliable. It is general knowledge that local and foreign institutions think other ‘vital statistics’ the BBS publishes are also increased and decreased at will. This doubt is not without basis. There are several instances of such manipulations:
Also Read: GDP decided first, calculations done later
1. The government shows the total population of Bangladesh as less than actual. As a result, the population growth rate has been decreased to 1.3 per cent. According to UNFPA, the rate is 1.42 per cent.
2. The per capita GDP could be increased artificially if the total nominal GDP is deducted by the ‘smaller number of population’. Recently, the government has claimed that per capita income of Bangladesh has risen from $1909 to $2064 on 30 June 2020.
3. The rate of inflation is shown less so that the real per capita GDP could be increased while calculating real GDP from the nominal GDP.
4. The government inflates the literacy rate, which the UNDP does not think credible enough for the Human Development Index.
Also Read: Bangladesh per capita income crosses $2,000
Politics has made such practice deep-rooted among almost all the countries of the third world. During the ‘Decade of Progress’ of the autocrat Ayub Khan in Pakistan times, the rate of GDP growth of erstwhile East Pakistan used to be shown as 4-5 per cent every year. Could that hide the truth that East Pakistan was deprived like a colonial state? There is a saying in English: 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.'
Also Read: WB forecasts 1.6pc growth for Bangladesh
This suggests the problem of data doctoring is a very old and an oft-practiced habit. This ‘political data doctoring’ is the greatest hindrance to developing a reliable government statistics organisation in the third world countries.
Also Read: Pollution, death and GDP, everything increases
Since the Second World War, developing and least developed countries got a huge amount of loans or grants from the United Nations, World Bank and other donor agencies for capacity building. But the money was wasted in the name of modernising the statistics system of the countries just because they aimed at the political gains of their governments.
Also Read: Bangladesh's GDP growth to decrease to 2pc: IMF
There is no doubt that the institutional capacity of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics has increased a lot in the last 49 years, thanks to foreign loans and aid. But BBS will never develop into a reliable statistics institution if this practice of data doctoring is not scrapped. Do our rulers realise this?
* Mainul Islam is an economist and former professor of economics at the University of Chittagong. This piece, originally published in the print edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Shameem Reza

Mr. Finance Minister, balance the sum please

The experts considered the GDP growth a tall tale, especially because of the 'magic' in the first eight and half months of the fiscal year that apparently upturned all the negative effects on an economy that had almost come to a halt in the last three and half months.

en.prothomalo.com

 

[Destranator]

The puzzle of hiding data


Syed Basher
On a recent visit to Bangladesh, noted economist Nurul Islam voiced his concerns about the quality of the national statistics (data) of Bangladesh. Like the quality of some basic food items in Bangladesh, our data quality, too, is questionable. I would like to add another dimension to this subject: lack of access to public data, which shows the shortsightedness of our data providers, who are also depriving Bangladesh of the benefits of rigorous scientific research.
Let me give an example to illustrate the point. Suppose you want to conduct scientific research on the inflation dynamics in Bangladesh. Since the inflation data is published by the Bureau of Bangladesh Statistics (BBS), you visit its website and immediately discover that you can only get 3-4 years of data. Often this data is not provided in a spreadsheet, so you will have to collect it on your own and create your own spreadsheet. Any researcher would know that one cannot do much with only 3-4 years of data, even though inflation data is available at a monthly frequency.

