40424 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Bangladesh Development Series Paper No. 17 The World Bank Office, Dhaka June 2007 www.worldbank.org.bd/bds Document of the World Bank The World Bank World Bank Office Dhaka Plot- E-32, Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-8159001-28 Fax: 880-2-8159029-30 www.worldbank.org.bd The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington DC 20433, USA Tel: 1-202-473-1000 Fax: 1-207-477-6391 www.worldbank.org All Bangladesh Development Series (BDS) publications are downloadable at: www.worldbank.org.bd/bds Standard Disclaimer: This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Copyright Statement: The material in this publication is copyrighted. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portion of the work promptly. Design: Cover designed and published by Creative Idea Illustration Credits: Front cover (from left): Michael Foley, Erwin De Nys Back cover (from left): Andrew Biraj, Erwin De Nys CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Taka (Tk.) US$1 = Tk. 69.03 (June, 2007) GOVERNMENT'S FISCAL YEAR July 1 ­ June 30 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACHR Asian Coalition of Housing Rights MFA Multi-Fibre Arrangement ADB Asian Development Bank MLGRD Ministry of Local Government and BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Rural Development BELA Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers NGO Non Government Organization Association NUK Nari Uddyog Kendra BLAST Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust PPP Purchasing Power Parity BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement OECD Organization of Economic Committee Cooperation and Development CIRDAP Centre on Integrated Rural Development RAB Rapid Action Batallion for Asia and the Pacific RAJUK Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha COHRE Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions RCA Revealed Comparative Advantage CPTED Crime Prevention Through Environmental RMG Readymade Garment Design SMA Statistical Metropolitan Area CUP Coalition for the Urban Poor TK Taka CUS Centre for Urban Studies UNDP United Nations Development DCC Dhaka City Corporation Programme DESA Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority UNFPA United Nations Family Planning DFID Department for International Development Programme DMA Dhaka Metropolitan Area UNICEF United Children's Fund DMDP Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan USSP Union for the Scientific Study of DWASA Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority Population EBA Everything But Arms WASA Water and Sewage Authority EU European Union WHO World Health Organization FFE Food for Education WTO World Trade Orgnanization GDP Gross Domestic Product GTAP Global Trade Analysis Project HIES Household Income and Expenditure Survey IDB Inter-American Development Bank IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute ILO International Labor Organization LAC Latin America and Caribbean LFS Labor Force Survey LGED Local Government Engineering Department Vice President: Praful Patel, SARVP Country Director: Xian Zhu, SACBD Sector Director: Constance Bernard, SASSD Sector Manager: Sonia Hammam, SASSD Task Leader: Judy L. Baker, FEU iii iv Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgements..................................................................................... ix Foreword........................................................................................................................... xi Executive Summary.......................................................................................................xiii Chapter 1: A Poverty Profile for Dhaka........................................................................ 1 I. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 II. Poverty and Inequality in Dhaka................................................................................ 2 III. Characteristics of the poor ........................................................................................ 6 IV. Perceptions of Poverty.............................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty.......................................................................... 13 I. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 13 II. General Characteristics of the Labor Force in Dhaka.............................................. 13 III. Employment and the Poor....................................................................................... 14 A. General characteristics ....................................................................................... 15 B. Employment Sector and Occupation ................................................................... 16 C. Gender, employment and poverty........................................................................ 19 D. Participation of children in the labor force........................................................ 20 E. Working hours and income.................................................................................. 21 F. Un- and underemployment .................................................................................. 21 IV. Prospects for Employment Generation and Policy Recommendations.................. 22 A. Trends and prospects on the supply side of Dhaka's labor market .................... 22 B. Trends and prospects on the demand side of Dhaka's labor market .................. 27 V. Improving income earning opportunities for the poor............................................ 31 Chapter 3: Shelter for the Poor.................................................................................... 33 I. Background............................................................................................................... 33 A. A Fast Growing, Poor Megacity ......................................................................... 33 B. High Land Prices Have Excluded the Poor from Ownership of Land and Housing................................................................................................................ 35 II. Main policy constraints............................................................................................ 37 A. Unresponsiveness to price signals for a large portion of the land in the city..... 37 B. An enabling housing policy without enablers ..................................................... 39 C. Failures of coordination and services at the local level..................................... 44 D. The limited role of NGOs in housing for urban poor ......................................... 45 III. Improving Shelter Conditions for the Urban Poor.................................................. 46 Chapter 4: The Challenges of Service Delivery for Dhaka's Poor............................ 51 I. The Current Situation ............................................................................................... 51 A. Basic Services...................................................................................................... 52 B. Service Providers................................................................................................. 53 v II. Constraints to Service Delivery................................................................................ 56 A. Lack of government policy.................................................................................... 56 B. Evictions of slum residents.................................................................................. 56 C. The Pervasive Role of Mastaans......................................................................... 57 D. Other constraints................................................................................................. 57 III. Improving Service Delivery for the Urban Poor..................................................... 59 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor................................................. 62 I. Background and Introduction.................................................................................... 63 II. Manifestations of crime and violence affecting the urban poor in Dhaka ............... 64 A. Main Survey Findings.......................................................................................... 65 III. Relationship between crime and violence and social, institutional, and legal issues ....................................................................................................................................... 72 IV. Addressing Crime and Violence............................................................................. 74 Specific recommendations for crime and violence prevention in Dhaka ................. 75 References........................................................................................................................ 83 List of Boxes Box 2.1: The "missing" women in the poor income groups............................................ 18 Box 2.2: Post MFA and entry of China in the WTO, their impact on the poor in Dhaka? A summary of the literature.............................................................................................. 29 Box 3.1: Slum Improvement/Upgrading Programs of the National Government ............ 43 Box 3.2: NGO programs targeted to poor renters............................................................. 46 Box 4.1: Making Things Work in Health Care................................................................ 55 Box 4. 2: Case Study from CUS: Slum Eviction in Agargaon....................................... 57 Box 4.3: Making Things Work in Water and Sanitation ................................................. 58 Box 4.4: Case Study: Lessons Learned from DSK's Water Delivery Project in Conjunction with DWASA............................................................................................... 61 Box 5.1: Community Police Stations in Mumbai's slum. ................................................ 80 Box 5.2: Crime and Violence Prevention Components in Bank-financed Integrated Slum Upgrading Operations:...................................................................................................... 81 List of Tables Table 1.1: Slums covered in the Aparajeyo Survey............................................................ 2 Table 1.2: Characteristics of the poor in Dhaka. ............................................................... 6 Table 1.3: Distance to Public Services for Slum Dwellers (in meters) ............................. 8 Table 1.4: Percentage of total (monthly) household expenditure in Tak as for Dhaka SMA.................................................................................................. 9 Table 2.1: Employment Characteristics of Households by Income Group ...................... 16 vi Table 2.2: Sectoral distribution of the male workers in Dhaka SMA by income group (in percentage)........................................................................................................................ 17 Table 2.3: Main Jobs of Male Workers in Dhaka............................................................. 17 Table 2.4: Sectoral distribution of female workers in Dhaka SMA by income group (in percentage)........................................................................................................................ 18 Table 2.5: Main Jobs of Poor Female Workers ................................................................ 19 Table 2.6: Hours and wages of the poor, by occupation and gender................................ 21 Table 2.7: Unemployment and Underemployment in Dhaka SMA by Income Group .... 22 Table 2.8: Comparison of Average Monthly Wages between Dhaka and Rural Areas in 2000 (in Taka)................................................................................................................... 24 Table 3.1: Urban Population and Poor Population in DCC and DMDP........................... 34 Table 3.2: Housing Tenure of the Urban Poor, 1995........................................................ 36 Table 3.3: Relative importance of Housing Delivery Sub-Sectors in Dhaka ................... 39 Table 4.1: Administrative structure of service delivery in Dhaka.................................... 54 Table 5.1: Percentage of Respondents affected by crime and violence........................... 66 Table 5.2: Nature of Crime and Violence Occur in the Slums (Multi-response) ............. 66 Table 5.3: The Severity of Crime and Violence (Multi-response). .................................. 67 Table 5.4: Respondent's recommendation regarding combating existing Crime and Violence (Multi-response). ............................................................................................... 71 Table 5.5: Linking urban spatial and non-spatial interventions: The KfW/ City of Cape Town Khayelitsha Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading Project .................... 79 List of Figures Figure 1.1: Slum Formation in the DCC Area, 2005......................................................... 4 Figure 1.2: Slum Ownership, Dhaka, 2005........................................................................ 5 Figure 1.3: Image of flood slums in flood zone, Dhaka .................................................... 5 Figure 1.4: Access to Public Toilets .................................................................................. 7 Figure 3.1: Map of Land Use in Dhaka City, 1984 .......................................................... 40 Figure 3.2: Map of Land Use in Dhaka City, 2004 .......................................................... 41 List of Annexes Annex 1: Poverty Profile Background Tables and Figures ............................................. 97 Annex 2: Supplemental Data on Labor........................................................................... 101 Annex 3: Supplemental Information on Land and Housing........................................... 125 Annex 4: Supplemental Data on Crime and Violence................................................... 133 vii viii PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was prepared by a team led by Judy L. Baker (World Bank, FEU). Team members who participated in the field work and contributed background papers commissioned for this report include: Nazrul Islam, (University of Dhaka and Centre for Urban Studies), "Dhaka Land and Housing", Somik Lall, (World Bank, DECRG), "A Poverty Profile for Dhaka"; David Le Blanc and Robert Buckley (World Bank, TUDUR), "Dhaka Urban Poverty: Land and Housing Issues"; Bernice Van Bronkhurst (World Bank, LAC Region), "Crime and Violence", Sabina Faiz Rashid (BRAC University) and Yasmeen Hossain (London School of Economics), "Constraints to Delivering Services to the Urban Poor Living in Slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh", Claire Salmon, (University of Savoie, France), "The Situation of the Poor in the Working Population of Dhaka." This study also drew on independent work carried out by Rashid and Mannan, 2004, "The Heterogeneity of the Urban Poor: Political-Economy and Social Conditions in Urban Slums" and Aparajeyo, 2002 "Slum Observatory Survey." Surveys that were commissioned for this study were carried out by Aparajeyo (Crime and Violence), and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), (Spatial Poverty Mapping of the Dhaka Metropolitan Area). Data analysis was done by Asha Sundaram and Jonny Anderson. The Coalition for the Urban Poor (CUP) assisted greatly in organizing meetings with its members and with local communities. The work was carried out under the guidance of Sonia Hammam, Sector Manager, (SASEI) and Christine I. Wallich, then Country Director for Bangladesh. The team benefited from comments from the two peer reviewers, Christine Kessides and Hassan Zaman, as well as from Patricia Annez, Enrique Pantoja, Jaehyang So, Catherine Tovey, and Nilufar Ahmed. The report was produced by Erwin De Nys and Aniqah J. Khan. The report also benefited greatly from the inputs received from participants at the Consultation Workshop which discussed the findings of the report extensively on February 14 and 16, 2006. ix x FOREWORD Dhaka is a highly dynamic city that attracts some 300,000-400,000 new migrants each year. Most migrants come from rural areas in search of the many opportunities the city can offer for improved living standards. In turn, the new migrants contribute significantly to Dhaka's economic growth as they provide much needed labor to manufacturing, services, and other sectors. Yet Dhaka has not been able to keep up with the needs of the rapidly growing population. The characteristics of the city now include excessively high land prices, a large slum population, poor quality housing, traffic congestion, water shortages, poor sanitation and drainage, irregular electric supply, increasing air pollution, poor governance and growing problems of law and order. Problems are exacerbated by the absence of a comprehensive policy on urbanization and urban poverty, and the lack of a well-equipped agency to implement such a policy. Population projections indicate that Dhaka is expected to grow to about 20 million in 2020, making it the world's third largest city. Given this rapid growth, the lack of adequate infrastructure and services, and increasing social and environmental problems require urgent attention. The report `Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor' presents a comprehensive look at poverty in Dhaka with the goal of providing the basis for an urban poverty reduction strategy for the Government of Bangladesh, local authorities, donors and NGOs. Given the magnitude of the problems, this study focuses on analyzing those issues that are most critical for the poor ­ understanding the characteristics and dynamics of poverty, employment, land and housing, basic services, and crime and violence. The study reflects new analysis on these topics, and is based on extensive consultations in Dhaka. We hope that this report will contribute to a better understanding of urban poverty and lead to fruitful discussions on the policy reform agenda, and help identify investment priorities to support growth and improve the living conditions of the urban poor in Dhaka. Constance Bernard Xian Zhu Sector Director Country Director Sustainable Development Sector, South Asia World Bank Office, Dhaka xi xii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction Dhaka is the fastest growing mega-city in the world, with an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 new migrants, mostly poor, arriving to the city annually.1 Its population is currently around 12 million and is projected to grow to 20 million in 2020, making it the world's third largest city. Most migrants come from rural areas in search of opportunities which can provide new livelihood options for millions, translating to improvements in living standards. Their contribution to Dhaka's economic growth is significant, as they provide much needed labor to manufacturing, services, and other sectors. This migration, however, also adds tremendous strain on an already crowded city with limited inhabitable land due to the city's topography, limited infrastructure, and a low level of public services. The draw of Dhaka is no surprise ­ it is a dynamic city and has attracted substantial industrial investments, particularly in the Readymade Garment (RMG) industry, which has created demand for workers and services. The city is, however, increasingly characterized by large slums, poor housing, excessively high land prices, traffic congestion, water shortages, poor sanitation and drainage, irregular electric supply, unplanned construction, increasing air pollution and poor urban governance which results in growing problems of law and order. The country does not have a comprehensive policy on urbanization and urban poverty. There are between 16 and 40 different bodies involved in one way or another in urban matters in Dhaka with little coordination and planning. As a result, there are major gaps in services and infrastructure ranging from weak electrical supply to inadequate land and housing options, and major traffic congestion. The poor are particularly affected as they do not have the resources to find alternatives for meeting their basic needs. While a new committee for Urban Development was set up and has achieved some progress in the coordination process, it focuses on solving day-to-day problems and not on medium to long term strategy. This study reflects a comprehensive look at poverty in Dhaka with an aim to provide the basis for an urban poverty reduction strategy for the Government of Bangladesh, local authorities, donors, and NGOs. While the needs in Dhaka are enormous, this study focuses on analyzing those critical for the poor ­ understanding the characteristics and dynamics of poverty, issues of employment, land and housing, basic services, and crime and violence. This analysis will provide a platform for developing recommendations for policy reform as Dhaka endeavors to meet the growing challenges and urgent needs of the urban poor. Each chapter concludes with a set of recommended priorities for poverty reduction. 1Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. xiii Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Poverty in Dhaka As one walks through Dhaka, the pervasive poverty is evident, as is the inequality between rich and poor. Poverty affects roughly one in three residents. The average person in the wealthiest quintile consumes more than 5 times the consumption expenditure of the average person in the poorest quintile. The poor mainly live in slums scattered throughout the city, with close to 80 percent of slums located on privately owned land creating considerable institutional challenges in terms of basic service provision.2 Housing structures tend to be of poor quality, and access to basic infrastructure services is low. For the poorest quintile, only 9 percent of households have a sewage line, and 27 percent obtain water through piped supply (compared with 83 percent of the wealthiest). Spatial mapping shows that only 43 of the 1925 identified slums have a public toilet within 100 meters. An estimated 7,600 households live in slums that are within 50 meters of the river and are in frequent risk of being flooded. As would be expected, poor households tend to have more people, particularly children, than non-poor households. The poor are substantially less educated and have lower school attendance rates than the non-poor. Social services can be quite far for some slum dwellers exacerbating problems of access. Only seven percent of slums have a public health clinic and 26 percent have a government school. Perceptions of poverty show a hierarchy among the poor linked to income, as well as an individual's occupation and power, position and networks. Residents in focus groups refer to the many hardships of living in slums and enormous stresses of everyday life. Employment and the Poor Dhaka's poor work in a range of sectors providing much needed labor to the city. Much of this employment is in the informal sector. Poor male workers are mainly employed as production workers (including rickshaw pullers and other transport workers) and trade workers (street vendors, retail trade, etc.). Half of the poor female workers are employed as domestic workers or garment workers. Wages are generally low, though domestic work appears to be the lowest pay. The unemployment rate for the poor is almost double than that of the non-poor. Underemployment is an even broader problem, affecting 20 percent of households. Child labor is quite prevalent, with approximately 20 percent of all children between ages 5-14 working. Most of the child workers are between 10 and 14 years old, with similar proportions for boys and girls. In the poorest households with child workers, earnings from the children are significant, representing about one third of total household income. 