Bangladesh, Jan. 1 -- In its December 18, 2019 report, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) claimed that the overall poverty rate dropped1.3 per cent to 20.5 per cent in the Fiscal Year 2018-19 compared to the preceding FY while the extreme poverty rate dropped to 10.5 per cent from the preceding FY's 11.3 per cent. BBS officials claimed that these estimates were based on economic growth rate and its impact on the state of poverty in the country.
After reading the report, I tried to relate the 8.15 per cent GDP growth to 1.3 per cent poverty reduction but failed to demystify BBS's claims. I am wondering how the BSS statisticians assessed the impact of growth on poverty level in the country. Obviously, these are guesstimates which are subj...