​

Of course, you can visit the BBS office to manually collect data from past years from various published reports, assuming that you would find the reports in a single place sorted in ascending yearly order. I am also assuming that you will not have to visit the BBS office multiple times to get your desired data, amid the crazy traffic of Dhaka.
If the prospect of a physical journey seems daunting to you, I have an easy solution for you! You can collect the inflation data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) database, which provides monthly consumer price index and inflation data for Bangladesh from 1993 to the present. Although the IMF data is usually available through a subscription, it is freely available for selected developing countries including Bangladesh. But the irony is, the IMF takes the data from BBS, who has the sole proprietorship of this data. Why can't the BBS make the data available on its website then? This is certainly not confidential; otherwise we would not be able to get them on the IMF website anyway.
This reveals a peculiar mentality of our national data providers. Why can't they share the data with Bangladeshis who have a rightful claim on it, when they can share the same with institutions such as the IMF? The problem is not limited to the BBS only. One faces a similar challenge in getting monetary data, for example, from the Bangladesh Bank (BB). Although in many ways, the accessibility and availability of macroeconomic data from Bangladesh Bank are relatively better than the BBS, it too falls short of expectations. The bottom-line is: the websites of public institutions in Bangladesh do not have long-term data archiving options to help researchers looking for macroeconomic statistics.
But this data is often available on the websites of the IMF or the World Bank. The World Bank deserves praise for making its flagship database, the World Development Indicator, open to everyone. Our national data providers (BBS, BB) routinely supply macroeconomic data to these donor agencies but when it comes to sharing the same data with the public, they seem to have a problem. This, in my view, exposes the colonial mentality of the leadership of our public institutions.
Let's look at the benefits of making data open to the public. Suppose a doctoral student at a US university is writing her dissertation on an economic issue of Bangladesh, and if the required data is available on a BBS website, she can conveniently access it. The net result is that Bangladesh can benefit from new scientific research financed by the US taxpayers' money. Now multiply this gain by any number you like, because uncountable researchers from all corners of the world can now exploit this newly available data for their research purpose. All these benefits come at a low cost, thanks to the digital revolution.
Let me share a personal anecdote here. When I was working as a research economist at Qatar Central Bank, on many occasions, I asked my Arab audience to think why the Bank of Israel makes all their data available online for free, when information is highly guarded in Israel. Of course, the management of the bank is aware of the enormous benefits of open data, while its Arab counterparts still treat national data as a state secret. Although, one may be surprised to know that among the twenty-plus Arab countries, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the central bank of Saudi Arabia, offers an impressive annual database on the Saudi Arabian economy. Even more surprisingly, the flashy United Arab Emirates scores poorly in this regard.
Various government agencies in Bangladesh collect and maintain a lot of data. But these offices do not see the benefits in making it open to the world. In this connection, I think the data providers should be more sympathetic to the students who often face a difficult situation in obtaining the information they need. The citizens are the real owners of the national data, so more attention should be paid to improve data accessibility. Bangladesh cannot always afford to hire world-class researchers, but it can at least act wisely to make the data open to the public and enjoy the benefits of free scholarly research. All it needs is a change of mindset.
Syed Basher is an associate professor of economics at East West University. His work can be viewed at www.syedbasher.org.

The puzzle of hiding data

Suppose a doctoral student at a US university is writing her dissertation on an economic issue of Bangladesh, and if the required data is available on a BBS website, she can conveniently access it. The net result is that Bangladesh can benefit from new scientific research financed by the US...

www.thedailystar.net

 

[Bilal9]

The SMEs need to get their act together and stop letting BBS down.

Lot of folks did not get your joke.

The puzzle of hiding data


Syed Basher
On a recent visit to Bangladesh, noted economist Nurul Islam voiced his concerns about the quality of the national statistics (data) of Bangladesh. Like the quality of some basic food items in Bangladesh, our data quality, too, is questionable. I would like to add another dimension to this subject: lack of access to public data, which shows the shortsightedness of our data providers, who are also depriving Bangladesh of the benefits of rigorous scientific research.
Let me give an example to illustrate the point. Suppose you want to conduct scientific research on the inflation dynamics in Bangladesh. Since the inflation data is published by the Bureau of Bangladesh Statistics (BBS), you visit its website and immediately discover that you can only get 3-4 years of data. Often this data is not provided in a spreadsheet, so you will have to collect it on your own and create your own spreadsheet. Any researcher would know that one cannot do much with only 3-4 years of data, even though inflation data is available at a monthly frequency.