2LGED Survey of Slums, 2005. xiv Executive Summary Improving income-earning opportunities for the poor will be dependent on ensuring a vibrant labor market in Dhaka. Several factors are likely to influence the labor market over the coming years. On the supply side is the issue of continuing migration which will both put additional pressure on the labor market, and also bring new capital, new skills and new entrepreneurs. A second issue is the role of education which can raise the productivity of the poor and their income-earning potential. While education levels of the poor in Dhaka are far better than in the rest of the country, the average level of education of the poor is low compared with other developing countries. Improving education levels in Dhaka and Bangladesh as a whole will be critical to keeping the country competitive in global markets. On the demand side are the consequences of the removal of the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) quotas on the readymade garment (RMG) sector at the end of 2004. While there are a number of complex factors, the impact of which are not fully known, there is still a risk that some jobs might be lost in the future. An estimated 500,000 workers are employed in the RMG sector in Dhaka. Most of these workers are women, who provide critical support to their families. Substantial numbers also work in related services industries. While the first half of 2005 has not seen a decline in RMG exports, the future is unclear. If there is a decline in demand as is projected, Dhaka's labor force will be directly affected. A second issue on the demand side is the development of self employment through expanding opportunities for micro-credit in urban areas. Bangladesh is known for its successes in micro-credit through the Grameen Bank and others, though these programs have generally not been operating in urban areas. While a few have begun operating in Dhaka, there is substantial scope for expanding micro-credit opportunities, particularly with the participation of NGOs. Shelter for the Poor Secure shelter is a major challenge for Dhaka's urban poor. As migrants continue to arrive, they often end up in illegal settlements on precarious lands with major environmental concerns. The slums are located throughout the city with few services offered at high prices through middlemen, also called musclemen or mastaans, using illegal methods. Slum evictions take place periodically, with no resettlement plans. The constant threat of eviction adds to the stresses of every day life for the urban poor. Land prices in the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area are very high making it impossible for the poor to afford to purchase land in the open market. Part of the reason for high land prices stems from the fact that the City suffers from a shortage of land due to its topography. This shortage has driven prices up to levels that are considered high even by developed country standards. The real scarcity of developable land is exacerbated by an artificial scarcity, stemming primarily from the current use of substantial amounts of public land in downtown Dhaka. In addition, close to 10 percent of the city's housing stock is publicly owned and held in low-rise building on very expensive land. xv Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor The Government has developed a National Housing Policy which reflects an enabling approach to land and housing markets. This Policy, however, has not been implemented effectively. Among the inconsistencies in implementation are the estimated 70 percent of urban development in the City that is informal, large scale evictions of slum dwellers with no relocation plans, and building on environmentally sensitive public lands such as flood or retention ponds. Part of the lack of enforcement of the policy is related to the fact that the institutional capacity for city management is weak. The roles of DCC, the Planning Authority RAJUK, and line ministries are not clear and coordination is very limited. Services for the Poor Access to basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity, health and education by the poor is limited. Because most slums are not recognized as legal lands, the Government, NGOs and Donors generally do not provide services in these areas. As a result, a parallel structure has emerged with mastaans providing services for a high fee. They are self appointed leaders who set up committees, maintain links and have patronage from local and national political leaders, government official and local law- enforcing agencies. As with housing, the administrative structure related to the public delivery of services is complex. Public services are delivered by a mix of central and local agencies, with limited resources, weak administrative capacity and little coordination. DCC, which is responsible for a wide range of services, cannot perform their functions adequately due to severe resource constraints and limited authority. DCC is dependent on central government for financial grants and for staff appointments, and has limited role in city planning or physical development. Interviews with donors, government agencies and NGOs revealed three major constraints to providing service delivery to urban slum residents. These include: i) a lack of government policy giving slum residents rights and access; ii) the eviction of slum residents; and iii) the role of mastaans in the absence of formal government structures. The lack of government policy on urban development and urban poverty results in a conflicting power structure between the DCC and the national level, and a lack of authority to work in slum areas. The urgent need for a clear policy and mandated agency to address the challenges of urban development, urban poverty and service delivery is evidenced by current conditions. The constant threat of evictions prevents agencies from investing in infrastructure for health, education, water and sanitation services. All agencies mentioned this as a barrier for effective service delivery. Mastaans are firmly rooted in the slums and are often the only service provider. Residents report paying high amounts for the services, much higher than the rates offered by the utilities, and regularly face extortion for fear of physical harm or eviction if payoffs are not made. xvi Executive Summary A series of other constraints were also mentioned by implementing service providers in NGOs, Government and Donor organizations. Among these are resources, lack of appropriate infrastructure -- particularly schools and health clinics, limits in technical capacity in the various agencies, difficulties in working with the various agencies, and concerns about discerning between effective and ineffective NGOs. Crime and Violence in Dhaka's Slums Crime and violence has become a major problem in Dhaka, particularly affecting the poor. It has huge costs to the City in terms of the judicial system, health care, foregone earnings, costs on private security, loss of competitiveness, loss of jobs and productivity. The non-monetary costs on the population are also considerable in terms of levels of fear and mistrust, anxiety, and lack of social cohesion. A survey of crime and violence in four slums commissioned for this study provides new data on the prevalence and characteristics of crime and violence. An astounding 93 percent of respondents in the survey report that they had been affected by crime and violence over the last 12 months with 33 different types of crime identified by the respondents. Among the most commonly reported crime and violence are toll collection, mastaan-induced violence, drug and alcohol business, land grabbing, gambling, violence against women and children, illegal arms business, arson in slums, murder and kidnapping, and domestic violence. These results vary somewhat across slums. Most of the crimes are reported to occur within the slum, and about 35 percent within the household compound. Other high risk areas are the roadside, markets, and the route to and from work. Violence against women, particularly domestic violence, is very high and likely underreported in the survey. This is consistent with other studies on violence against women in Bangladesh. There appears to be a deep lack of trust by the urban poor in the justice system and police. The residents in the slums do not perceive much security and do not believe the justice system adequately serves their needs. In fact, some perceive that the system discriminates against slum dwellers. A majority of victims (60 percent) state that the incidence of crime and violence is not reported to anyone. When reports are made, it is to community leaders and family members. Only 3 percent say that they reported the incident to the police and even fewer report to Ward Commissioners. The survey indicated that the police took action against a reported perpetrator in only 1 percent of all cases. A Strategy Forward... The problems of poverty in Dhaka are enormous and thus any poverty reduction strategy for the city will require major policy shifts on many fronts. Overall improvements in the city's performance will contribute to economic growth which will have positive impacts for the poor. The city desperately needs strong management, better xvii Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor coordination across agencies, effective and transparent local government, improvements in infrastructure, better access to basic services, enabling reforms in land and housing markets, credit markets for the poor, and a reduction of the disabling problem of crime and violence. Prioritizing the long list of pressing needs and identifying viable mechanisms for implementation presents a daunting challenge. This will require coordinated actions from many stakeholders, but more importantly, strong political commitment to addressing the growing problems of the urban poor in Dhaka within the context of the overall problems of poverty in the country. The priorities for poverty reduction in Dhaka outlined below emerged from the analysis in this report and through a consultative process held in Dhaka in February 2006 including representatives from Government, NGOs, researchers, the private sector and donors. Actions are needed to ensure, in general, the right environment to promote growth and poverty reduction in Dhaka, and in particular to improve access to employment, services, and a reduction in crime and violence for the poor. These actions, outlined below and detailed in the following chapters, should be framed by an urban development strategy for Dhaka, and aligned with the country's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Simultaneously, overall reforms of the judicial/policing systems, reductions in crime and violence, and transparent ways of attaining services are necessary for Dhaka to continue to provide an enabling urban environment to its citizens. Policy Priorities Developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy for urban poverty reduction. Such a framework should address the needs of the poor within the context of overall urban development and the PRSP. Essential elements include identifying institutional roles and responsibilities for national and local governments as well as the NGO and private sector, creating an appropriate political and legal environment, and ensuring adequate resources for implementation. This strategy should be prepared through a consultative process led by the Office of the Prime Minister, in coordination with key ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), as well as with the Planning Department (MOF) team overseeing PRSP implementation. As part of implementation, MLGRD should establish an urban unit within LGD to review and develop policies and ensure implementation of urban issues, including urban poverty reduction. One of the key objectives of the Urban Poverty Strategy should be to improve income earning opportunities for the urban poor. Reducing poverty in Dhaka will be linked to generating enough remunerative employment opportunities for new entrants and for the unemployed. Beyond the overall policy of improving the infrastructure in the city to permit manufacturing growth and attract investment, xviii Executive Summary other priorities include: i) identifying new areas for employment generation; ii) improving the skills of workers; iii) increasing access to credit for the poor to enable an expansion of self employment activities; and iv) facilitating increases in female labor force participation through access to child care. Implementing institutional mapping, reform and capacity building of key agencies / institutions affecting urban growth and poverty reduction. Initially, GOB should focus on RAJUK and DCC, as part of a comprehensive effort by MLGRD to strengthen local government and agencies influencing Dhaka's development. In general, with clear roles and responsibilities, agencies should be given authority, but made accountable for implementation. Extensive training in urban management and in technical areas will be necessary for agencies at the local level to do their jobs effectively. Implementing the National Housing Policy to ensure shelter for the poor. The National Housing Policy provides an enabling framework for addressing land and housing markets in Dhaka, and enforcing basic property rights. The implementation of this policy, as with an urban poverty reduction strategy, will require an adequate institutional framework with clear leadership, as well as roles and responsibilities. The Government should establish an inter-agency committee including key actors such as LGED, National Housing Authority, Ministry of Land/Ministry of Housing and Public Works, and RAJUK. In the medium term, the committee should be led by a clearly mandated agency with authority to implement the necessary reforms. To improve the shelter conditions for the urban poor, it will be critical to keep up with Dhaka's growth and address the massive land and housing problems of the urban poor, which will require reforms on many levels. In addition to the importance of implementing an Urban Development Strategy for Dhaka and the National Housing Policy (including enforcement of basic property rights), other priorities include: i) developing mechanisms for better accountability for land use and better coordination of services in the city; ii) strengthening public institutions to implement land and housing policies and foster coordination between agencies; iii) initiating pilot shelter projects in poor areas in partnership with NGOs; and iv) addressing specific legal and regulatory issues that apply to zoning, land subdivision and building. Improving service delivery and access to infrastructure for the urban poor. To address the obstacles to delivering services to Dhaka's slums, recommendations from the review and consultations point to two overarching priorities: first, developing and implementing a policy of urban poverty reduction which provides the mandate for working in slum areas, and second, strengthening the role of local municipalities to deliver services. Other priorities include: i) improving accountability and oversight; ii) enforcing law and order to curtail illegal activities linked to extortion by the mastaans; iii) improving coordination between service providers; iv) exploring and implementing alternative delivery xix Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor mechanisms for some services (e.g. distance learning, mobile health units, etc.); and v) building capacity for service providers through training. Infrastructure improvements will equally be needed to address the major deficiencies in providing access to basic services to the poor living in slum areas. Such improvements will require an enabling policy and institutional framework as mentioned above, as well as substantial capital investment. To ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach, DCC should work in close coordination with key agencies and ministries such as Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (DWASA), Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority (DESA), Titas, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Ministry of Social Welfare. Addressing crime and violence in slum areas. The general importance of enforcing law and order in Dhaka is highlighted above. Importantly, however, the problems of crime and violence, as well as the illegal activities of the mastaans, which are pervasive particularly in slum areas. In addition to systemic judicial/policing reform, specific recommendations for crime and violence prevention stemming from international experience point to the need to: i) adopt a community based approach; ii) recover or create public space in slums and integrated slum upgrading; iii) initiate programs for the prevention of violence against women; iv) improve trust between the police and community; v) focus attention to the needs of children and youth; and vi) focus attention to issues of drug and alcohol abuse. Most of these efforts require concerted effort by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, but community involvement is essential. These are critical priority areas not just for the urban poor but indeed for urban development overall. Development partners stand ready to support GOB in implementation of this complex agenda to improve the conditions of the urban poor. First is support at the policy level which would facilitate the formulation and implementation of major reforms. Second is continued support at the program and project level to include investments in infrastructure, service delivery systems, and human capital targeted to the poor of Dhaka. Because of the many complexities in working in Dhaka, a series of new pilots could be initiated in slum areas which would be carefully monitored and evaluated so that the most appropriate approaches could be scaled up over time. xx CHAPTER 1: A POVERTY PROFILE FOR DHAKA I. Introduction Dhaka's population is estimated at around 12 million, or about one third of Bangladesh's urban population. Its primacy is both a source of concern and opportunity.3 Concern, because the population growth creates significant urban management challenges in terms of provision of public services, local public goods and amenities. Opportunity, because the city provides new livelihood options for millions of migrants, translating into improvements in their living standards. Dhaka is growing rapidly --between 1995 and 2000, the city grew at an average rate of 4.24 percent per year. Much of its growth stems from migration, with 46 percent of its 1991 population born outside the metro area. Rural to urban migration is attributed to extreme rural poverty and landlessness, and large urban-rural wage differentials (Ullah, 2004). Already strained to provide services and quality of life to existing urban residents, Dhaka is likely to face tremendous challenges in expanding existing infrastructure and avoiding deterioration of living standards due to congestion, pollution, and lack of basic services. These inadequate services and worsening environmental conditions disproportionately affect the poor, many of whom live in slums. This chapter presents an overview of poverty in the Dhaka Metropolitan Area based on data from several sources: i) the 2000 round of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; ii) the 2002 Slum Observatory Survey carried out by Aparajeyo-Bangladesh (NGO); iii) 2005 spatial mapping data developed for this study and carried out by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED); and iv) qualitative data on the perceptions of poverty carried out by Rashid and Mannan in 2004. The HIES survey is a national survey which covered 7440 households in the 2000 round in the five divisions of Dhaka, Chittagong, Barishal, Rajshahi and Khulna. The sample is stratified into Statistical Metropolitan areas, Rural areas and Urban Municipalities. Seven hundred households in the survey are from the Dhaka Statistical Metropolitan Area (Dhaka SMA). The slum survey carried out by Aparajeyo-Bangladesh is part of their `Slum Observatory' project which runs an annual household survey in four different slums since 2002 (Table 1.1). The slums differ in age and type of settlement. The sample includes 1000 households, approximately 250 from each slum. The respondents were randomly selected between both users and non-users of Aparajeyo-Bangladesh services and measures were taken to ensure the inclusion of different occupational groups in the sample. The survey attempts to re-interview the same households in subsequent years. 3Dhaka's primacy is considerably higher than other countries in the region. In the region, Mumbai accounts for 4.1 percent of the Indian urban population, and Karachi accounts from 21 percent of Pakistan's urban population. 1 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Where it is unable to relocate the original family, additional households are randomly selected. Table 1.1: Slums Covered in the Aparajeyo Survey Slum Name Thana Ward Number Area Bizly Mohalla Mohammadpur 42 Mohammadpur Bou Bazar Hazaribagh 48 Dhanmondi Shahid Nagar Lalbagh 60 Azimpur Sujat Nagar/Nazrul Mollah Bastee Pallobi 06 Pallobi The Poverty Mapping was carried out by LGED. The work developed spatially detailed composite GIS based digital maps of: i) facility locations (schools, health clinics, roads, public standpipes and public toilets); ii) slums in the DMA; and iii) a digital attribute dataset of the features. This drew on two data sources. The first was a physical survey carried out from September 2004-February 2005 to collect the location of each slum, boundary of slum, and attributes including year of establishment, land ownership, number of households, water source, sanitation, electricity, educational facilities in slum areas, and health facilities in slums. Locations were captured with GPS devices. The second data source was satellite image processing which involved geo- referencing the data, preparation of layered digital maps, and linking attribute data with the GIS database. This data set will also serve as a planning tool for DMA. In-depth qualitative research was carried out by Rashid and Mannan in two slums in Dhaka, Beguntila and Moderbasti, and one in Chittgagong (New Shaheed Lane), supported by DFID.4 The field work was carried out in 2003 including wealth ranking, 15 focus group discussions with men, women and children. Separate informal discussions were held with leaders, key informants and individuals in the community. An additional 10 case studies were carried out with individuals from the categories of less poor, more poor, and very poor. While the multiplicity of data sources adds richness to the analysis, the sources are not directly compatible and thus it is not possible to use all the data sources for each subtopic of analysis. Also noteworthy, is the fact that this study did not explicitly covered pavement dwellers in the analysis as it would have required a specially designed survey. Further analysis is recommended on this subgroup among the poor. II. Poverty and Inequality in Dhaka Poverty estimates for Dhaka range depending on the methodology used. While measuring urban poverty presents a number of challenges given its multidimensionality, for the purposes of this study, we use a standard consumption expenditure measure as it is broadly accepted as an objective approach which can be used for a range of socio- economic variables.5 4Rashid and Mannan, 2004. 