IN Bangladesh policies .iesigned to expand the ax allabiUtv ol basic social sei vices and Improve the quality of Hfe are Important cornerstones of the poverty reduction strategy One can mention at least two immediate concerns for thia First, investments in human resources of the poor have substantial pay off* Second, with appropriate targeting the poor can be made to benefit directly from investments in basic services (eg primary schools primary health care services etcl

The above observations may be rationalised by observing the differences In the employment pattern and other chatacterisbc* of the poor that are instrumental In understanding the poverty and human development linkage*. The occupational profile of the poor though varies with location. is dominated by industrial workers, day labourers, tran*-port workers and those engaged tn petty trade, services, and other activities In the informal sector The specific oc-cupalional pattern, that a poor can avail of. is largely determined by hi* skill level* and education. It has been pointed out that intraftrm mobility of the poor is often characterized bv skill upgrading from helper to semi skilled labour and then to skilled labour which sometimes lead to setting up of hi* own enterprise As such, for i he poor tn both formal and in-fornial sector*, education and skill development occupy a critical position in occupational and vertical mobility It has been observed that male-female wage differentials tend to decrease with education and skill levels indicating a direct relationship between educa-ilonal status and skill level* of the poor on the one hand and increase tn earnings on the uncr, particularly for vulnerable groups like women. The above suggest* that human development In Bangladesh needs to be characterized as an integrated process with a clear focus and direction in three major areas: employment and manpower development, science and technology, and quality of life.

Employment and Manpower Development

Employment situation In the agrarian sector and the market for unskilled workers are particularly serious in Bangladesh There is also an additional problem in matching labour demand and supply tn particular skills These are specific problem#" in addition to the overall employment sit-

uation which I* grossly Inade quate to absorb the existing and potential labour supply While the pursuit of labour ab sorbing policies and accelera lion of growth is the long run solution these have to be sup plemented by policies with emphasis on flexibility and the creation of a broad baaed pro ductive capacity rather1 than promoting narrowly skilled manpower This I* necessary for the growth of new en trepreneurial skills to take ad

vantage of emerging economic opportunities In a global context.

Science and Technology

The implications of recent scientific and technological progress particularly in the field* of information, biotech nology, electronics, material science*, energy technologies etc indicate the need to adapt human resource* to thebe real Hies to take advantage of the development potential of science and technology In this respect, the two-way causality between science and technology capabilities and human re source profile of Bangladesh is Important: generation of man power for- promotion of science and technology to serve the country's develop ment needs and utilization of science and technology to up grade available human resources.

Quality of Life

The success in realizing

equitable and accelerated growth in Bangladesh l* crtti cally dependent upon the uae of the potential* of the under utilised human resource*. A necessary condition to raise their productive capacities l* to improve their capabilities through their level of partici pation tn the society This re quires coordinated efforts tn a ■ number of key sectors e g ed ucation health, nutrition and the environment

For effective coordination

and integration of various elements of human development efforts, polices must encompass both the supply and the demand sides The supply side requires the generation of the means for human development while the demand side is con cerned with the utilization of these means In Bangladesh existing policies largely con centrate on supply side Issues This has contributed to Inef fectiveness of the polices suggesting the need for more de mand-oriented strategies. The effective polices must take into account the institutional and structured constraints to the participation of the poor in human development efforts'.

The institutional context itself must become an explicit focus of human development policy. Similarly, in view of the widespread existence of poverty in the country, it Is imperative to Identify the impact of economic reform and structural adjustment (SA) po-

lice* on different household groups, particularly the poor The critical policy Issue for Bangladesh Is lo protect and , assist the poor without dis torttng the economy The cor cection ol distortions are Im portant since if they persist not only will economic recov ery and growth be undermined but also the attainment of so clal goals. In the context of human development, another^ aspect of SA polices also needs to be emphasized which may be termed as directive strut

tural adjustments. The emphasis In this case Is on antietpa tion of future trends and re structure the economy to respond flexibly and rapidly to such changes. For example, within the external context, this Involves anticipation of the pattern and pace of dynamic external competitiveness of Bangladesh, identify their sec total implications and promote activities likely to become Im portant for retaining export competitiveness For human development, this would imply the promotion of appropriate adjustment process to generate technological innovations and build up endowments of human skills through manpower .planning, education and training. (To be concluded next week)

Dr 41 rye ri is working, .14,-. Programme Officer /Research).,, Certtre on Integrated Rufal Development for Asia and the Pacific ICIRDAP). Dhaka. Bangladesh.