​

Of course, you can visit the BBS office to manually collect data from past years from various published reports, assuming that you would find the reports in a single place sorted in ascending yearly order. I am also assuming that you will not have to visit the BBS office multiple times to get your desired data, amid the crazy traffic of Dhaka.
If the prospect of a physical journey seems daunting to you, I have an easy solution for you! You can collect the inflation data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) database, which provides monthly consumer price index and inflation data for Bangladesh from 1993 to the present. Although the IMF data is usually available through a subscription, it is freely available for selected developing countries including Bangladesh. But the irony is, the IMF takes the data from BBS, who has the sole proprietorship of this data. Why can't the BBS make the data available on its website then? This is certainly not confidential; otherwise we would not be able to get them on the IMF website anyway.
This reveals a peculiar mentality of our national data providers. Why can't they share the data with Bangladeshis who have a rightful claim on it, when they can share the same with institutions such as the IMF? The problem is not limited to the BBS only. One faces a similar challenge in getting monetary data, for example, from the Bangladesh Bank (BB). Although in many ways, the accessibility and availability of macroeconomic data from Bangladesh Bank are relatively better than the BBS, it too falls short of expectations. The bottom-line is: the websites of public institutions in Bangladesh do not have long-term data archiving options to help researchers looking for macroeconomic statistics.
But this data is often available on the websites of the IMF or the World Bank. The World Bank deserves praise for making its flagship database, the World Development Indicator, open to everyone. Our national data providers (BBS, BB) routinely supply macroeconomic data to these donor agencies but when it comes to sharing the same data with the public, they seem to have a problem. This, in my view, exposes the colonial mentality of the leadership of our public institutions.
Let's look at the benefits of making data open to the public. Suppose a doctoral student at a US university is writing her dissertation on an economic issue of Bangladesh, and if the required data is available on a BBS website, she can conveniently access it. The net result is that Bangladesh can benefit from new scientific research financed by the US taxpayers' money. Now multiply this gain by any number you like, because uncountable researchers from all corners of the world can now exploit this newly available data for their research purpose. All these benefits come at a low cost, thanks to the digital revolution.
Let me share a personal anecdote here. When I was working as a research economist at Qatar Central Bank, on many occasions, I asked my Arab audience to think why the Bank of Israel makes all their data available online for free, when information is highly guarded in Israel. Of course, the management of the bank is aware of the enormous benefits of open data, while its Arab counterparts still treat national data as a state secret. Although, one may be surprised to know that among the twenty-plus Arab countries, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the central bank of Saudi Arabia, offers an impressive annual database on the Saudi Arabian economy. Even more surprisingly, the flashy United Arab Emirates scores poorly in this regard.
Various government agencies in Bangladesh collect and maintain a lot of data. But these offices do not see the benefits in making it open to the world. In this connection, I think the data providers should be more sympathetic to the students who often face a difficult situation in obtaining the information they need. The citizens are the real owners of the national data, so more attention should be paid to improve data accessibility. Bangladesh cannot always afford to hire world-class researchers, but it can at least act wisely to make the data open to the public and enjoy the benefits of free scholarly research. All it needs is a change of mindset.
Syed Basher is an associate professor of economics at East West University. His work can be viewed at www.syedbasher.org.

The puzzle of hiding data

Suppose a doctoral student at a US university is writing her dissertation on an economic issue of Bangladesh, and if the required data is available on a BBS website, she can conveniently access it. The net result is that Bangladesh can benefit from new scientific research financed by the US...

www.thedailystar.net

I have a suspicion that the hiding of data by BBS comes more from incompetence than an actual desire to hide anything. You are giving them too much credit - they aren't that advanced or smart as an organization. Individuals maybe - but not the whole organization generally.

 

[Destranator]

BBS fails to produce data in time
DG says bureau not independent
Shakhawat Hossain | Published: 00:20, Jun 19,2021


The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics is facing growing criticisms for its failure to produce data timely.
The bureau has yet to compile data on lactating mothers even after the World Bank in July 2020 had withdrawn around $50 million in loans for giving cash benefits to pregnant women and mothers with children below the age of five because of the bureau’s failure to prepare the data in time.
BBS director general Mohammad Tajul Islam blamed the Covid pandemic for the delay.
He told New Age on Sunday said that they were expecting to finalise the data in August.
Former World Bank Dhaka office lead economist Zahid Hussain criticised the BBS for a one-year delay in finalising the provisional data on GDP growth for the Covid-affected financial year 2019-20.
The bureau estimated 5.2 per cent GDP growth for the year in its provisional data.
The bureau has also delayed releasing the provisional GDP growth rate for the outgoing financial year 2020-21 although it has announced that the gross national income per capita has increased to $2,227 in the year from $2,064 in FY20.
Zahid Hussain exclaimed how the BBS could calculate the GNI per capita without calculating the GDP growth rate.
Planning minister MA Mannan on Wednesday said that he was yet to receive the date on the provisional GDP growth for the outgoing fiscal year and the final calculation of the GDP growth for FY20 from the Statistics and Informatics Division, which oversees BBS activities.
BBS director general Tajul Islam said that they had already submitted the data on the GDP growth for the outgoing fiscal year to the Statistics and Informatics Division.
He said that the bureau had long been following the modus operandi of getting approval for preparing and releasing data since it was not an independent entity.
Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, who projected 6.1 per cent GDP growth for the outgoing fiscal year in his budget speech in the parliament on June 3, said that delay in finalising the GDP growth data was not unusual in a crisis like Covid pandemic.
While answering a question after a meeting of the cabinet committee on government purchases on Wednesday, he told reporters that the BBS could take more time if necessary.
Mustafa Kamal served as planning minister between January 2014 and December 2018.
The BBS has also drawn flakes from economists for not having any data on people who have become poor due to Covid-induced economic shocks.
Centre for Policy Dialogue distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman said that it was unfortunate that the BBS had no data on new poor during the pandemic.
In the absence of any government data, no specific allocation was made for the welfare of such people in the proposed budget for FY21.
Private think-tank Power and Participation Research Centre has estimated that some 2.4 crore people of Bangladesh turned new poor in 2020.
The WB in its update on Bangladesh in April said that the upper level poverty in the country had reached 30 per cent of the population due to the pandemic.
On June 8, Statistics and Informatics Division secretary Mohammad Yamin Chowdhury said that one more year would be require for knowing the number of new poor.
Mustafizur Rahman noted that the failure of the BBS to produce data timely had made many of its statistics redundant.
Economists said that the Covid pandemic had proved the necessity of reliable and timely data for successfully tackling a crisis.
They also said that the necessity of data would grow further in coming days as the government had set a target of turning the country to a developed one by 2041.
They suggested that the BBS should be made independent to meet the growing need of reliable and timely data.
BBS officials said that they always needed approval from the Statistics and Informatics Division under the planning ministry for calculating data and making them public.
They said that publication of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey had remained stopped since FY17 in the absence of approval from the division.
Planning minister MA Mannan also said that strengthening the BBS was quite necessary.
‘If it does not happen today, definitely it will happen tomorrow,’ he said.
He said that the government needed objective suggestions on the BBS.