5See Coudel, Hentschel and Wodon, in World Bank, 2002, and Baker and Schuler, World Bank, 2004. 2 Chapter 1: A Poverty Profile for Dhaka The poverty lines for Dhaka are those used in the 2000 HIES preliminary report issued by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS and the World Bank Poverty Assessment, 2002). They are calculated on the basis of the Cost of Basic Needs approach, representing basic needs food consumption for the lower poverty line, and both food and non-food consumption in the upper line.6 For the Dhaka Statistical Metropolitan Area, the lower poverty line (extreme) is (Taka) Tk. 649 and the upper poverty line is Tk. 893. Based on this methodology, approximately 28 percent of Dhaka's population or 3.36 million people were classified as poor, and 12 percent as extremely poor in 2000. This estimate of the poverty head count index based on the HIES is conservative relative to estimates previously reported in the literature which places between 37 and 48 percent of Dhaka's population under the poverty line.7 An explanation for this is attributed to the difference in data sets and samples (Salmon, 2004). Estimates based on the Labor Force Survey (LFS) use income data rather than consumption (income data tends to under- represent household welfare), and cover an additional two thanas in the Dhaka SMA which are particularly poor. Regardless of which poverty estimate is used, the characteristics of the poor in Dhaka do not change.8 The incidence of poverty is substantially lower than the national headcount of 50 percent, rural areas (53 percent), as well as other main cities of Chittagong (46 percent) and Khulna (50 percent).9 The number of poor people is, however, higher in Dhaka than in other cities given its size. Poverty incidence in Bangladesh decreased by 9 percent during the nineties, and an even higher amount, 14 percent, in the Dhaka Division. This encouraging trend, however, is dampened given that the number of poor people has stayed the same. The progress in reducing poverty was equal across urban and rural areas, though rural areas did better in reducing the depth and severity of poverty. Inequality is higher in Dhaka than the country as a whole, and other cities. The Gini coefficient in Dhaka is 0.37, compared to 0.31 for the country, 0.29 for Chittagong and 0.35 for Khulna.10 This inequality is dramatic when comparing average household consumption which is 5 times higher for the richest quintile as compared to the poorest (Table 1.2).11 6The food requirement is based on 2122 kcal per day per person. 7 See for example, Khan and Siddique (2000). Islam, (2004) proposes Tk. 4500 (US$2.50) per day as the poverty line, resulting in a head count of 40 percent. 8See Salmon, 2004 for a profile of the poor based on the 2000 LFS. 9See World Bank, 2002, Bangladesh Poverty Assessment 10Kernel Density has been calculated using analytic population weights. 11Quintiles have been calculated for SMA Dhaka based on per capita household expenditure using household sampling weights. Household sampling weights have also been used in all survey estimations of means. 3 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Spatial analysis shows an estimated 1925 slums in the DCC area (Figure 1.1).12 Slums are located all over the city, with Zone 1 having the highest proportion (11 percent slums of area), and Zones 2 and 10 having the lowest with less than 1 percent slums. Much of slum formation is taking place on privately owned land (79 percent), and 18 percent on government owned land (see Figure 1.2).13 Figure 1.1: Slum Formation in the DCC Area, 2005 12The household count was estimated at 275,000 coming from the census of slum dwellers that was carried out by LGED as part of the slum mapping exercise. This is likely to be a lower bound estimate of the number of slum dwellers, and does not include the poor who live on sidewalks or do not have a regular shelter. 13Source: LGED Spatial Slum Mapping, 2005. The remaining 3 percent are not labeled in the data set. 4 Chapter 1: A Poverty Profile for Dhaka Figure 1.2: Slum Ownership, Dhaka, 2005 Many slums are located in low lying areas near the river and are prone to flooding. Approximately 7,600 households in 44 slums live within 50 meters of the river and are at risk of being flooded (see Figure 1.3). Figure 1.3: Image of Flood Slums in Flood Zone, Dhaka 5 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor III. Characteristics of the poor As would be expected, poor households tend to have more people, particularly children, than non-poor households. In the four slums of the slum observatory study, more than half of the household members are under the age of 19 (56 percent). The poor are substantially less educated, and have lower school attendance rates than the non-poor. Only 40 percent of household heads among the poor have achieved more than 5 years of schooling, and only 6 percent have had more than 10 years (HIES). Table 1.2: Characteristics of the Poor in Dhaka. Quintiles 1=poorest 2 3 4 5=richest Household Composition Mean HH size (No. of 5.50 4.99 4.84 4.86 4.53 individuals) (0.13) (0.18) (0.17) (0.16) (0.15) Average number of rooms per 1.24 1.52 1.76 2.35 3.40 household (0.06) (0.08) (0.09) (0.12) (0.24) Mean No. of children (< 15 yrs) 2.62 2.11 1.83 1.87 1.74 (0.10) (0.09) (0.08) (0.09) (0.08) Mean No. of adults (15 to 64 yrs) 2.89 3.10 3.20 3.30 3.23 (0.12) (0.14) (0.13) (0.12) (0.12) Mean No. of old (>64 yrs) 1.13 1.06 1.32 1.11 1.08 (0.08) (0.06) (0.10) (0.06) (0.05) Mean Age of HH head 41.63 42.38 43.31 43.51 46.35 (Years) (1.05) (0.81) (1.11) (1.11) (1.22) Per Capita Expenditure (in Tk. ) 639 964 1366 1902 3923 (9.68) (9.09) (11.4) (21.49) (290.32) Education level of HH Head (proportion of households) <= 5 yrs of schooling 0.61 0.41 0.33 0.18 0.09 > 10 years of schooling 0.00 0.09 0.14 0.38 0.62 Housing (Proportion of HHs) Walls: Brick/Cement 0.21 0.49 0.64 0.82 0.91 Hemp/Hay 0.44 0.19 0.09 0.04 0.02 Roof Cement 0.07 0.20 0.30 0.53 0.83 Hemp/Hay 0.04 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.00 Size of Housing (Sq. Ft.) 201.1 294.4 370.9 545.9 967.3 (29.71) (29.70) (30.2) (43.0) (80.9) Service Access Sewerage line 0.09 0.21 0.24 0.40 0.47 Water Piped Supply 0.27 0.48 0.59 0.77 0.83 Tube wells 0.73 0.51 0.40 0.23 0.17 Electricity 0.88 0.91 0.96 100.0 100.0 Telephone 0.0 0.0 0.03 0.09 0.35 Source: HIES, 2000 The housing stock for the poor is of low quality with a majority living in houses built with temporary kutcha materials made of hemp or hay walls. Access to basic 6 Chapter 1: A Poverty Profile for Dhaka services is a major problem for the poor as outlined below and discussed in depth in Chapter 4. Infrastructure services. Basic infrastructure services are limited in poor areas of Dhaka with the exception of electricity. Seventy percent of households under the poverty line do not have access to piped water and use tube wells as their main water source. Ninety percent do not have access to a sewage line (Table 1.2). The spatial data on slums is consistent with the above, showing low access to services, though somewhat variable depending on the service, and zone (Table 1.3). For example, only 43 of the 1925 identified slums are within 100 meters of a public toilet (Figure 1.4). In fact, in Zones 2, 5, 8, 9, and 10, there are no public toilets within 100 meters of slum settlements. The largest slum, Korali Basti in Banani, with more than 12,000 households, does not have a single public toilet or health clinic. Problems of poor sanitation are made worse by the high population density in slums, which have considerable implications for transmission of communicable diseases and other negative externalities. The Slum Observatory data suggests that service delivery in slums located on government owned land is worse than in slums on privately owned land.14 Figure 1.4: Access to Public Toilets 14For example, 87 percent of slum households on government owned land did not have a bathroom while the corresponding figure was only 49 percent for households in privately owned slum land. 7 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Table 1.3: Distance to Public Services for Slum Dwellers (in meters) Average Average Distance Average Number of Distance Educational Distance ZONE Slums Public toilet Institute Clinic Zone1 616 650 912 749 Zone2 53 421 877 557 Zone3 264 781 571 1474 Zone4 450 590 202 993 Zone5 113 704 299 481 Zone6 141 602 408 731 Zone7 130 1085 202 650 Zone8 144 2481 268 792 Zone9 68 1221 323 654 Zone10 16 982 358 2281 Data Source: LGED Slum survey, 2005; Analysis by Lall. Social Services. Accessing schools and health clinics is also limited for the poor. School enrollment for children in the poorest quintiles is 45 percent compared with 76 percent for ages 5-18. As with infrastructure services, the location of health and education facilities varies across zones. Only 7.3 percent of slums have a public health clinic, and 26 percent have a government school (LGED). In the absence of public providers, NGO presence is strong - 20 percent of slums have a NGO operated clinic and 27 percent have a NGO operated school. In the Slum Observatory slums, 76 percent of those interviewed reported that the schools existing in their slum were run by NGOs. However, there was not much awareness among slum dwellers regarding other services being provided by NGOs ­ such as health, micro-credit or skill-training facilities. Within slums, the use of health services varies across income groups. Only 19 percent of households with monthly incomes less than Tk. 2000 reported receiving treatment from modern clinics in the slum (Slum Observatory Survey). However, in case of the two higher income groups (Tk. 2000-5000/month and over Tk. 5000), about 30 percent of households report that they had used local health clinics. In terms of maternal health, a lower proportion of households in the lowest income category reported that expectant mothers had utilized the services of doctors during pregnancy. Further, while 84 percent of the households in the 5000+ income category knew about family planning measures, only 68 percent of households in the lowest income group had such information. Household assets and spending. The poor spend the majority of their budget on food (62 percent). Other major expenditures are housing (14 percent), and other non- food items (14 percent) (Table 1.4). Spending patterns are quite different as compared to the non-poor who spend a much lower proportion of their household budget on food (32 8 Chapter 1: A Poverty Profile for Dhaka percent), but a higher proportion on housing (24 percent), other non-food items (17 percent), transport (10 percent), and health and education (11 percent) (Table 1.5). Both household assets and savings appear to be minimal, though this does vary from household to household (Slum Observatory Survey). Table 1.4: Percentage of Total (monthly) Household Expenditure in Takas for Dhaka SMA Quintiles Food Transport Clothing Housing Health Other non- and food education 1=(poorest) 61.7 2.1 5.8 13.7 3.2 13.6 (1.106) (0.243) (0.251) (1.085) (0.387) (0.549) 2 58.4 2.6 6.0 13.7 5.9 13.3 (1.198) (0.275) (0.257) (1.083) (0.585) (0.663) 3 54.3 3.3 6.4 16.1 6.8 13.2 (1.290) (0.306) (0.306) (1.305) (0.708) (0.666) 4 45.7 5.1 5.7 21.4 8.0 14.1 (1.300) (0.476) (0.308) (1.114) (0.739) (0.646) 5=(richest) 32.4 10.2 4.7 24.3 11.4 17.1 (1.468) (1.357) (0.320) (1.625) (1.011) (1.135) Standard Errors in parentheses; Data Source: HIES Survey, 2000 IV. Perceptions of Poverty Perceptions of poverty from the perspective of slum dwellers can be gleaned from a recent field study carried out by Rashid and Mannan in two slums in Dhaka City (Beguntila and Moderbasti) and one in Chittagong (New Shaheed Lane).15 Beguntilla is a relatively new slum, established in 1999 and Moderbasti is older, established approximately 20 years ago. New Shaheed Lane is about 15 years old. The summary below provides some information on all three, but largely focuses on perceptions from the two Dhaka slums. Poverty is perceived by slum dwellers as a shortfall in income, as well as a number of socio-cultural, political and economic factors as described below. The main indicator raised during focus groups was income, but was linked to an individual's power, position and networks, and occupation. During the household listing and wealth ranking, households were divided into 3 categories as described below. Being a leader or having a salaried job placed individuals in the highest category, while those with `lower' jobs were ranked in the less well off categories. 1. `Less' Poor characteristics: Have a secure income (e.g., landlords, secure labor- DCC/railway workers; government workers, permanent jobs, drivers of private companies, family members abroad sending money) 15 Mannan, F and Rashid, SF (2004), The Heterogeneity of the Urban Poor: Political-Economy and Social Conditions in Urban Slums. University of Southampton, UK. Funded by DFID (project number: KAR Project R8028) 9 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Eat three meals a day Less dependency on others Household with a high number of working members Belong to the socially respectable class ­ includes locally powerful individuals ­ mastaans, rich landlords More education compared to others Send children to school Good intra household relationship Fewer young children within the household Strong social capital ­ strong networks inside and outside the slum Political linkages ­ strong political links Are leaders of the slum/ respected by all Basic facilities in the household (water and sanitation, electricity, access to health services etc.) Some assets (better housing, T.V. radio, beds, furniture, valuable utensils, good cloths, some jewelry, poultry, etc.) 2. `More' Poor include those who do not have secure income and wholly depend on their physical labor. If they cannot work they cannot eat. Characteristics include: Rickshaw/van pullers (not owners of rickshaws) Day laborers Self-employed - vendors. Insecure income (e.g., petty business, garment workers) Cannot have three meals a day Are more dependent on others Have a household with a less number of working members Belong to the socially less important class Have no or little education compared to others Cannot send children to school Tensions in intra household relationship More minor children within the household No social capital ­ poor networks inside and outside the slum No political linkages Less empowered section Not having basic facilities properly (water and sanitation, electricity, access to health services etc.) Fewer assets (poorer housing, no T.V., radio, beds, furniture, valuable utensils, good clothes, less jewelry etc.) 3. The `Poorest' include those who do not have regular income and are extremely vulnerable. Characteristics include: Beggars, Widows, Elderly and the Disabled Female-headed households with small children without any male support No secure income (e.g. erratic employment, daily laborers, begging) 10 Chapter 1: A Poverty Profile for Dhaka Have one meal a day (if lucky) Are more dependent on others Have a household with number of unemployed members Belong to the socially less prestigious class Have no education compared to others Cannot send children to school Tension within intra household relationship/absence of male member and/or adult children More minor children within the household No social capital No political linkages Less empowered section Less access to basic facilities (water and sanitation, electricity, access to health services etc.) No assets or little assets (no land, housing) Causes of Poverty. Perceptions of the causes of poverty varied between men and women. Both men and women attribute the main cause of poverty to low income. Men also stressed external factors, networking, lack of jobs, and low social prestige as the main causes of poverty. For women, the absence of male support was a main cause. Desertion was seen a major crisis for women not only because of the loss of income, but also the loss of social, cultural and physical protection. It is also generally thought to be higher than the data reflect. In the relatively anonymous environment of urban slums, marriage break-ups are difficult to stop as families and community relationships are not as strong as in rural areas. Land and Housing. Security of tenure is mentioned as a high priority by the poor, particularly those living in the newer slum area (Beguntilla). They refer to the constant fear of eviction, extortion by mastaans, and the political connections required to acquire land. Those who are government workers, railway workers, and slum leaders appear to benefit from certain rights and entitlements. The majority of slum dwellers, however, do not have such connections and thus perceive having few if any rights to secure tenure. Services. Residents in focus groups refer to the many hardships of living in slums. These stresses are enormous. For women, there are additional pressures due to cultural norms which affect where and how they can bath, use latrines, and find drinking water. Accessing water can be very time consuming, physically demanding, and expensive. Water is typically purchased from private tube well owners and from those with access to legal and illegal connections. Rates can be as high as 15 times the official unit rate. It is not uncommon for it to take 2 hours to collect water (Feroz, Ahmed, 2004). With regard to latrines, there are long lines for the facilities which are dirty, badly maintained and lack privacy. The long waits lead to heated exchanges among residents, the lack of hygiene contributes to illness, and women face security risks if using the 11 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor latrines at night. Electricity supply and collection of fees are reported to be controlled by local mastaans and can be very expensive for residents. Employment. The employment conditions varied somewhat across slums. In Beguntila, located on the margins of the city, most slum residents work in the informal sector as rickshaw pullers or wage laborers. The slum is considered to be isolated from the main markets in Pollabi and Mirpur which heavily impacts on income earning opportunities. The slum is an estimated 20-30 minute walk from the nearest big market. In contrast, Moderbasti is more centrally located near to the railway station, main highway and waterway. A significant number of residents are employed in government jobs and more skilled labor which is attributed to the fact that the slum is much older and more established, and more centrally located. Residents spoke of choosing to live in this slum because of its prime location with leads to better job opportunities. Regardless of location, finding employment, particularly for informal jobs, is closely linked to social networks. Common occupations for men that were mentioned include day laborers, vendors, vegetable gardeners, rickshaw pullers, bus conductors, drivers, garment factory workers, shop-keepers/assistants, and begging (for the poorest/disabled). Rickshaw pulling was the most popular because it requires no skills and is easily available. Income is estimated at Tk. 40-200 per day, depending on the number of hours worked and if the worker owns the rickshaw. The better paid jobs are perceived to be drivers (who can earn up to Tk. 5000-6000 per month), garment workers (particularly for men working as operators earning up to Tk. 3500 per month). For women, the perceived options were far more limited and included garment factory workers ( Tk. 700-950 per month), domestic help (Tk.300-500 per month), vegetable vendors (Tk. 50 daily), and sweepers (Tk. 500-800 per month). Begging is reported to be a coping mechanism for abandoned women with children who can earn Tk. 250 per week. The following chapters discuss the key issues for Dhaka's poor in more detail. 12 CHAPTER 2: EMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY I. Introduction Dhaka is a city of opportunity for many. Migrants flock to the city in search of jobs and better lives. The appeal of the capital city is strong with prospects for employment in a range of sectors, particularly services and industry. The labor market is dynamic, with entrepreneurs arriving every day hoping to carve out a decent living for themselves and their families. Yet for the estimated 28 percent of the city's poor, earning a living sufficient to meet the basic needs of themselves and their families is a continual struggle. Low wages, underemployment, unemployment and low skills levels are all challenges faced by the poor in the labor market. Understanding and addressing these problems is key to poverty reduction. This chapter presents analysis of the characteristics of the labor market and links with the poor, with potential areas for policy change. The analysis is mainly based on the 2000 Labor Force Survey.16 For the purposes of this study we focus on the Dhaka Statistical Metropolitan Area (DMA) which includes Dhaka (also called the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area), and the periphery area.17 While this data is insightful and provides a good basis for analysis, there are some limitations: it is not current and the situation in Dhaka is rapidly changing; there are no data on travel to work, no panel data, and there are shortcomings with the classification of domestic workers living with their employers (Box 2.1). II. General Characteristics of the Labor Force in Dhaka The labor force in Dhaka grew twice as fast as the country as a whole in the late nineties largely due to continuing migration and increasing female labor force participation. Between 1996 and 2000, Dhaka's labor force grew by 15 percent as compared with 7 percent for the country as a whole. There were an estimated 3.5 million people in the Dhaka SMA labor force in 2000, representing 59 percent of the total working age population in the city (10 years and over) ­ 84 percent of the male and 33 percent of the female working age population. 18 16More detailed analysis is included in the background paper prepared for this study (Salmon, 2004). 17The list of thanas (municipalities) covered is included in Annex, Table A2. The sample of DMA is composed of 1500 households, and 6225 individuals. The sub-sample of 861 children between ages 5-10 received a specific questionnaire on their possible employment and school attendance. 18This refers to the extended definition of the labor force which includes any person aged 10 years and over who was either employed (worked at least one hour in a week) for pay or profit who was with /without pay or profit during the reference period as economically active. It includes own household economic activities. By contrast, the usual definition excludes these own household activities. The Standard unemployment rate is absolutely unemployed/total labor force. The "Proposed" unemployment rate is total unemployed persons (absolutely unemployed + unpaid family workers)/total labor force. Underemployment rate is people working less than 35h per week/employed labor force. Unemployment and underemployment rate is total unemployed persons + underemployed persons/total labor force. 13 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor The main sector of employment is services, which employs more than two-thirds of the city's population, substantially higher than the country as a whole (25 percent), and the second main city Chittagong, SMA (50 percent). Industry represents 20 percent of all employment in Dhaka with about half of that in the garment sector. This accounts for 28 percent of female employment, similar to Chittagong but higher than other cities. Interestingly, the remaining 11 percent work in agriculture, which is explained by the fact that a significant part of the land in Dhaka SMA is non-urban. This land is found on the periphery of the City where a large share of the low income population lives. The share of formal employment in Dhaka SMA is much higher than the rest of the country at 51 percent including 14 percent in the public formal sector and 37 percent private (37 percent). For the country as a whole, formal sector employment only reaches 20 percent. As expected, education levels are higher in Dhaka SMA than for the rest of the country with more than half of the employed population aged 15 years and over attaining a level of education higher than Class VI. This compares with only 25 percent for the country. Female labor force participation is considered relatively high compared to other South Asian countries, though lower than most African countries and some East Asian countries. In Dhaka SMA women represent 33 percent of the labor force as compared with 18 percent in New Delhi and 14 percent in Calcutta (Census of India, 2001). Unemployment in Dhaka is between 7.4 percent and 10.4 percent depending on the rate used (standard or proposed). Assuming the proposed rate, this is slightly lower than the country as a whole (11 percent), but higher than the cities of Khulna (7 percent) and Rajshahi (8.6 percent). Underemployment, while an issue in the labor market in Dhaka at 16 percent is substantially lower than the rest of the country (35 percent). This is explained by the fact that underemployment is more common for agricultural workers. Underemployment rate for Chittagong is 23 percent of the labor force and 27 percent in Khulna. III. Employment and the Poor For the purposes of the poverty analysis in this chapter, the population was classified into three groups: Poor. The individuals who belong to the three lower deciles with per capita expenditures below the official lower poverty line. Near Poor. The individuals who belong to the deciles 4 and 5 and live on the margins of poverty. Their expenditures per capita are higher than the lower poverty line, but it is likely that many of these households fall in and out of extreme poverty depending on seasonal earnings and other conditions in the labor market. 14 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty Non-poor. Individuals who belong to the deciles 6 to 10 with expenditures per capita over the poverty line enabling them to meet their basic needs. A. General characteristics A number of characteristics of the poor in the labor market emerge from the analysis of the LFS survey. A household is more likely to be poor if the head of the household is unemployed or underemployed, works in the informal sector, and is a day laborer, or works in transport or agriculture. Women and children in poor households are more likely to enter the labor force, and work in low quality jobs, than in non-poor households. As was seen in Chapter 1, the demographics of the household are closely linked to the probabilities of being poor. While a large number of dependents increases the probability of being poor as would be expected, the structure of the household is also highly important. The presence of a high proportion of male adolescents aged 9 to 14 in the household decrease the probability to be poor though there is no significant effect of the share of girls aged 9 to 14 on the probability to be poor. While it is common for young girls in poor households to work, a larger share are not paid and a significant share that are working, are not counted as a member of their own household, but as member of their employer's household where they work as live-in maids. This creates a possible bias in the data (Box 2.1). In contrast, the higher the share of adults, male or female, the lower the probability of being poor. Among the other variables, education stands out - the more educated the head of the household, the lower the probability of being poor. Estimations also show that the age of the head also has explanatory power once the effects of the structure of the household are controlled for. The older the head, the lower the probability of the household being categorized as poor. As expected, the fact of owning no assets - such as a rickshaw, a sewing machine - increases the probability of being poor. 15 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Table 2.1: Employment Characteristics of Households by Income Group Poor* Near poor Non-Poor Variable Mean Mean Mean Number of observations 454 296 750 Household Size 5.13 4.68 4.40 Ratio of earners/household size 0.30 0.34 0.36 % male workers unemployed or under-employed 16 15 11 % of households where the wife is working 29 30 23 % of income earned by female workers 16 12 9 % of households where a child is working 28 18 16 % of income earned by children workers 6 2 1 % of household heads employees 35 39 45 % of household heads day laborers 13 5 1 % of household heads self-employed 44 50 40 % of household heads in the formal sector 43 49 63 % of household heads in transport 20 17 7 % of household heads in trade 18 28 29 % of household heads in agriculture 11 8 5 % of household heads in manufacturing 11 10 9 % of household heads in construction 5 4 3 % of household heads in finance 1 2 7 Source: 2000 LFS. Extended definition of employment. Standard Deviations are reported in Annex 2. * Poor represents Deciles 1-3; Near Poor Deciles 4-5; Non-Poor, Deciles 6-10 B. Employment Sector and Occupation More than two thirds of male workers from poor households are found in two categories of jobs ­ production workers (including transport laborers such as rickshaw pullers) and trade workers (street vendors, retail trade). Poor male workers are also over- represented as agricultural workers. Agriculture and transport activities are almost exclusively employment for the poor, which is not the case for trade. 16 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty Table 2.2: Sectoral Distribution of Male Workers in Dhaka SMA by Income Group (in percentage) Sector Poor Near Poor Non-poor Total Agriculture 12.8 10.1 6 8.9 Mining 0 0.3 0.2 0.2 Manufacturing 14.8 14.8 12.3 13.6 Energy 0 0.5 0.6 0.4 Construction 4.5 4.1 2.8 3.6 Trade 27.3 34.2 33.9 32 Transport 17.1 16.3 8.5 12.7 Finance 1.4 2.3 7.4 4.6 Community services 18.0 15.3 23.8 20.3 Household services 4.0 2.1 4.4 3.8 Total 100 100 100 100 Public 12.9 14.8 20.5 17.1 Private 33.0 33.8 48.7 41.0 Informal 53.7 51.4 30.7 41.8 Non-profit institutional 0.3 0 0.1 0.2 Total 100 100 100 100 Notes: extended definition of the labor force. Table 2.3: Main Jobs of Male Workers in Dhaka Poor male workers All Male workers (%) (%) Messenger/office boy 4 3 Working proprietor/retail trade 10 15 Other sales workers 25 17 Latrine cleaner 4 2 Farmer & other agricultural activities 12 8 Rickshaw puller 10 5 Other transport workers 11 6 Production worker (except transport) 23 18 Miscellaneous 2 26 Total 100% 100% Notes: extended definition of the labor force. Poor male workers coming from the deciles 1 to 3. Employment options for poor female workers are even more limited. Given gender norms and lower education levels, women are excluded from a large range of sectors and occupations such as transport, services, and trade (Annex 2, Table A2.18). Poor female workers are over-represented in the agricultural sector and the household services, once Live-in Domestics of the better-off households were excluded (Box 2.1). The surprisingly strong importance of the agricultural sector (19 percent of the female labor force but 25 percent of the employment of the poor female workers) is both explained by the geographical contour of the sample and the fact that the extended 17 definition of the labor force is used. 17 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Box 2.1: The "missing" women in the poor income groups The analysis of female workers in Dhaka is constrained by a shortcoming in the data set. Live-in domestic workers are counted as a member of the household of their employers who tend to be in the upper deciles. They are therefore, not counted as members of the households where their families are, which are largely poor. This distorts data on the characteristics of female employment, the correlation of poverty and domestic work, and earnings among poor families. A number of studies show that most female workers hand over a large proportion ­or even all-of their pay to the head of the family (Elson, 1999; Amin & al., 1997; Ward & al., 2004, Kabeer, 1991). According to Amin & al. (1997), female workers are strongly expected to contribute toward household expenses regardless of whether they live at home or independently. Yet this data does not appear to be captured in the income of poor households. Data on the destination of incomes of the gains of the live-in-domestics is not available in the LFS data set. Approximately 16 percent of child workers work as non-relatives in the better-off households and thus are misclassified. A majority of poor female workers are employed in two types of jobs, as domestic workers (16 percent) and garment workers (32 percent) (Table 2.5). As discussed above, it is noteworthy that the share of live-in domestics amongst the poor income groups is probably highly underestimated as most of them are counted as members of the better-off households. If one assumes that all live-in maids would come from the three lower deciles, the share of maids among the poorest female workers would reach about 35 percent instead of 16 percent. Garment workers tend to come from the middle deciles (4 and 5), with the financial contribution to household income helping to escape extreme poverty. Table 2.4: Sectoral distribution of female workers in Dhaka SMA by income group (in percentage) Sector Poor Near Poor Non-poor Non-poor Total without non relative members Agriculture 25.1 21.6 14.1 18.9 19.0 Manufacturing 26.7 38.5 19.9 26.6 25.5 Trade 2.7 2.0 2.3 3.0 2.4 Community 23.1 18.2 28.8 38.4 25.0 Household services 19.2 16.2 30.6 7.4 24.3 Misc. 3.6 3.4 4.3 5.5 3.8 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Formal public sector 2.7 14.8 20.5 14.1 17.1 Formal private sector 22.7 33.7 48.7 32.3 41.0 Informal sector 53.7 51.4 30.7 53.2 41.8 Non institutional sector 0.3 0 0.1 0.3 0.1 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Source: LFS 2000. Notes: Employed population, 10 years and over 18 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty Table 2.5: Main Jobs of Poor Female Workers Poor female Near Poor female Overall female workers workers workers House maid and related housekeeping service 16%* 13%* 21% worker Other service worker 9% 11% 7% Agricultural worker 27% 21% 20% Garment worker 32% 39% 28% Other production worker 15% 12% 5% Miscellaneous 1% 4% 7% Total 100% 100% 100% Notes: Employed population, 10 years and over *Share of maids statistically under-estimated among the low income groups. See text. C. Gender, employment and poverty The entry to the labor force of women is associated with level of income, education, employment characteristics of men in the household, and the presence of children in the household. Approximately 30 percent of women in poor households work as compared with 23 percent in the wealthiest households. Given the lower participation and lower income levels than men, the financial contribution of earnings to the household are also particularly low. In Dhaka SMA, only 8 percent of total income is brought home by women. Interestingly, the probit models showed that the employment characteristics of the head (male) or of the other men of the household play a part in the probability for a woman to enter the labor force with women more likely to work when there are males in the household who are un-or underemployed. Currently, married women are more likely to work than divorced women or widows. Married women are less likely to work as domestic workers - live-in or live-out. Garment factories tend to employ young single women. Studies show that for a large proportion of young women the decision to enter into employment, was made by the parents (Amin & al. (1997, Zaman, 2001, Kibria, 2001). Garment work is also seen by women and their households as an alternative to early marriage as reported in Amin and al. (1997). With regard to education, low levels of education of women among the poor are associated with a higher participation in the labor force. Women with an intermediate level of education (class 6 to 10) are more likely to work in the garment sector than to be non-workers. The lowest education levels are highly associated with the probability of being employed as a domestic worker. The likelihood of entering the labor force drops when young children (under 5) are present in the household. This would indicate potential for increased labor force participation with adequate day care options for mothers with young children. In fact, the 19 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor probit models show that the presence of other women in the household explains the probability of female employment, particularly when considering the extended definition of the labor force. D. Participation of children in the labor force Approximately 20 percent of children between the ages 5-14 are found to be working.19 Most of the children workers are between 10 and 14 years old. Surprisingly, this proportion is similar for girls and boys (Annex 2, Table 2.21). Most boys are found in the trade sector and most girls in the household services. Manufacturing employed about 25 percent of all child workers (equal for boys and girls). At first glance, the proportion of child workers seems to be almost the same across per-capita income deciles. This is linked to a measurement problem explained in Box 2.1. Child workers are found to work around 34 hours per week (33 hours for the girls and 36 for the boys). However, there is a great heterogeneity within this variable. First, the younger workers - aged under 10 years old - work less than the older children, i.e. around 17 hours per week. Secondly, the working time is substantially higher for the children living with their employer as they were found to work, on average, 58 hours per week. This mainly affects girls that are live-in domestics. Around one third of all child workers are paid with most of them 10 years old and above. The youngest children are very rarely paid. In the poorest households with child workers (the lowest two deciles) earnings from the child workers represent a significant contribution of one-third of the total income of the household.20 On average, for all the deciles, the earnings of the children represent around 20 percent of household income within the households where there are paid children. The average monthly income of a paid child worker was Tk. 848 in Dhaka in 2000. Probit models corroborate this relationship between the level of poverty of the household and the child labor (Annex 2, Table 2.22). Among the household characteristics playing a role in the decision to enter the labor force for the children, three variables stand out: the share of adult males in the household, the share of adult males un- or underemployed and the presence of very young children in the household. Children, particularly boys, are more likely to enter the labor force when the share of males over 15 years old is low or when the share of male over 15 years either underemployed or unemployed is high. In both cases, it seems that children enter the labor force because all other economic resources available in the household have already been used. 19LFS 2000. These estimates are considerably different from those in the HIES 2000 data. In the HIES, only 5 percent of all children aged 5-14 were reported to be employed (urban and rural), and another 10 percent were looking for employment. This large discrepancy in participation rates may be due to differences in the definition of labor force participation in the two data sets. The LFS uses a more extended definition of the labor force than the HIES. 20On average, the earnings of the children represent only 2 percent of the total income of the whole households of Dhaka SMA. 20 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty E. Working hours and income There is much variation in the number of hours worked and earnings among the poor (Table 2.6). For example, on average, a poor rickshaw wallah works 8 hours more than the "urban farmer" (about 55 hours / week versus 47 hours / week). The differential is far more striking for women. Female live-in domestic work 22 hours more per week than garment workers. Moreover, the remuneration of average live-in domestics is by far the lowest. Monthly wages among the extreme poor rank from about Tk. 700 ­ for the live-in domestic-to about Tk. 2,800 ­ for the transport workers. By comparison, the average level of monthly wages in Dhaka is Tk. 4,159 for males and Tk. 1,600 for the females for all income groups. Regardless of the job, the remuneration of poor female workers is lower than that of poor male workers. Table 2.6: Hours and Wages of the Poor, by Occupation and Gender Poor male workers Poor female workers Rickshaw Farmer Vendor Live-in Maid Garment Puller & domestics.* worker other transport workers Number of observations 111 70 136 98 38 79 Working time 54.9 h. 46.9 h 50.7 h 60.4h 43.5 h 38 h Percentage of pop. working 27% 19% 27% 45% 11% 11% more than 60 hours per week Monthly wage Tk. 2,837 Tk. 2,120 Tk. 1,688 Tk. 703 Tk. 731 ** Tk. 1,125 ** ** Self net income Tk. 2,126 Tk. 3,571 Tk. 2,730 - - - ** Notes: *:Live-in domestics employed by the non-poor category **: number of cases less than 50. F. Un- and underemployment Unemployment and underemployment are major problems for the poor.21 Unemployment is almost double that of the non-poor regardless of which definition is used ranging from 10-14 percent for the poor. Underemployment affects 20 percent of households (Table 2.7). 21Standard unemployment is defined as the number of unemployed as a proportion of the total labor force. The "proposed" unemployment rate is the total unemployed (unemployed plus unpaid family workers) as a proportion of the total labor force. Underemployment is those working less than 35 hours per week, as a proportion of the employed labor force. 21 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Table 2.7: Unemployment and Underemployment in Dhaka SMA by Income Group The The precarious The Total poor non-poor Unemployment rate 10.0% 8.1% 5.4% 7.4% Unemployment rate proposed 14.3% 10.5% 7.9% 10.4% Underemployment 21.2% 16.3% 12.7% 16.0% Total un- & underemployed 29.1% 23.1% 17.4% 22.2% Notes: this distribution does not take into account the problem of the live-in maids. This is the case for both men and women. Unemployment affects about 9.5 percent of the poorest male workers versus around 5 percent of the wealthiest workers. For females, about 25 percent of the poor are unemployed compared to 12 percent for the non-poor.22 Underemployment affects almost half of poor women versus one-third of those who live in the upper deciles. As the live-in domestics work longer hours than the average, the fact of omitting them from the upper deciles tends to narrow the gap between the different income groups. If they were statistically reintroduced in their own households, the differences of rates of unemployment and underemployment across deciles might disappear in the female group. IV. Prospects for Employment Generation and Policy Recommendations The above analysis demonstrates a strong link between poverty and employment. It is widely accepted that high rates of productive and remunerative employment growth and high rates of economic growth contribute to poverty reduction. In a labor-surplus economy like Bangladesh, accessing productive employment is one of the main routes to escaping poverty. In the case of Dhaka, the challenge is to create enough remunerative employment opportunities for all the new entrants and the unemployed in order to decrease poverty. Among the priority areas are: i) identifying new areas for employment generation; ii) improving the skills of workers; and iii) increasing access to credit to enable an expansion of self employment activities. Different factors are likely to influence these priorities for Dhaka's labor market. On the supply side is the issue of migration, and the role of education. On the demand side, are the consequences of the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) removal on the RMG sector, and opportunities for expansion of micro-credit in urban areas. These are discussed in detail below. A. Trends and prospects on the supply side of Dhaka's labor market i. Migration to Dhaka The average annual growth rate of the urban population in Bangladesh was around 3.5 percent during the last decade (BBS, 2001). During the same period, the growth of the rural population was 1.5 percent per year. One could estimate that at the 22Based on the proposed definition of unemployment. 22 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty current rate of urbanization, about one-third of the whole population will move to urban areas by 2010. As Dhaka is one of the main destinations for migrants, the city is projected to grow by 7 million people to 19.5 million in the next 10 years.23 One of the main reasons for this dramatic growth is the constant influx of rural migrants. Previous estimates show that the rural-urban migration rate contributed between three-fifths to two-thirds of the urban growth rate in Bangladesh.24 The rural to urban migration rate has not slowed down since the middle of the eighties reaching 4.9 percent during the eighties and 5.9 percent in the nineties.25 A number of studies in Dhaka have found that when asking people why they migrated, the main reason was to find a job. This is consistent with the literature from other countries.26 The principal "push" factor reported by migrants in Dhaka was insufficient job prospects in villages. At the same time, the perception of a high probability of getting a job and earning a higher income in urban areas are the main pull factors. Other push factors include rural poverty, land erosion in their village, and perception of better education, health services, and social amenities in the City.27 Many migrants interviewed in these studies report that they had nowhere to go after their land was destroyed by floods. In such conditions, Dhaka or other large cities are seen as possible places to try to earn a living. "When my father left my family for good, we had no other option but to come to Dhaka and find ways to survive. In our village we do not have any work. I made the journey with my brother and my two sisters, because everyone said that Dhaka is like a paradise where everyone can find employment in the garment factories (...)". A garment worker in Dhaka, cited by Oxfam (2004). The labor market in Dhaka versus rural areas. The comparison of wages and employment characteristics between the rural areas and Dhaka suggests a significant wage gap between urban and rural wages providing incentives to migrate (Table 2.8). Average wages are significantly higher in Dhaka and other cities than wages prevailing in the villages (LFS 2000).28 This is true for all education levels, all sectors and both sexes. On average, accounting for differences in cost of living between the capital and the rest of the country, wages are approximately 40 percent higher in Dhaka and net self employment incomes are approximately 21 percent higher. 