BBS fails to produce data in time

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics is facing growing criticisms for its failure to produce data timely. The bureau has yet to compile data on lactating...

www.newagebd.net

 

[Bilal9]

BBS fails to produce data in time
DG says bureau not independent
Shakhawat Hossain | Published: 00:20, Jun 19,2021


The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics is facing growing criticisms for its failure to produce data timely.
The bureau has yet to compile data on lactating mothers even after the World Bank in July 2020 had withdrawn around $50 million in loans for giving cash benefits to pregnant women and mothers with children below the age of five because of the bureau’s failure to prepare the data in time.
BBS director general Mohammad Tajul Islam blamed the Covid pandemic for the delay.
He told New Age on Sunday said that they were expecting to finalise the data in August.
Former World Bank Dhaka office lead economist Zahid Hussain criticised the BBS for a one-year delay in finalising the provisional data on GDP growth for the Covid-affected financial year 2019-20.
The bureau estimated 5.2 per cent GDP growth for the year in its provisional data.
The bureau has also delayed releasing the provisional GDP growth rate for the outgoing financial year 2020-21 although it has announced that the gross national income per capita has increased to $2,227 in the year from $2,064 in FY20.
Zahid Hussain exclaimed how the BBS could calculate the GNI per capita without calculating the GDP growth rate.
Planning minister MA Mannan on Wednesday said that he was yet to receive the date on the provisional GDP growth for the outgoing fiscal year and the final calculation of the GDP growth for FY20 from the Statistics and Informatics Division, which oversees BBS activities.
BBS director general Tajul Islam said that they had already submitted the data on the GDP growth for the outgoing fiscal year to the Statistics and Informatics Division.
He said that the bureau had long been following the modus operandi of getting approval for preparing and releasing data since it was not an independent entity.
Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, who projected 6.1 per cent GDP growth for the outgoing fiscal year in his budget speech in the parliament on June 3, said that delay in finalising the GDP growth data was not unusual in a crisis like Covid pandemic.
While answering a question after a meeting of the cabinet committee on government purchases on Wednesday, he told reporters that the BBS could take more time if necessary.
Mustafa Kamal served as planning minister between January 2014 and December 2018.
The BBS has also drawn flakes from economists for not having any data on people who have become poor due to Covid-induced economic shocks.
Centre for Policy Dialogue distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman said that it was unfortunate that the BBS had no data on new poor during the pandemic.
In the absence of any government data, no specific allocation was made for the welfare of such people in the proposed budget for FY21.
Private think-tank Power and Participation Research Centre has estimated that some 2.4 crore people of Bangladesh turned new poor in 2020.
The WB in its update on Bangladesh in April said that the upper level poverty in the country had reached 30 per cent of the population due to the pandemic.
On June 8, Statistics and Informatics Division secretary Mohammad Yamin Chowdhury said that one more year would be require for knowing the number of new poor.
Mustafizur Rahman noted that the failure of the BBS to produce data timely had made many of its statistics redundant.
Economists said that the Covid pandemic had proved the necessity of reliable and timely data for successfully tackling a crisis.
They also said that the necessity of data would grow further in coming days as the government had set a target of turning the country to a developed one by 2041.
They suggested that the BBS should be made independent to meet the growing need of reliable and timely data.
BBS officials said that they always needed approval from the Statistics and Informatics Division under the planning ministry for calculating data and making them public.
They said that publication of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey had remained stopped since FY17 in the absence of approval from the division.
Planning minister MA Mannan also said that strengthening the BBS was quite necessary.
‘If it does not happen today, definitely it will happen tomorrow,’ he said.
He said that the government needed objective suggestions on the BBS.