23COHRE and ACHR, 2000. 24UN, 1993 25According to the sample vital registration system, BBS. These figures do not include migration to foreign countries. 26According to recent surveys carried out in Bangladesh on this topic, (see Aparajeyo-Bangladesh, 2003; Hossain, 2001; Bhuyan & al., 2001; COHRE and ACHR, 2000). 27see Aparajeyo-Bangladesh, 2003; Hossain, 2001; Bhuyan & al., 2001; COHRE and ACHR, 2000). 28Cost of living differences are calculated using the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) poverty lines, defined by geographic areas. Two corrections are made for comparison on wages and net self employment incomes. See Annex Tables A3. 23 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor The wage differential is the highest for the most educated workers, and those who work in the construction, trade and finance sectors. The differential is more pronounced for female wage-earners than their male counterparts. By geographic area, differentials are greatest between Dhaka and the rural Rajshahi and Pabna areas, and substantial between Dhaka and other urban areas. For example, the differential between Dhaka and urban Chittagong for both wages and net self employment income is about 50 percent. Paradoxically, wage differentials are not very large for the manufacturing sector. Once differences in cost of living are taken into account, there is only an 11 percent differential for work in manufacturing in Dhaka as compared to rural areas. Table 2.8: Comparison of Average Monthly Wages between Dhaka and Rural Areas in 2000 (in Taka) Dhaka (a) Rural areas (b) Rural areas (b) Ratio (a/b) Ratio (a/b) Correction 1 Correction 2 Correction Correction 1 2 Average monthly wage 3237 2490 2138 1.30 1.51 Average monthly wage by level of education No education 1323 1237 1071 1.07 1.24 Class I to V 1971 1849 1609 1.07 1.22 Class VI to X 2783 2605 2227 1.02 1.19 SSC-HSC 3964 4823 4127 0.78 0.91 Degree and above 7696 6276 5313 1.21 1.43 Average monthly wage by sector Agriculture 1768 1389 1208 *1.27 *1.46 Manufacturing 2329 2426 2100 0.96 1.11 Construction 6273 *2410 *2057 *2.60 *3.05 Trade 3000 *1950 *1676 *1.54 *1.79 Transport 3918 *3476 *2978 *1.13 *1.32 Finance 7270 4951 4266 1.47 1.70 Community services 4507 4442 3781 1.01 1.19 Household services 1370 1088 940 1.26 1.46 Average monthly wage by gender Male 4159 2891 2841 1.44 1.46 Female 1600 1181 1015 1.35 1.58 Source: Salmon, 2005, based on 2000 LFS. Notes: Rural wages are corrected to account for cost of living differential between Dhaka and the rest of the country. Extended definition of the labor force. Employed population aged 10 years and over. Correction 1 accounts for both food and non-food items between Dhaka and other regions and may overestimate differences. Correction 2 accounts only for food items and may underestimate differences. The gap between agricultural wages and industrial wages has been widening since the mid-eighties (BBS). The wage gap reached about 40 percent at the beginning of the 24 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty nineties versus almost 100 percent at the end of the nineties. This gap does not, however, necessarily reflect actual wages for new migrants coming to Dhaka. A large proportion of new migrants find employment in the informal sector, where wages are lower than in the formal industrial sector. Moreover, the cost of living is higher in the city than in the rural areas, which decreases purchasing power. The perceived probability of getting a job in the city greatly affects the decision to migrate. Comparative data on unemployment and underemployment in Dhaka versus rural areas is mixed. Underemployment is far lower in Dhaka than in the rural areas (22 percent lower), and unemployment depends on which definition is used. Using the proposed unemployment rate (which includes the unpaid family workers), unemployment is lower in Dhaka (10.4 percent) than in rural areas (11.3 percent). The official unemployment rate shows the opposite - higher unemployment in Dhaka than in rural villages (7.4 percent versus 3.3 percent) - except for the highly educated. Another issue is the reliability of the information on which prospective migrants are basing their decision. One study found that about 80 percent of migrants mentioned prior migrants as the principal source of information on the job prospects in the city. The remaining migrants had no explicit reason for assigning the probability of getting a job in the city29 In practice, migrants' perception of the probability of getting a job in the cities was generally reported to be very optimistic compared to the actual experiences. About two-thirds of migrants reported that they had serious difficulties in finding a job after migration and that the process was particularly long. There are possible explanations for the misperception of migrants' expectations with regard to finding jobs or wage levels. First, they view certain jobs as available and "well-paid", particularly in the garment industry and the public sector.30 Second, studies have shown that there is a feeling among the rural population of an urban bias where urban areas benefit from priorities in terms of public expenditures, access to good jobs, amenities, etc. 31 Consequences of rural-urban migration for the poor in Dhaka. The question of whether the rural-urban migration is beneficial or detrimental is a controversial issue in the literature. It can provide labor needed for urban industrial growth, contribute to urban services, and provide opportunities for many. Remittances sent to rural areas can also provide substantial assistance to families. On the other hand, it can drain rural areas of skilled individuals and the influx of migrants to cities, particularly at a rapid pace, can strain the urban infrastructure, environment and labor markets. 29Bhuyan & al (2001 30The development of the RMG sector has played a very important part in the economic development of Dhaka but also in its demographic growth. The strong growth of Dhaka that has been observed this last decade is for a large part due to the dramatic growth of the RMG sector. 31See Bhuyan & al, 2001 it is noteworthy that, before migration, around half the respondents report that they thought of a probability of between 0.5 and 0.75 of getting a job in the city. Given that the differentials of wages are particularly wide, the perceived employment opportunities remain high enough to push people to migrate (Bhuyan & al., 2001). 25 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Many migrants coming to Dhaka end up in slums where living conditions are particularly grim. New migrants cite a number of major drawbacks once they arrive to urban areas: overpopulation, polluted environment, lack of jobs, and deteriorating law and order (Bhuyan & al, 2001). However, in spite of these negative factors, migrants do not express a desire to go back to their villages in most surveys. In fact, evidence shows that, on average, after migration, monthly household expenditures of migrant households increased by 40 percent. (Bhuyan & al, 2001). This substantial increase in earnings seems to compensate for most of the drawbacks of life in Dhaka. For city managers, the dramatic growth of Dhaka has generated a number of problems including providing adequate water-supply, sanitation and basic services, the management of garbage, the increasing risk of criminality and violence, and the deterioration of environmental conditions. To address the influx of migrants, the GOB has undertaken several policies such as forced evictions (discussed in Chapter 3) and the Ghore Fera (Back to home program). This program encourages people to return to their village by offering them loans for income generating activities in their village, and expenses for transportation and resettlement, though has not been considered very successful. As long as job prospects in cities look promising to the rural poor, many of those who can will continue to migrate. ii. The role of education Investments in human capital for the poor can play a major role in boosting economic development. The increase of human capital can raise the productivity of the poor and their income earning potential. While education levels in Dhaka are far better than in the rest of the country, the average level of education remains low compared with other developing countries. Literacy rates for workers aged 15 and older are only 52 percent among poor male workers and 33 percent for female workers. Moreover, vocational training is very limited, regardless of income group. Less than 10 percent of male workers and 6 percent of the female workers have received technical or a vocational training (Annex 2, Table A2.8). Education costs can be prohibitive for the poorest. While most reports show that households - even poor households - demonstrate a strong willingness to send their children to school by investing huge sums in their education, the poorest of them are limited by financial constraints. Even though the government has the country-wide Compulsory Primary Education Program, and the Food-For-Education (FFE) program mainly in rural areas, education remains very expensive for a poor family - both in monetary terms and in terms of opportunity cost. Vocational-technical training also remains very low relative to labor market needs. The quality of instruction is also cited to be low (Knowles, 2001). There are few linkages between the output of the system and the demand for trained manpower. Significant improvement in this type of education appears to be greatly needed, 26 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty particularly through the development of a private system of training and vocational 36 education. B. Trends and prospects on the demand side of Dhaka's labor market The extent to which the growth of a sector contributes to employment generation can be analyzed through the employment elasticity of sectors. The estimate of output or value-added elasticity measures the responsiveness of employment with respect to a change in output or value-added. High employment elasticity in a sector usually means potential for job creation. For the economy of Bangladesh as a whole, estimates of the employment elasticity with respect to sectoral growth show strong disparities among sectors. The service sector appears to be the most employment friendly with an elasticity over 1 (Table 5.4). The manufacturing sector is somewhat more controversial and is discussed below. Some of the discrepancies are due to data issues (Salmon, 2004). i. Employment trends in the manufacturing sector The manufacturing sector represents about 17 percent of the total labor force in Dhaka SMA, with the RMG sector accounting for 12 percent. Its development in terms of output or value-added is generally considered to be highly important to generating 37 additional job opportunities in order to absorb the additional urban labor force. A disaggregated analysis of the employment elasticity relative to value-added and output for 23 categories shows that the highest elasticities (higher than 0.75) included relatively low skilled industries such as textile industries, bricks, and ship breaking (Rahman & Islam, 2003). Among them is the Readymade Garment (RMG) industry ­ with an employment elasticity of 0.85 to 0.96 with respect to value-added.32 ii. How does the RMG sector affect poverty? Since the beginning of the eighties, the RMG sector has undergone considerable growth in terms of production, exports and employment. At the beginning of the 2000's, the sector provided 76 percent of Bangladesh's foreign earnings.33 RMGs employed about 200,000 workers in 1985 which grew to approximately 2 million in 2003. Much of this job growth has been in Dhaka, which now employs about one-fourth of all garment workers. Most garment workers are women (approximately 90 percent), who support an estimated 10 million dependents (Ward, 2004). Moreover, related service activities are estimated to employ another 2 to 5 million people depending on the source (Ward, 2004; Ahmed and Sattar, 2004). 32Rahman & Islam (2003) for period 1980-1998 33On about 3,600 factories that operate in Bangladesh, some 800-900 engage in direct exports, while the remainder works on subcontracts (Ward, 2004). 27 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor At a microeconomic level, there are a number of studies showing improvements in living conditions for females who have entered into the garment sector (Kabeer, 1991; Amin & al, 1997). Working in a garment factory is seen by thousands of rural women as a way to escape extreme poverty (Kibria, 2001). Women in poor urban households report that garment employment is perceived as a good opportunity compared with other types of unskilled employment available to women with low levels of education in urban areas (such as domestic work). The financial contribution of Dhaka's garment workers accounts for one-third of their family income (LFS, 2000). Wages are, on average, significantly higher than in the other sectors offered to women. Several studies have also found that the development of the garment sector has played a significant role in contributing to the empowerment of women, particularly among the poorest of them (Kabeer, 1991; Amin & al, 1997). Despite the positive benefits of the RMG sector, recent growth and prospects for future development are less encouraging. Performance over the past few years has demonstrated that Bangladesh's garment sector was highly dependent and, thus, vulnerable to external shocks such as international events and changes in trade agreements. This industry, seasonal by nature, has become increasingly irregular in terms of employment since 2001. In August 2001, a few months after the U.S Trade Development Act-2000 became effective (which gave duty-free access and trade preference to African and Caribbean countries), more than half of the Bangladeshi factories reported to have no orders. After September 11, 2001, orders declined rapidly so that by December 2001, it was estimated that nearly 1,300 factories closed and 400,000 women lost their jobs (Ward, 2004). A number of studies have focused on the effects of closures of garment factories finding it was extremely difficult for these women to find another job given the lack of other job opportunities in Dhaka (Shefali, 2002). Additionally, external competition has increased since the entry of China in the WTO and the end of the MFA (Multi-Fiber Agreement) in December 2004. The MFA had provided Bangladesh with a guaranteed market in North America under the quota regime. At the end of 2004, all quota restrictions were abolished. It is difficult to quantify the impact of the many factors that the phase out of the MFA will have on employment in the RMG sector (Box 2.2). In fact, the reduction of RMG exports is anticipated to affect all the households through the depreciation of the real exchange required to offset the decline in export earnings and through the overall reduction in labor demand (Arndt, & al, 2002). A general equilibrium model of the Global Trade Analysis Project estimates that the decrease of garment production could reach more than 10 percent.34 This then would translate to a decrease in direct employment by about 5 percent, and indirect employment of another 5 percent. Other simulations predict a 25 percent decline in RMG export (excluding knitwear) leading to a 6 percent decrease in wage payments to unskilled 34See https://www.gtap.agecon.purdue.edu/resources/default.asp 28 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty female labor in non-agriculture (Arndt & al, 2002). Regardless of which estimate, the losses will hit the poor working in this sector the hardest. A large part of the job creation in the urban labor market is linked to the RMG sector. Given the termination of the MFA, Bangladesh will have to invest in making this sector sufficiently competitive to keep its market shares. This necessitates large investments to improve product quality, increase efficiency, modernize technology, and ensure that products are competitively priced (WTO, 2000). However, to meet these investment needs, it is unclear if Bangladeshi entrepreneurs will have the managerial and risk-taking capacity to handle such a level of investment (Sobhan, 2002). This will require involvement of financial institutions. With regard to the labor force, these investments are also likely to imply an improvement of average skills, which would necessitate the strengthening of the education system and training. Box 2.2: Post MFA and entry of China in the WTO, their impact on the poor in Dhaka? A summary of the literature The post-MFA situation is still evolving though it is clear that these changes will likely have an adverse impact on Bangladesh in general, and particularly on Dhaka. A summary of the literature points to the following strengths and weaknesses of the Bangladeshi garment sector.35 Favorable characteristics: -Bangladesh has a dynamic entrepreneurship, a cheap and skilled labor force. Bangladesh has a considerable comparative advantage in the price of its manpower. Its labor cost in spinning and weaving is only 3 percent of that of the United States. Moreover, given different trade arrangements (but also a certain heterogeneity in the quality) the price of a shirt exported from Bangladesh to the EU is 2.9 euros versus 5.9 euros for export from China.36 (Annex 2, Table A2.31) -Bangladesh has improved the quality of its products since the mid-eighties ( Dowlah, 1999). -Bangladesh has demonstrated a significant improvement in its "Revealed Comparative Advantage" (RCA) in the nineties in all garment products, except for non- 35 Also see End of MFA Quotas, Key Issues and Strategic Options for Bangladesh Readymade Garment Industry, 2006, World Bank Report No. 34964. 36The literature has taken different approaches in dealing with the question of market shares. The most frequent approach has been the application of General Equilibrium Models, mainly through Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) either to simulate the impact of the China's entry into the WTO on developing countries (Gilbert and Wahl, 2000, Morrison, 2001 for a summary of CGE-based models and references) or to simulate the impact of MFA quota removal (see Walkenhorst, 2003 for a survey of quantitative studies). 29 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor knit men's outwear (Shafaeddin, 2004)37. Much of this is attributed to a lack of diversification and special agreements with the EU and the US. -Bangladesh has reduced its original dependence on imports for its intermediate inputs. Although local net export earnings retained within the country from the RMG sector were only 23 percent of gross exports at the beginning of the 1990's, and reached 37 percent in 2000. Less favorable characteristics: -The performance of the Bangladeshi RMG sector has strongly depended on favorable trade agreements. The Bangladeshi exports to the EU have benefited from both GSP arrangements and the Lamy EBA agreement which permitted duty free access.38 Bangladesh has also benefited from large quota allotments with the U.S. -Current rules of origin requirements penalize clothing producers of Bangladesh. For a T-shirt to originate in Bangladesh under the EU's rules, it must either have undergone two stages of transformation there (from yarn to fabrics, and fabrics to clothing), or have used fabrics from other South Asian countries and added more value in Bangladesh than in any other contributing country (Oxfam, 2004). In reality, the usual value added at the assembly stage performed in Bangladesh only reaches 25-35 percent, which is low. Moreover, due to the weakness of indigenous cotton crop and underdeveloped capacity in spinning and weaving, Bangladesh uses fabric inputs from other developing countries. -As export quotas are less restrictive for Bangladesh than for China and India, Bangladesh will face comparatively greater competition from China and India under a quota free regime (Islam, 2001 and Lips & al., 2003).39 Bangladesh has free access to one of its most important export markets (the EU), thus further trade liberalization will worsen the Bangladeshi positions with respect to its competitors. In importing countries, a phase-out of export quotas will likely result in a drop in the prices of apparel from India and China more than that from Bangladesh. -Bangladesh's competitors also have low hourly wages. China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia also have low labor costs in the clothing industry (Table A2.31). -Bangladesh and China have a very similar export structure (Shafaeddin, 2004). This creates high competition, particularly in outer garments. (Annex 2, Table A2.31) -Bangladesh suffers from the weakness of its backward linkages. Bangladesh still imports the majority of yarn and textile necessary to the garment industry. This implies very long lead times (120-150 days, in comparison with 12 days in India). Moreover, after the end of the MFA, prices of yarn and textiles may increase for Bangladesh if exporting countries redirect these products to their own garment industries. -Bangladesh garment sector suffers from internal problems, such as inadequate infrastructure, and unreliable energy supplies, which contribute to high costs. 37RCA is defined as the share of a specific product in total exports of a country relative to the share of the same product in world trade. A ratio exceeding unity indicates that the country has a comparative advantage in that product. 38The Everything But Arms (EBA) Initiative eliminated quotas and tariffs on all imports into the EU from the 49 least developed countries, with the exception of arms and munitions. EBA became effective in March 2001. 39Quotas are also less restrictive for Pakistan and Nepal. 30 Chapter 2: Employment and Poverty iii. Development of Self Employment through Micro-credit Previous sections have shown that in Dhaka about 33 percent of the labor force is self-employed. Most of them are men. (40 percent are men versus 16 percent women). This would indicate substantial demand for microcredit. There is also supporting literature on the positive impacts of micro-finance on poverty reduction. (Khandker, 2003) It is estimated that some 19.3 million individuals received help from various micro-finance programs in 2004.40 Much of the micro lending is done through four NGOs, Grameen Bank, BRAC, ASA and Proshika, which accounted for approximately 86 percent of micro-finance lending. Most micro-credit recipients are women (about 90 percent of borrowers), and live in rural areas (about 90 percent). It is only recently that the major micro-finance providers have begun to target the urban poor (e.g., BRAC, Proshika, ASA), and the coverage is still low. Grameen Bank continues its focus in rural areas. Bangladesh has a relatively positive experience with microfinance in rural areas and is known globally for its successes. This has not, however, reached the same coverage in Dhaka and other urban areas. In the context of rapid urbanization, there appears to be substantial scope for reaching the urban poor including youth who may have difficulties entering the labor market. V. Improving income earning opportunities for the poor While rural migrants continue to come to Dhaka in search of employment, finding remunerative employment is a major challenge for the poor. Jobs tend to be low paying, and do not provide much security. To cope, additional household members, particularly women and children, enter the labor market to earn what they can. The prevalence of child labor is found to be particularly high amongst the poorest households. Recent trends have shown that the growth of Dhaka's labor force is far from tapering off given the high rate of rural-urban migration. Simultaneously, the development of one of the main formal employment providers of Dhaka ­ the garment sector - is jeopardized by the MFA removal. In this context, the balance of Dhaka's labor market strongly depends on policy measures taken on the national scale. Among these are: Implementing policies to encourage growth through diversifying manufacturing beyond the RMG sector. Some of the areas that hold potential for strengthening Dhaka's labor market include food processing, assembly industries such as electronic goods, toys, construction, etc. and in the services sector, the development of data processing and telecommunication both for domestic and export markets. 40The Economics and Governance of NGOs in Bangladesh, 2005, World Bank. 31 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Investing in infrastructure. Firms in Dhaka and Chittagong interviewed in a recent investment climate survey rank electricity supply as a major battlement to doing business and to growth.41 Poor water supply and traffic congestion are also major constraints to growth in Dhaka. In addition, access to land was also mentioned as a severe expansion bottleneck for 40 percent of firms interviewed in Dhaka (see Chapter 3). There are signs of some firms moving outside of Dhaka which has the potential for addressing the land constraint, though such a transition on a larger scale will be dependent on adequate infrastructure and the availability of skilled labor. Improving skills of workers. There is substantial international evidence that investments in education and training can raise productivity and increase the income earning potential of the poor. Education levels for the urban poor remain low relative to other countries, and thus providing affordable options could have huge benefits. Increasing access to credit. On a smaller scale, the expansion of the access to credit by poor urban households should also be an important policy focus. Many NGOs and Micro Finance Institutions in Bangladesh have extensive experience in rural areas which could be implemented in Dhaka and other urban areas. This could play a significant role in financing employment creation by new micro-enterprises and in helping the urban poor to develop new income generating opportunities. Expanding access to child care programs. There is also potential scope for facilitating increases in female labor force participation through access to child care. Evidence from other countries has shown that access to child care through NGO or Government facilities can allow women the flexibility to enter the labor market, ultimately increasing household income. 41See Lall, 2005. The Survey was carried out by the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute and contains 1001 firms in Dhaka and Chittagong. 32 CHAPTER 3: SHELTER FOR THE POOR The city's poor live in rudimentary housing, and only one-in-twenty live in permanent housing. Rents are high, living space is crowded, and the provision of amenities, while difficult to measure with any precision, is almost certainly low given the temporary nature of most housing. Conditions that are already bad appear to be getting worse as rents continue to rise and migration to the city continues. Dhaka's rapid growth, large size, topography, environmental conditions, and problems of governance exacerbate already complex land and housing issues for the poor. The number of slum dwellers is projected to grow to 8 million over the next decade. With this growth, policy makers will need to address land and housing as a top priority. This chapter covers the main land and housing policy issues in Dhaka, with a focus on the effects these policies have on the poor. Section I covers the main policy issues of land and housing prices, the national housing policy, and institutional roles. Section II presents main policy constraints and Section III outlines recommendations aimed at improving the functioning of these markets. A major constraint in the analysis is the scarcity of recent data on land ownership, rents, prices, and the supply of various basic amenities. This lack of information is due largely to the informal nature of urban developments in Dhaka. It is also consistent with the almost complete absence of government in the operation of housing and land markets in the city, even in enforcing basic property rights. Given the paucity of recent data the paper has relied on empirical reference points that are somewhat dated, complemented with assessments and observations by Bangladeshi experts and market participants. Updating the information base would be very useful in deepening the analysis of these issues.42 I. Background A. A Fast Growing, Poor Megacity Dhaka is known as one of the fastest growing cities of the world. Its growth has been particularly rapid since 1972, after its transformation from a provincial capital to the national capital of the newly independent country, Bangladesh. The average annual growth rate of the city's population was 6 percent during the 1974-2001 period. Rural to urban migration remained the most dominant factor of the population growth, but natural increase was also high. Dhaka (or Greater Dhaka) emerged definitively as a mega-city in the new millennium. It is currently the 11th most populous city in the world with over 12 million people and is projected to move up to the 6th position with 18.4 million people in 2010 42For example, financing surveys of living conditions of the urban poor, such as the one undertaken in 1995 for the Study of Urban Poverty in Bangladesh by the Centre for Urban Studies (Islam, 1997) would be a very high return investment. Collecting data on public housing programs run by the various public agencies and consolidating them would also be worthwhile. 33 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor (UN, World Urbanization Prospects, 1999), with only Tokyo, Mumbai, Lagos, Sao Paolo and Mexico City being larger. The projected population size for 2010 and 2016 respectively, has been estimated at 9 million and 10 million for the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area, and 14.88 million and 18.00 million for the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) area (Table 3.1). Table 3.1: Urban Population and Poor Population in DCC and DMDP Territorial Limit 2001 2004 2010 2016 (est.) (proj.) (proj.) DCC (million) 5.90 7.50 9.00 10.00 Rate of growth (%) (4.0) (3.5) (3.5) 2.50 Urban Population DMDP (million) 10.50 12.00 14.88 18.00 Rate of growth (%) (3.5) (4.25) (4.00) 3.50 DCC (million) 2.66 3.37 // // Share of population (%) (45.0) (45.0) // // Rate of growth (%) 4.5 4.0 // // Urban Poor DMDP (million) 4.73 5.40 // // Share or population (%) (45.0) (40.0) // // Rate of growth (%) 4.0 4.0 // // Source: Islam (2004) Can Dhaka sustain such a growth rate in the future? Dhaka is the focus of most of the country's political, administration, economic and social attention. Dhaka's primacy is still on the rise, both in terms of population and in functional terms. It is the most centrally located and most accessible city of the country. With a large national population (140 million in 2004) still growing rapidly and still predominantly rural, the population pressure on the primate city remains very high and appears likely to continue. The city also concentrates private investments in key sectors. For example, 80 percent of the garment industry, which accounts for 80 percent of all exports and employs about 2 million people in the country, is located in Dhaka. Experts also mention the fact that public spending and investment (in particular, in health and education facilities), and public policy decisions have traditionally been skewed in favor of Dhaka over other large or medium-sized cities since the independence of Bangladesh. The concentration of investment and decision-making power in Dhaka, in turns, appears to fuel the on-going high rates of migration to the City. But, little empirical information or analysis is available on why this trend does not follow a self-correcting pattern in which the high prices and congestion in Dhaka make other cities more attractive investment and hence job locations. The continued growth of Dhaka can eventually lead to negative implications for economic growth and poverty reduction.43 Empirical evidence shows that very large 43Many local experts believe that the city's poverty problems cannot be addressed unless its growth rate is reduced and would favor programs attempting to subsidize recent migrants to leave the city which have been periodically implemented. While the city's growth rate is unusually high, the international experience 34 Chapter 3: Shelter for the Poor population concentrations may have adverse effects on growth (Henderson, 2000), 44 and are generally driven by a set of broader policies that lead to corruption and less equitable growth (Glaeser, 1999).45 B. High Land Prices Have Excluded the Poor from Ownership of Land and Housing Housing Prices. Residential land values in prime locations of Dhaka range between US $ 30 and $ 60 per square foot, similar to prices reported in other regional cities such as Hyderabad, Kuala Lumpur or New Delhi.46 Nevertheless, land prices are high compared to those found in developed countries. For example, areas in the US where land prices exceed $60 per square foot are rare (Housing finance in Bangladesh, World Bank, 2004). These prices make it impossible for the poor to purchase land in the open market within the DCC area. The cheapest ready-to-build plot within DCC is priced at Tk. 500,000 per katha (i.e., 720 square foot lot) or US $ 12 per square foot. Normally RAJUK does not grant building permission on lots smaller than 1050 square foot. This would cost Tk. 729,000 (US $ 12,600), which is equivalent to nearly 20 years of income for an average poor household (Tk. 3000 per month). The cost of housing would be additional. In any case, such small lots are hardly available in the open market, and only rarely supplied by the government in a subsidized market. Consequently, it is estimated that 97 percent of the urban poor in the city do not own any land.47 New Housing. With regard to the types of new housing produced, formal sector private developers generally serve only the upper and middle income groups. Even their "lower cost" housing products sell for approximately 1 million Takas (US $ 17,000). With a 50 percent down-payment and under current credit conditions, the unit can be repaid with monthly payments of Tk. 5,000. Under an already high payment-to-income ceiling of one-third, the required minimum income of the household would be of Tk. 15,000, which means that only those in the top 30 percent of the distribution of income in Dhaka could afford to purchase new housing. Thus, formal, industrially developed units are unaffordable not only to the poor, but to the vast majority of the population. is that subsidy programs designed to induce out-migrations from cities are rarely effective. More fundamental incentives are at work. 44The literature on the relation between economic growth and urban concentration suggest that national resources can be squandered due to excessive concentration of population and investments in one city (Henderson 2000). Excessive primacy often leads to a decrease of competition among cities to attract investments, increasing commuting, congestion, and living and production costs to excessive levels. It also leads to increases in costs of land, housing and urban services, and decreases in productivity of businesses and quality of urban services. Thus, economic growth is impacted negatively. 45See Lall, 2005 for a discussion of this and simulations for the Bangladesh context. 462003 by Seraj and Afrin. 47In a study for the Government of Bangladesh and ADB in 1995, Islam et al. found that only 3.2 percent of the urban poor in Dhaka owned the plot of land on which their dwelling unit was located. 35 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Existing Housing. It is estimated that less than 20 percent of the poor of Dhaka are owners. The last statistical survey, conducted in 1995 (Islam et. al, 1997) found that 16 percent of the poor in Dhaka were owners; 56 percent were tenants; 8 percent were rent free dwellers, and nearly 20 percent were squatters or illegal occupants (Table 3.2). The low ownership rate in Dhaka stands in contrast with comparable Indian cities such as Delhi or Bombay,48 and with cities of other regions such as the Middle East and North Africa or Latin America where ownership of the dwelling is by far the dominant status even for the poor. Table 3.2: Housing Tenure of the Urban Poor, 1995 Dhaka All Urban Hardcore Moderately All Hardcore Moderately All poor (%) poor (%) poor poor (%) poor (%) poor Owner 16.4 16.2 16.3 28.8 25.5 27.7 Tenant in 42.4 49.6 45.4 45.6 48.4 46.6 private house Government 5.6 5.2 5.4 5.0 7.6 5.9 tenant Sub tenant 5.2 5.7 5.4 3.0 5.5 3.2 Rent-free 9.3 5.7 7.8 7.6 5.2 6.8 Illegal 20.2 16.1 18.5 9.5 8.8 9.3 Others 0.9 1.5 1.1 0.5 1.1 0.7 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source: Islam, et. al, 1997 Housing Quality. Access to housing for the poor in DCC is mainly limited to private slums and squatter settlements.49 Only 5 percent of the poor of Dhaka in the 1995 study lived in permanent or pucca houses, 22 percent lived in semi pucca houses, 41 percent in temporary units and another 32 percent in rudimentary kutcha units or jhupris (Islam et. al, 1997). Slums: Estimates and Definitions. Slums (Bastees), are substandard housing built on privately owned land. Squatter settlements (or Bastuhara colonies) are substandard housing built illegally on publicly owned land, including railway tracks. A third category comprises the sites of the homeless / pavement dwellers (Bhashaman Janogosthi), estimated at around 120,000. The recent mapping of slum settlements (Chapter 1), shows that slums are located all around the City. The share of private slums is thought to have been increasing over time because of the rapid increase of the city limits, and because evictions from government land have limited the growth of squatter settlements. 48Although no directly comparable statistics are available, the ownership rates among households living in one -room dwellings, which is a proxy for the poorest groups of the population, were 47 percent and 59 percent in Delhi and Bombay respectively, and higher for larger dwellings (http://www.indiastat.com/). 49A large number of the poor (such as household workers, drivers, security guards etc.) live as part of the middle class or upper class households and as such benefit from almost all utilities and urban services. 36 Chapter 3: Shelter for the Poor In comparison to other cities in the region (India), the proportion of slum dwellers (in the broader sense) in Dhaka is similar to Kolkata, less than in Mumbai, and greater than in three other major Indian cities, Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore (Figure 3.1). Figure 3.1: Estimated proportion of population living in slums in Indian cities and Dhaka Percentage of city population living in slums Bangalore Delhi Chennai Kolkata Dhaka Greater Mumbai 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Source: For Indian cities, Indiastat. For Dhaka : Islam (2004). Housing Rent Levels. In private slums and `mess' units the poor pay regular rent to a landlord or home owner. In the case of squatter settlements, occupants generally have to pay "tolls" to mastaans (musclemen) and agents of employees of the land owning authorities. Rents in the private slums are reported to be high. Islam (1985) found that slums dwellers in Dhaka City were paying higher rent per square meter than non-slum households, even though the latter usually benefited from a much better physical environment and level of services. Typical rents today would be around Tk. 500 for a single person, Tk. 1000 or Tk. 1,500 for a family. Many poor households pay up to Tk. 1500 (US $ 26) for a small (less than 10 square meters) two-room unit in slums with water, electricity, latrine and gas. This spending accounts for approximately 14 percent of the poor's household budget (HIES, 2001). This figure is considerably higher than that observed in large Indian cities where the average urban household spends 7 percent of their income on housing, even in high cost locations such as the state of Maharasthra where Mumbai is located. As a consequence of tight budget constraints and relatively high rents, the poor in Dhaka usually live in very small accommodations (2 or 3 square meters per person similar to the situation in Mumbai). II. Main policy constraints A. Unresponsiveness to price signals for a large portion of the land in the city The very high level of land prices is the major constraint of urban policies in Dhaka. Land prices appear to be comparable to those in suburban New York, whereas the average income of Dhaka residents is a hundred times lower. For example, the Bangladesh Institute of Planners estimates that land in Dhanmondi, the most expensive 37 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor area in Dhaka, is Tk. 3,500/square foot or roughly $60. Similarly, land in Gulshan is priced at Tk. 3,194/square foot and Baridhara at Tk. 3,000/square foot. Even more remarkable is that land in the least expensive residential areas in Dhaka, is valued at Tk. 1,600, around $27 per square foot. These areas include Uttara, Pallabi, and Shyamali, which are on the periphery of the city. In comparison, land prices in most cities of the United States are much lower.50 In a study of land and housing costs in US cities, Glaeser and Gyorko (2003) report the following prices (in $/square foot) for a sample of cities: Boston $13.10; Chicago $14.5; Los Angeles $30.4; Miami $11.1; New York $32.3; San Diego $26; San Francisco $64. These prices reflect a mix of land shortages and development constraints (land use zoning regulation), but only in a few cases is developed land priced higher than in parts of Dhaka. Land prices in Khulna have been estimated to be similar to those in Dhaka, and are about 15 percent lower in Chittagong (World Bank, 2004). In any case across the metropolitan areas, land values are extraordinarily high. In fact, the least expensive middle class housing in the country is estimated at about Tk. 700,000, which is more than 10 times the median income (World Bank, 2004). The main reason for such high land prices is topographical, resulting in land supply constraints. Because of the city's location there is a real scarcity of developable land, which is reflected in the very high density of Dhaka (20,000 persons per square kilometer, and up to 100,000 in some areas of the city). Dhaka is situated in a flood plain and surrounded by rivers which periodically flood the lowlands around the city. The local topographical configuration led to a city development following a north-south pattern, rather than as a circle, as shown in Map 2. Most of the high lands immune to flood are already built. Newly developed areas are built on the flood plain by progressive filling. This real scarcity is compounded by an artificial scarcity, stemming primarily from the lack of utilization of public land within the city. Large amounts of public land in central Dhaka remain undeveloped. Government­owned land (called Khas) is now scarce (at most 1500 ha, but only 430 would be free of occupation today). Other locations are occupied by Government-related activities with very little or no use for construction (this is the case of the Tejgaon airport, the military cantonment, and land tracks left for future construction of public buildings). This may characterize as much as 20 percent of the land in the inner city area as shown in Map 2. Other areas, also centrally located, such as the public housing stock are developed at very low densities given the land prices. Finally, there is a gap between technically usable land and formally usable land. The latter is defined by RAJUK master plans. The current approach is obsolete, resulting in areas potentially developable for residential use being not zoned as such. A consequence of this scarcity of formal serviced land has been the development of the city almost entirely by the informal sector over the last 20 years. As shown in Maps 1 and 2, most of the new urbanization in the last 20 years has occurred at the 50Also consider that per capita GDP in the United States on a PPP basis is 20 times that of Bangladesh. 38 Chapter 3: Shelter for the Poor margin of the city, with little or no attention paid to planning regulations or any planning enforcement.51 This dominance of the informal delivery systems over the formal system is also highlighted by a breakdown of the housing stock into sub-categories. The informal sector is estimated to have produced 85 percent of the 1.0 million housing units in the DCC/DMA area (Table 3.3). While self-construction accounts for half of the total stock, slums and squatter settlements represent the other 35 percent of it. By contrast, the public sector's contribution to the housing system in Dhaka has been around 100,000, while that of the formal private sector (real estate companies or developers) has been estimated to account for around 48,000. The contribution of the cooperative sector is very small, probably less than 2000 units. Thus, the total formal sector contribution to housing in Dhaka would be only about 150,000 units, or about 15 percent of all units in the central city or DCC/DMA area. Table 3.3: Relative importance of Housing Delivery Sub-Sectors in Dhaka Sub-sector Number of Units in DCC/DMA Formal Sector Public housing 100,000 Private Housing 48,000 Cooperative 2,000 Total Formal Sector 150,000 Informal Sector Private Housing 500,000 Slums 200,000 Squatter Settlements 150,000 Total Informal Sector 850,000 Total 1,000,000 Source: Estimates from Islam, 2004 B. An enabling housing policy without enablers i. The national Housing Policy In 1993, the Government of Bangladesh approved a National Housing Policy which was updated in 1999 and once again in 2004. The Policy describes the role of the government in the housing sector as that of a "facilitator" or "enabler" rather than as a "provider." This means its role is to increase access to land, infrastructure services and credit; to ensure availability of building materials at a reasonable price especially for the low and middle income groups; and to create and promote housing finance institutions. Actual construction of housing is to be left to private sector developers, private individuals, and NGOs (GOB, 2004). 51 Other problems relate to land titling, the registration of real estate property, and the coexistence of different forms of land ownership. As these issues have been developed elsewhere (Syed Mynuddin Hussain, 2004), this paper does not elaborate on them. 39 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Figure 3.1: Map of Land Use in Dhaka City, 1984 Source : Salma Shafi (1992). 40 Chapter 3: Shelter for the Poor Figure 3.2: Map of Land Use in Dhaka City, 2004 Source : Salma Shafi (2004). 