BBS fails to produce data in time

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics is facing growing criticisms for its failure to produce data timely. The bureau has yet to compile data on lactating...

www.newagebd.net

I have always valued the independent opinion of Dr. Zahid Hussain Sir, his expertise and acumen on this is impeccable.

 

[Destranator]

Establishing an 'independent' statistical commission
FE Team | Published: June 12, 2021 22:04:50

Representational image

That the statistics being churned out by the relevant state entity in Bangladesh are not that much trusted by the private researchers is no secret. The relevant policymakers and the government high-ups have always preferred to ignore the growing scepticism about the government data. They have not, however, openly defended the quality of government data. But incumbent planning minister M.A. Mannan on Thursday last brought an end to a long-standing indifference to the issue at the policymakers' level. The minister publicly backed the formation of an independent statistical commission, saying that some countries have constituted the same.
Neighbouring India does have a national statistical commission, which is a statutory body. The commission that works as a 'modal and empowered' body for all statistical activities monitors and enforces statistical priorities. The basic statistical activities are done by the Indian Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), an establishment identical to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
When the country's planning minister, who is known to be a down-to-earth person, feels the necessity of forming an 'independent' statistical commission, the top policymakers of the government should have reasons to attach due importance to the issue. Local experts and private think tanks do often express their reservation about the quality of some key national statistics. Multilateral institutions having a notable stake in the development activities in Bangladesh also do not have a high opinion about the quality of BBS data. Scepticism has developed over BBS data since oftentimes those do not match the ground realities.
The non-availability of alternative sources of data remains a problem here. The collection of data from the field level is something both expensive and extensive. The government has a statistical office at each upazila. The field offices of various government departments and agencies, when asked, also provide the BBS with data/information. No private think-tank or research organisation can employ either human resources or funds to gather data from the field. They usually carry out random surveys or limited studies that could represent the situation prevailing on the ground.
However, it all depends on the sweet will of the government whether to accept or ignore the results of such surveys/ studies. The finance minister's refusal to accept the outcome of the recent surveys by several private research organisations on 'new poor' is a case in point.
Under the circumstances, it is important to ensure the quality of data used in preparing national plans and policies. The government might feel the temptation of manipulating data to its advantage. But such a practice undermines the national interest and contributes to deliberate overlooking of the actual needs of the people and the economy.
So, having an independent statistical commission to ensure the generation of quality data is of utmost importance. But getting a truly independent entity in Bangladesh is pretty difficult. The performance of many regulatory and constitutional institutions could be a guide to this effect. Hopefully, the top policymakers would attach due importance to the establishment of an independent statistical commission in the greater interest of the nation.

Establishing an 'independent' statistical commission

That the statistics being churned out by the relevant state entity in Bangladesh are not that much trusted by the private researchers is no secret. The relevant policymakers and the government high-ups have always preferred to ignore the growing scepticism about the government data. They have not,

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

 

[Bilal9]

Establishing an 'independent' statistical commission
FE Team | Published: June 12, 2021 22:04:50