41 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor The policy calls for special consideration for improvement of low income settlements and slums and squatters. It has clear recommendations in support of ensuring proper rehabilitation in cases of slum eviction. The policy also makes statements on strategies for improving land supply, infrastructure, building materials on technology, housing finance institutions, legal and regulatory frameworks and institutional arrangements. Finally, it also recommends the formation of a National Housing Council and a National Housing Authority (NHA) in order to implement the policy objectives and programs of the government. The latter has been formed but not the Council. The stated policy approach appears to be sound and is consistent with the recommendations made in the World Bank's Housing Policy Paper: Enabling Markets to Work (1993). Nevertheless, important aspects of it are not implemented. ii. Continuing Slum Evictions without Resettlement Eviction of squatters from public land has been a continuing practice of the government policy. Annex 3 has a list of all evictions that have taken place in Dhaka since 1975, estimated at around 135. While the number of slum dwellers evicted in each case is not known, the list clearly shows that evictions have not slowed down since the adoption of the National Housing Policy. The 2004 large scale eviction in Agargaon affected an estimated 40,000 slum dwellers. Evictions from squatted public land often occur without resettlement plans. As a result, evicted households, some of whom have lived for more than 20 years in the same settlements, have little choice but to join the cohorts of new migrants to the city on the urban fringe. This movement in turn fuels the process of land filling and land grabbing. The systematic filling of the water retention ponds within the city area makes it more prone to flooding. Squatted areas rarely upgrade, because the threat of eviction impedes investment in houses.52 Thus, in the long run, the absence of a relocation policy results in an implicit status quo development strategy for the city as a whole, which presents high environmental risks. iii. Fragmented and mis-targeted public interventions in housing The roles of the main public actors intervening in the housing sector are not clear. Those involved include the planning agency RAJUK, the National Housing Authority (NHA), the Urban Development Directorate, and the Public Works Department of the Ministry of Housing.53 The NHA has jurisdiction over all Bangladesh, issued the National Housing Policy, and is supposed to be responsible for its implementation. It does not, however, have specific means for enforcing the policy. The NHA also manages 52While the squatter settlements are obvious examples of the effect of uncertainty of property right on investment in housing, the same phenomenon is also mentioned for public-private partnerships in housing, where the Government wants to recover the land after a certain number of years and entertains uncertainty about the exact nature of rights on the land, deterring investment by the private sector. 53Other players include the Ministry of Land, which owns public land all over the country, and the Prime Minister's office, which directly manage some habitat projects all over Bangladesh. 42 Chapter 3: Shelter for the Poor housing projects. By contrast, RAJUK's jurisdiction covers only the Dhaka Metropolitan Area, and RAJUK's mission has never been to provide housing for the poor (Annex 3, Box A3.2). In Dhaka, the division between the interventions of all these actors appears to be based largely on a geographical basis, determined by the holdings of land acquired by them at different points in time. Precise data on the extent and composition of public housing programs are lacking though public housing programs serve only a very small fraction (less than 10 percent) of new housing demand.54 Few if any of the public housing programs are targeted to the poor. RAJUK has been known to provide serviced lots of a minimal size (100 square meters -1.5 khatas), which given land prices in the city makes them totally unaffordable for poor households.55 The Land Ministry is currently working on a project "for the poor and landless," consisting of 15,000 small flats in high-rise buildings. Considering the costs of finished flat units, there is little chance that the officially-targeted households will be able to pay for them. Thus, units built through public programs are likely to be bought by (lower) middle income households, unless very generous subsidies ­ amounting to several times the annual income of beneficiaries ­ are delivered to a small share of the population that can be served. Such programs operate more like lottery schemes than housing assistance. In conclusion, little has been achieved in terms of the implementation of the National Housing Policy. Property rights have not been assured. Public interventions have been fragmented, have not targeted the poor, are based on unworkable design standards, and are not coordinated. The current policy environment is not one in which additional public resources will necessarily benefit the poor. Improving the housing conditions of the urban poor will require substantial policy reforms. Box 3.1: Slum Improvement/Upgrading Programs of the National Government The Government of Bangladesh began implementing upgrading program in urban slums in the mid eighties with UNICEF. This program has been active in some 25 cities, including Dhaka. Originally the program had a strong physical component like improvement of drains and sanitation. It had no housing component. Later the World Bank, the ADB and major NGOs like CARE supported some slum improvement programs. None in Dhaka (DMDP area) however, has any housing component. All programs together have made very little impact on improvement of slums in Dhaka, due to the massive scale of the problem. 54According to experts, the only occurrence of land being given to the poor on a large scale was in 1975, when 250,000 squatters were evicted from public land. 75,000 were relocated in Tongi, Mirpur, and Dembra. Those areas are now further developed and part of the modern city. 55For example, plots serviced by RAJUK in the new town of Purbachal, presently being developed beyond the Balu river in the east of Dhaka, will be of 3,000 square feet on average. 43 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Dhaka City Corporation itself established its own Slum Improvement Department in the early 90s, but fund allocations to this department has always been very small, although over 1/3rd of DCC's population lives in slums. The NHA is the new form of the former Housing and Settlements Directorate. The latter agency managed some housing programs after the partition, mainly for displaced people coming from India. The NHA, established in 2001, has been implementing some small projects for the low income families and is now trying to help a private company to implement a resettlement project in multi storied buildings in Mirpur, Dhaka. C. Failures of coordination and services at the local level At the local level, the lack of coordination between all actors intervening in the housing sector is mentioned by Bangladeshi experts and international reviews as the source of multiple inefficiencies.56 Concrete manifestations of the lack of coordination are the absence of planning enforcement, lack of services and infrastructure, and inadequate timing in land and housing project developments which causes disruption of services (Sarker, 2004). Among the causes of this lack of coordination is the limited role that the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) plays in urban management. DCC does not manage planning, does not decide on the use of public land located within the city, and has no power over the public utility companies within its jurisdiction. While a precise census would be necessary, figures quoted range from 16 to 40 different institutions intervening at one stage or another in urban matters in Dhaka. Purely land related issues such as land records and land transfers are dealt with by the Ministry of Land and Deputy Commissioner of Settlements under the Ministry of Works. Housing related issues are managed by the National Housing Authority and RAJUK. The Dhaka City Corporation (or other Municipal Authorities within DMDP area) is responsible for housing or property tax collection. The Department of Environment has the responsibility of controlling environmental regulation as these affect land and housing development. The utility service authorities like Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (DWASA), Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority (DESA) and Titas Gas Company are each responsible for providing their respective services to the households requiring these. The Dhaka City Corporation and the other Municipalities provide conservancy services. There are several other agencies involved in housing development. The performance of the Dhaka Development Agency, RAJUK, officially in charge of planning, planning enforcement, delivery of building permits, and land 56Islam, 1999 44 Chapter 3: Shelter for the Poor servicing, is also a major cause of inefficiency. A review of the role of RAJUK would be a top priority for policy reform. Some progress seems to have been achieved recently in the coordination process, however. Two years ago, a new Committee for Urban Development was created, to solve the main problems of coordination among urban actors in Dhaka.57 The Committee is chaired by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. The role of the Committee, however, has been in solving day-to-day problems, not in setting a medium or long-term vision for the development of Dhaka. A major consequence of the lack of governance and accountability concerns access to utilities. In response to the unavailability of services such as electricity by formal means in the illegally built zones, parallel systems for accessing utilities develop.58 As discussed in Chapter 4, maastans often arrange delivery of services to the illegal area with the utility companies. Utilities are then sold back to resident renters at high prices. The resources generated are shared between the middlemen, bribed utility company employees, and government officials. As a result, not only can the utility companies not cover their costs, but the poor end up paying higher prices for services than the non-poor. D. The limited role of NGOs in housing for urban poor NGOs and microfinance institutions have been impressively present in rural Bangladesh for at least two decades, and have achieved international recognition as effective and transparent pro-poor institutions. Some of them, such as Grameen Bank, have devoted significant resources to housing programs. Grameen has made more than 600,000 housing loans in rural areas in Bangladesh. However, NGOs have not been intensively involved in housing programs in Dhaka City. Some NGOs are confined by their charters to work in rural areas (Grameen).59 Others work in urban areas, but have prioritized income generating activities as a main focus.60 The very high land prices in Dhaka are cited as a main reason for this limited involvement. They preclude replication of rural interventions in housing of the Grameen type, in which no land cost is covered and housing loans are given to households having already a piece of land, or to homeowners for home improvements.61 57For example, it is this group which enforced local participation into the drafting of Detailed Areas Maps prepared by RAJUK. 58Units built without title or building permit cannot in theory have access to utilities. 59The present charter of Grameen forbids its direct involvement in urban areas. It helps other NGOs (such as Shoptika or PKSF) to operate in Dhaka. Grameen is presently seeking to have its charter revised to be able to operate in urban areas. 60For example, BRAC activities in urban areas include income generating activities micro finance; health care (tuberculosis control program in partnership with the Government); Micro enterprise lending programs; a pilot program for rickshaw pullers sponsored by the World Bank; and a pilot program for retrenched garment workers. 61The order of magnitude of the loan would be Tk. 10,000 (US $ 170), paid back in 10 years. This corresponds to monthly payments of around Tk.240 (US $ 4), that is, 20 times less than the loan for a 45 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor NGOs also find working in Dhaka high risk. The threat of eviction, legal complications related to land ownership, the ability of middlemen to extract rent from the poor, and the lack of credibility of the Government's commitment, render investments in those areas intrinsically too risky. While NGO involvement in housing programs has been limited, some interesting projects do exist that could potentially be scaled up. A promising approach to providing shelter solutions to the poor is the type of projects run by Nari Uddyog Kendra (NUK), which has arranged rental accommodation in dormitories for female garment workers. NUK offers a comprehensive and cost-effective hostel model. Recently, BRAC has also engaged in similar types of projects, with the support of the government. Those projects offer affordable solutions for the poor, particularly single women.62 Box 3.2: NGO programs targeted to poor renters Currently NUK is operating three Hostel and Development Centre for women garment workers in Dhaka city with 600 seat-capacity, and two Student Hostels with 150 seat capacity in Dhaka and Mymensingh. All the hostels are operating on a non-profit basis in hired premises. Recently, BRAC also engaged in this activity and "Grihayan Tahabeel" (Housing Fund) of the Government of Bangladesh, administered through Bangladesh Bank, approved Tk 100 million to BRAC for building hostels for 2,500 women workers of garment factories in Uttara, Dhaka with 1 percent interest, repayable in 20 years. BRAC has another program centered on housing, targeted at single women renters. BRAC staff act as middlemen between landlords and single women who otherwise would not be able to find a place to live. They lend Tk. 5000 to cover the upfront costs of rental (3-4 months of rent as a security deposit). The woman will then be able to mobilize her own social network and sublet rooms or space to other women, which will provide a source of income to repay the loan. III. Improving Shelter Conditions for the Urban Poor Dhaka's rapid growth is likely to continue and thus understanding the factors and policies that contribute to this growth will help to shape the future. Main challenges facing Dhaka in the next years with regard to land and housing for the poor are: coping with a sustained arrival of poor migrants, adopting more proactive planning policies to formal unit described above. This gives a sense of the gap between the reach of formal, developer-built housing solutions, and low-income housing. 62According to a number of Bangladeshi observers, single woman in Bangladesh is likely to suffer discrimination on a number of fronts. In particular, they have a hard time finding an accommodation, are subject to all kind of abuse and as such constitute a privileged target of the NGOs. 46 Chapter 3: Shelter for the Poor address the environmental risks, finding a way to enforce property rights so that land grabbing does not take place, ensuring that any eviction from public or private property is done in a way that recognizes the rights of those affected; and improving the accountability of the public sector as a whole in the delivery of basic services. No program of reforms seems likely to gain momentum until the Government's commitment to honor basic property rights with respect to land and housing is credible. This credibility is difficult to achieve in a market where land and housing prices are unaffordable for most of the population. In the current context, the uncertainty of property rights, the perceived corruption and inefficiencies of public institutions in the sector, and the weakness of the local government constitute significant impediments to the functioning of the housing market. They also impede further involvement of NGOs and the private sector in the delivery of urban services for the poor. In particular, unless actions are taken to mend the institutional setting described in the above sections, projects of city extension to the east (Dhaka Eastern Bypass) can only result in the same deficiencies as those which are witnessed as an on-going process in the city. Recognizing that a number of basic policy changes are necessary, main reforms are needed in the policy and institutional framework. Some of the proposed changes will take a considerable amount of time to be implemented, but would result in a more effective and enabling policy environment, ultimately contributing to improvements in shelter conditions for the urban poor. Among these are: Implementing the National Housing Policy. This is a priority for any sustainable improvements for Dhaka's poor. A key element of this policy is in the enforcement of basic property rights. Destruction of squatter settlements should be limited to necessary actions of redevelopment or infrastructure building and should be accompanied by relocation plans for evicted squatters. Strengthening public institutions to implement the National Housing Policy. Much stronger and more credible public institutions are needed for this enabling strategy to work. The multiplicity of public agencies intervening in housing programs is inefficient and could be reduced with each agency having clear roles and responsibilities, operating under the umbrella of the National Housing Policy. If the National Housing Authority continues to be the overseer of the National Housing Strategy, it would be more effective if they focus on a policy and regulatory role rather than implementing housing projects. Developing mechanisms for better accountability for land use and better coordination of services in the city. A first step would be undertaking an inventory of public land belonging to different ministries and agencies within the city. This inventory could be the basis for a strategic plan for public land use in the future. Vacant public land in excess of critical city needs could be released on the market. Solutions for promoting housing upgrading and investment on squatted tracks of public land could include giving proper titles to long-term residents with programs targeted to low income households. 47 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Promoting coordination between DCC, RAJUK- the planning authority, line ministries and utility agencies in urban projects in Dhaka. While ad hoc committees can be a viable short or medium-term solution to coordination problems, in the long run, the Dhaka City Corporation should be given more means to achieve pro-poor goals. This long-term goal should be explicitly linked to any progress in the decentralization process in the country. Strengthening the performance of RAJUK. A full reform of RAJUK is needed. This could be based on the separation of the multiple functions it now exerts (planning, planning enforcement, land servicing, and housing projects), which generate conflicts of interest and are not implemented efficiently at present. Planning functions should ultimately depend on the local governments concerned, and could be assumed by a body gathering Dhaka City and the municipalities within the current RAJUK jurisdiction (5 municipalities). Intra-city planning in Dhaka should be reinforced and DCC given increased planning authority within its boundaries. Planning enforcement should be given to another body to avoid conflicts of interest. Within DCC it should be done by the technical services of the city. By the same token it should be given adequate means and manpower. The private sector should be allowed to compete on level ground for land servicing though there is room for a public land services, and the right of eminent domain for public utility projects. The rights of owners, however, have to be better protected (revise the current procedure for power of eminent domain and make it fair and transparent). Construction of housing units for medium or high income households should be left to the private sector. Low-income housing projects could be done by a specific entity, but RAJUK is not the best candidate since its mandate was never focused on the poor. Initiating pilot projects in poor areas in partnership with NGOs. NGOs have not been active in the housing sector due to perceived risks. However, NGO programs such as NUK's projects of dormitories for female garment workers, BRAC's program for poor renters have worked well. It would be useful to foster the piloting of additional programs aimed at improving land and housing conditions for the poor with careful monitoring and evaluation so they can be scaled up over time. Other potential partners include Dhaka City Corporation and utility companies. DCC officials seem eager to do something for the poor; however, the DCC owns very little land in the city. A pilot project could focus on the upgrading of the semi-slums in the 4th class city workers quarters around the city. Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) has 4,000 acres of land of its own surrounding water plants, in which WASA employees could be housed. However, most of the land has been squatted 48 Chapter 3: Shelter for the Poor over time. More broadly, there are 500,000 public employees in Dhaka city, most of whom live in slums, which could be the target of pilot projects run by DCC. Improving legal and regulatory framework. From existing material and discussion with experts, there is clear scope for efficiency gains in the land and housing markets, due to constraints caused by the existing laws and regulations applying to zoning, land subdivision, and building. In a first stage, it is worth examining possible "quick gains" which could arise from the removal of well-identified constraints which increase the cost of formality and reduce the fluidity of the housing market. Those include: Suppressing of minimum lot size for land subdivisions; Allowing for the possibility of bringing utilities to housing units built without title / building permit; Lowering registration fees for land; Lowering transfer fees for land and housing; Reviewing of the existing regulations, with the aim of removing the main obstacles to the smooth functioning of the market. 