Representational image

That the statistics being churned out by the relevant state entity in Bangladesh are not that much trusted by the private researchers is no secret. The relevant policymakers and the government high-ups have always preferred to ignore the growing scepticism about the government data. They have not, however, openly defended the quality of government data. But incumbent planning minister M.A. Mannan on Thursday last brought an end to a long-standing indifference to the issue at the policymakers' level. The minister publicly backed the formation of an independent statistical commission, saying that some countries have constituted the same.
Neighbouring India does have a national statistical commission, which is a statutory body. The commission that works as a 'modal and empowered' body for all statistical activities monitors and enforces statistical priorities. The basic statistical activities are done by the Indian Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), an establishment identical to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
When the country's planning minister, who is known to be a down-to-earth person, feels the necessity of forming an 'independent' statistical commission, the top policymakers of the government should have reasons to attach due importance to the issue. Local experts and private think tanks do often express their reservation about the quality of some key national statistics. Multilateral institutions having a notable stake in the development activities in Bangladesh also do not have a high opinion about the quality of BBS data. Scepticism has developed over BBS data since oftentimes those do not match the ground realities.
The non-availability of alternative sources of data remains a problem here. The collection of data from the field level is something both expensive and extensive. The government has a statistical office at each upazila. The field offices of various government departments and agencies, when asked, also provide the BBS with data/information. No private think-tank or research organisation can employ either human resources or funds to gather data from the field. They usually carry out random surveys or limited studies that could represent the situation prevailing on the ground.
However, it all depends on the sweet will of the government whether to accept or ignore the results of such surveys/ studies. The finance minister's refusal to accept the outcome of the recent surveys by several private research organisations on 'new poor' is a case in point.
Under the circumstances, it is important to ensure the quality of data used in preparing national plans and policies. The government might feel the temptation of manipulating data to its advantage. But such a practice undermines the national interest and contributes to deliberate overlooking of the actual needs of the people and the economy.
So, having an independent statistical commission to ensure the generation of quality data is of utmost importance. But getting a truly independent entity in Bangladesh is pretty difficult. The performance of many regulatory and constitutional institutions could be a guide to this effect. Hopefully, the top policymakers would attach due importance to the establishment of an independent statistical commission in the greater interest of the nation.

Establishing an 'independent' statistical commission

That the statistics being churned out by the relevant state entity in Bangladesh are not that much trusted by the private researchers is no secret. The relevant policymakers and the government high-ups have always preferred to ignore the growing scepticism about the government data. They have not,

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

This is a "pie-in-sky" sort of ask. Will never happen in Bangladesh because entire bureaucracy is politicized at the interest of every ruling party, and then those politicized bureaucrats will never displease their higher ups in the ruling party by reporting "unpalatable" economic numbers.

More likely these bureaucrats are (Thanks to nepotism) totally inept and will report whatever the ruling party (IT cell) asks them to report.

So even if they try to prop up an "independent statistical commission" it will be in name only, and not effective at all.

So as we say in Bangladesh, "Gorai Galat". The root of the tree is rotten.

 

[SpaceMan18]

This is a "pie-in-sky" sort of ask. Will never happen in Bangladesh because entire bureaucracy is politicized at the interest of every ruling party, and then those politicized bureaucrats will never displease their higher ups in the ruling party by reporting "unpalatable" economic numbers.

More likely these bureaucrats are (Thanks to nepotism) totally inept and will report whatever the ruling party (IT cell) asks them to report.

So even if they try to prop up an "independent statistical commission" it will be in name only, and not effective at all.

So as we say in Bangladesh, "Gorai Galat". The root of the tree is rotten.

Maybe the British were right , we are indeed shit lol

 

[Bilal9]

Maybe the British were right , we are indeed shit lol

I don't recall the British saying that. They made a heck of a lot of money from East Bengal in sourcing animal hide, spices, fruit, coconuts, countless other agri produce, Indigo and Textiles in the 1700's before they even laid eyes on permanently setting up shop in Kolkata area, which was the soft underbelly of India at that time. Weak people and more importantly slavish low-class chamchas in Kolkata area. Willing to scheme, sell out their own country for narrow gains which they did.

Read about Omi Chand here (he was a bigger traitor than Mir Zafar),

Omichund - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The ancestors of the Dhaka Nawabs got rich by trading animal hides and salt - before the British East India Company bestowed them the Dhaka 'Nawab' title and legitimized their rule.

Dhaka Nawabs later continued this business with the East India company after the Mughal Subahdars in Dhaka and their Murshidabad sponsors lost their influence and faded away.

You don't call your business partners names, British were too smart for that.

However - they did realize that we have neither strong leadership nor cohesive national unity like for example the Japanese (or even Omanis), and also realized that they could take advantage of it by exploiting these social fissures/fractures. And that was enough for them to Lord over us for two hundred years.

The Indians have also exploited us since 1952 (and in practice - 1971).

It is not the fault of Indians or British, it is ours, for being uneducated and choosing weak, bent knee leadership which allows this sort of thing.

If you advertise from the rooftop that you are weak and tell people you can be exploited, there will be plenty of opportunists and takers.