49 50 CHAPTER 4: THE CHALLENGES OF SERVICE DELIVERY FOR DHAKA'S POOR The provision of services in Dhaka is an enormous challenge particularly in light of its rapid growth. There are severe deficiencies in both access and quality, particularly for the poor. Delivery systems are complex, inefficient and non-transparent with many households paying bribes to ensure services.63 The poor are particularly vulnerable as many service providers do not work in slum areas. Access to health, education, power, water supply, sanitation and waste disposal is limited for the urban poor. For those services that do exist, the quality is low, and costs can be prohibitive. With Dhaka's rapid growth, there is an urgent need to find sustainable solutions to meet the basic needs of the population. This chapter focuses on the current challenges of service delivery for the poor in Dhaka, and the range of constraints faced by service providers. Information is drawn from in-depth structured interviews with approximately 20 representatives from Government, NGOs and Donors working in the field of service delivery to the urban poor.64 A full review of service delivery for each sector is beyond the scope of this study, though is recommended for future research. I. The Current Situation Bangladesh's Constitution states that the Government of Bangladesh is responsible for creating an environment for its citizens that allows them to improve their quality of life through access to health, education and other basic services. The country does not, however, have an explicit policy on urbanization and urban poverty. Without a policy framework, there is no mandate or priority given to dealing with the problem. Furthermore, two common perspectives among policy makers affect decision making with regard to the urban poor. First, it is assumed that providing access to basic services such as health care, education, sanitation and water supply to squatter settlements will result in increased migration. Second, is the perception that the urban population is better off than the rural population. Consequently, urban poor and slums have received limited attention from the donors, NGOs and Government agencies until recently. The services that do exist are delivered by a mix of Government, NGOs, donors, and private individuals (mastaans) who often use illegal methods. These services are limited, and generally perceived to be of low quality. An extensive study on urban service delivery carried out in 2002 looked at user's satisfaction in four cities including Dhaka.65 Overall, less than 20 percent of the households surveyed are satisfied with 63World Bank, 2002, Improving Governance for Service Delivery. 64See Background paper for list of interviews. 65World Bank, Proshika, and Survey and Research System, 2002, Bangladesh Urban Service Delivery, A Score Card. 51 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor eight out of eleven surveyed services. Among poor households in Dhaka, less than 5 percent were satisfied with 7 basic services, and only 16 and 17 percent were satisfied with education and health care, respectively. A. Basic Services Education. The right to education in Bangladesh is written into the Constitution, a right for all children to receive basic primary and lower secondary education (World Bank, et al, 2002). Providers include governmental, NGO, religious, community and private schools. The largest proportion of children in poor households who got to school in urban areas attend government schools. Private schools are the next destination and a greater proportion of poor children go to private schools than NGO schools, reflecting the fact that not many NGO schools operate in urban areas.66 Despite the multiple options, the urban poor are less likely to send their children to school. In a sample of slum areas in Dhaka, 58 percent of 6-7 year olds do not attend school (Aparajeyo, 2002). The reasons given range from inadequate school facilities, distance to school, and lack of funds for the tuition, lack of parents' awareness, inappropriate school timing, and a floating/migratory lifestyle. Drop out rates for primary schools are also estimated to be substantially higher in urban areas than rural due to slum evictions in urban areas and a need to work. From the score card survey, many households experience a number of problems, both getting their children admitted to school and the experience their children have while in school. In Dhaka, 59 percent reported problems with limited number of seats, 16 percent with failed admission tests, and 10 percent with school authorities demanding `donations.' The reported payment of fees and for those in the lowest income group was 865 Taka in 2002, and 2327 for the second quintile which can be prohibitive for some households. 67 Health Care. About half of all health services are provided by the public sector and half by the private sector. In Dhaka less than 54 percent of households report having access to health facilities, for the poor this would be substantially lower. Furthermore, the clinics and hospitals that are accessible do not have the capacity to adequately care for the needs of patients. Only 12 percent of all urban poor report getting medical services from the government service centers, mostly because they are unable to take the time out of their daily chores or time off work to visit a clinic (HIES). Hospitals and clinics are typically not located close to slum areas, and the waiting line for patients is extremely long. Focus groups carried out as part of the score card survey show that slum dwellers feel that they are deprived of proper health facilities, and that they do not get good care from doctors and nurses or the necessary medicines. They report long delays saying that it could sometimes take a month for a patient to get to see a doctor at the hospital. 66World Bank, Proshika, and Survey and Research System, 2002, Bangladesh Urban Service Delivery, A Score Card. 67Ibid. 52 Chapter 4: The Challenges of Servie Delivery for Dhaka's Poor Cost can also be prohibitive for the poor. For example, while hospitals are supposed to be free, slum dwellers report that they are required to make payments. Residents report that no service is available without `speed money.' The magnitude of these `fees' can be relatively large. Households report having to pay to get admitted, to see a doctor, and for medicines and other essential medical supplies.68 Similar to the situation with education facilities, NGOs and donors remain reluctant to set up clinics inside the slums in case there is an eviction and resulting loss of infrastructure. Water and Sanitation. Water and sanitation are delivered through pipe connections to homes, public taps, and tube wells. In poor communities, the poor generally rely on private sources, and to a more limited extent, WASA. Hardware, including facilities such as latrines and water points, are a primary need for these communities. Studies in urban slums report women and girls often waiting for hours to access the limited tube wells available for a large number of families. The government's guidelines mandate that water should be provided to all urban areas and all people covered by each municipality. In practice, this is not the case. Slum dwellers reported paying as much as Tk. 2 per bucket of water, several times the price paid by those who had legal connections (the official price charged to consumers in Dhaka was Tk. 4.33 per 1,000 liters).69 B. Service Providers Government institutions. The administrative structure related to service delivery is complex. Services are delivered by a mix of central and local agencies, with limited resources, weak administrative capacity and little coordination. Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), which is responsible for a wide range of services listed in Table 4.1, cannot perform their functions adequately due to severe resource constraints and limited authority. DCC is dependent on central government for financial grants and for staff appointments. It also has no role in city planning or physical development. There are 10 zones in the city, with 90 directly elected ward commissioners who are members of the DCC having both policy making and input monitoring roles. Ward commissioners, however, do not have adequate resources, training, or staff to carry out their roles effectively. Budget resources are insufficient to meet demand. Local resources come from property taxes, some cost recovery, and government transfers. There are inefficiencies with each and the resources are well below what is needed to cover the cost of service provision. For DCC, 63 percent of resources come from own revenue, and 37 percent from Government grants (2003-2004 Budget documents). For the poor, services are even more limited as Government agencies do not work in slum settlements. 68Ibid. 69Ibid. 53 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Table 4.1: Administrative structure of service delivery in Dhaka Agency Services Sources of Financing Central government agencies Education, health, legal, Taxes, donor funds judicial, police, land registration, Dhaka City Corporation Sanitation, solid waste Property taxes, conservancy, disposal, road building and lighting and water tariffs, fees, maintenance, street lighting, fines, rental income, traffic signaling, parks, government grants, donor playgrounds, graveyards, funds slaughter houses, market places, street addressing, provision of nominal stipends to primary education, slum improvement, mosquito prevention Pourashava Sanitation, solid waste Property taxes, conservancy, disposal, road building and lighting and water tariffs, fees, maintenance, street lighting, fines, rental income, traffic signaling, parks, government grants, donor playground, poverty funds alleviation, slum improvement, planning, etc. WASA (Water and Sewage Drinking water, sewerage Water tariffs, loans, Authority) government grants, donor funds RAJUK Planning and development of Sale of lands, government physical infrastructure, grants including housing Specialized authorities: Civil works, housing, physical Government budget, donor PWD, NHA, DPHE, LGED development funds DESA (Dhaka Electric Supply Electricity Authority) Titas Gas Supply Sources: Chowdry, 2004, World Bank 2002 NGOs. The role of NGOs in delivering services in Bangladesh is significant. The biggest NGOs have traditionally worked in rural areas, with a relatively small number working in Dhaka. Thirty NGOs were estimated to work in Dhaka in 2003 though this is thought to be growing (INTRAC). The Coalition for the Urban Poor, an umbrella organization of Urban NGOs, has 44 members. As NGOs have become increasingly prevalent, there is also concern of a diminishing accountability between elected central and local Government representatives and clients. Weaknesses in the regulatory framework and in financial accountability raise questions as to the fiduciary risks of further expansion (World Bank, 2005, The Economics and Governance of NGOs in Bangladesh). 54 Chapter 4: The Challenges of Servie Delivery for Dhaka's Poor Mastaans. Services are also provided by individuals (mastaans) who provide services to slum residents by circumventing the system, in return for a fee. They facilitate "illegal" connections to essential services like electricity and water, and in the process are able to benefit by diverting resources away from the state. All slums are controlled by mastaans, who have different levels of authority and hierarchy (See Wood, 1998; Islam, 1996; Paul-Majumder et al, 1996; Rashid, 2004). There are the local level mastaans who control sections of a slum, and more aggressive mastaans who have authority over the lower level leaders of the slum. Both are generally considered to be involved in illegal activity such as extortion and violence. They will organize into gangs/groups and demand money from the urban poor who live under their `protection' in their "slum area." Many mastaans are reported to have close links with politicians, municipal authorities, and the police in the neighborhood. Political parties rely on links with local mastaans for electoral support and re-election of particular candidates in an area. A mastaan's power base is further consolidated if the political party he belongs to forms the government. Thus, patronage relationships characterize slum politics, which extend from the slum all the way into the local authority and political parties.70 Box 4.1: Making Things Work in Health Care BRAC has examined ways of overcoming problems in health care delivery to urban poor. Despite all the constraints, they have managed to implement a program that has proven successful. BRAC's essential health care program employs community health volunteers called Shastho Shebika (BRAC 2004). The health volunteers go door to door making house-calls in poor communities. BRAC Village Organization members handpick the volunteers. Each one is assigned to 300 households on average visiting 15 households per day. The volunteers are trained to treat and recognize ten of the most dangerous and common diseases in Bangladesh. While the volunteers are not salaried by BRAC, they are able to make an income through the sale of essential health commodities, such as drugs, contraceptives, birth delivery kits, iodized salt, hygienic soap, sanitary napkins and vegetable seeds. To provide for a working collaboration in all aspects of health care, they provide assistance on government health initiatives, such as government immunization centers and distributing Vitamin-A capsules. If a patient needs further medical attention, the Shastho Shebikas refer them to BRAC's health centers or public sector secondary- level health facilities. Through this set-up, BRAC is able to reach a large percent of the poor population despite constraints such as working women who have no time to seek medical attention, and those affected by slum evictions, and lack of permanent infrastructure. 70A recent report in a newspaper found that 60 percent of Members of Parliament in the government have links with smuggling or criminal elements in the country (New Age, 2004). 55 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor II. Constraints to Service Delivery Three major constraints in providing service delivery to urban slum residents were identified in interviews with donors, government agencies and NGOs. These include: i) lack of government policy giving them rights and access ii) the eviction of slum residents iii) and the role of mastaans in the absence of formal government structures. A. Lack of government policy The lack of an appropriate countrywide policy dealing specifically with urban poor was cited by NGOs, donor agencies, and even some government divisions as a major constraint to working in urban slums. There is no central government policy that mandates individual divisional policies or a national strategy on this subject. Some specific government agencies are able to include individual mandates in their provisions; however, few chose to do so, as there is no pressure or incentive to do so. The State's ambivalence towards urban policy is manifest in the conflicting dual metropolitan power structure. Though the city Corporation is autonomous and its Mayor and Ward Commissioners are elected by direct votes by the city-dwellers, its power is controlled by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (MLGRD). The municipal governments do not have sufficient control and leadership over municipal affairs (Rashid, 2004). As a result, the repeated attempt by the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) to create a city government under which all utilities and services within city would be the jurisdiction of DCC failed during the past Awami League government tenure. The lack of a local coordinating body such as DCC leads to a lack of inter-agency coordination and poor governance between services delivered by WASA, DESA, Titas Gas, BRTC and other private transport agencies. B. Evictions of slum residents As discussed in Chapter 3, land tenure is a growing problem in Dhaka, where 70 percent of the poor have access to a very small percentage of land, while the remaining 30 percent of the city's population holds 80 percent of the land. Eviction is always a threat for service delivery, with the poor considered illegal and therefore not able to access formal services. The insecurity of land tenure leads to major barriers to effective service delivery not only for slum dwellers, but for implementing agencies as well. With the constant threat of evictions, Government agencies, NGOs, and donors are reluctant to invest capital in erecting permanent structures if they stand to lose them if the slum gets evicted. UNICEF faced this problem repeatedly with their education centers where some are reported to have been bulldozed. 56 Chapter 4: The Challenges of Servie Delivery for Dhaka's Poor Box 4. 2: Case Study from CUS: Slum Eviction in Agargaon One of the largest slums, based in the area of Agargaon, was settled on government land twenty years ago. After 20 years of undisturbed settlement by the urban poor, a contract was issued to construct new government institutions on that land. This meant the immediate eviction of thousand of slum dwellers. A number of NGOs had projects implemented in the slum, such as Plan International, which was running water and sanitation programs, health care, and non-formal education. They lost a lot in capital investment when the slum was evicted. Other projects, such as successful micro-credit programs, were able to continue as the implementing NGOs were able to track down community members and resume repayment of loans when the families were resettled. The uncertainty of the security of tenure presents a difficult challenge for those agencies wanting to work in the slum areas. C. The Pervasive Role of Mastaans As mentioned, the gap in service provision has been filled by mastaans who usually control the acquisition of and provision of amenities, such as latrines, tube-wells, water and electricity connections as well as interventions by NGOs in the slum (Rashid, 2004). Most slum residents build networks and links with mastaans who act as brokers, assisting them with access to basic services for a high fee. Most often, these utilities are acquired through illegal connections. Because mastaans are often the only service provider in slum areas, the situation for residents is dire as they report regular extortion, and fear of physical harm or eviction if payoffs are not made (Rashid, 2004). Additionally, mastaans hamper the effective service delivery of outside NGOs to slum areas for fear they will be a competitor to the services they provide. This creates a major obstacle to reaching the poor. D. Other constraints Beyond the constraints mentioned above, there are additional constraints that were raised in the interviews by NGOs, Donors and Government agencies. Among these are: Lack of appropriate infrastructure, particularly schools and health clinics, to meet the needs of the population. The existing infrastructure simply does not meet the needs of the population making effective service delivery impossible. Limited involvement of municipalities and lack of technical and financial capacity. With both of these factors, it is difficult to work with local governments in implementing service delivery. Mixed experiences working with NGOs. While some NGOs have made great strides in working in slum areas, others do not have adequate technical capacity which limits the work that they do. There have also been concerns about the 57 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor governance and transparency for some NGOs based on a few unfavorable experiences in recent years. Challenges in identifying the urban poor. Slum settlements can be heterogeneous in densely populated urban areas making it difficult to identify priority areas. Funding. NGOs rely heavily on donors for funding. The NGOs express frustration over continual changing processes, more limited funds available to NGOs, and donor coordination problems. Challenges in working with Government agencies. This includes difficulties in working through layers of government bureaucracy, as well as a lack of accountability and transparency in government processes. Government policy priority towards rural poor. Frequent strikes. Political rivalries have led to major disruptions in every day life. Frequent hartals or national strikes shut the entire country down and make it difficult to proceed with program implementation. Box 4.3: Making Things Work in Water and Sanitation Despite the fact that there is no central government strategy on providing for the urban poor, the Local Government Division (LGD) took the lead on designing and implementing a Pro-Poor Strategy. The strategy holds great promise and is a first step in providing services to poor communities: LGD's Pro-Poor Strategy The Unit for Policy Implementation of the Local Government Division designed a Pro-Poor Strategy for the Water and Sanitation Section that is to be implemented in 2005. In the interest of decentralizing the government, the local government institutions Union Parishads and the City Corporations will be given authority over this project. They will identify extreme poor and poor households based on a set of eligibility criteria. Based on their selection, the government will provide a subsidy for the installation of water and sanitation services. Individual households will be expected to contribute 50 percent of what non-poor households would contribute to a government project of this magnitude, with a cap at Tk. 500. This payment can be made in installments with a cap at paying Tk. 25 per month for the hardcore poor households. Sanitation systems that are covered under this project are defined as one hygienic latrine per household. If this is not possible, a maximum of two households can share one latrine, and in the event of community latrines, each should provide for a maximum of 10 people. Drinking water facilities should provide 20 litres per capita per day. The water source should be within 50 metres of households and meet the national water quality standards. The communities will be given authority to choose the technology of implementation of these services. While this Pro-Poor Strategy is a step in the right direction, there is no specific provision for the urban poor within the program. Rural and urban poor have different needs and their infrastructure set-up varies. There is very little land space in urban areas, while rural areas can spread out over many kilometers. The daily threats and fears of the two groups vary as well, and income levels and sources vary. However, the Local Government Division is very hopeful of this strategy, and believes that soon other government divisions will implement similar strategies. 58 Chapter 4: The Challenges of Servie Delivery for Dhaka's Poor III. Improving Service Delivery for the Urban Poor In order to achieve sustainable poverty reduction in Dhaka and other urban areas, Bangladesh will need to confront the issues of service delivery. There are vast improvements needed in every sector. This will require a major shift in current government policies and practices. Yet the Government cannot do it alone. The most effective programs for service delivery appear to be those built on partnerships between NGOs, Local Government, Donors and the private sector. Ensuring the enforcement of the rule of law for those illegally providing services is also essential. Finally, clarifying and thereby empowering the roles and responsibilities of local institutions will enable them to tackle the challenges of service delivery as is done in other countries. As pointed out in a previous World Bank Report (2002), service delivery will also require increasing partnerships with the private sector, changing the structure of incentives for service providers and consumers, increasing the involvement of users and other stakeholders in planning, providing and monitoring service delivery by institutionalizing user surveys, and institutionalizing a system of accountability that makes service providers answerable to service consumers. The interviews with Government, Donors and NGOs led to a number of recommendations which are summarized below. Focusing attention on addressing urban poverty. The lack of an explicit policy for urban poverty reduction has been raised numerous times as a major constraint. While this requires a major political commitment, developing a strategy through a consultative process including stakeholders is important to focusing attention to the growing problems of poverty in Dhaka and other Cities. An effective policy could provide a strategy for addressing poor areas, including the mandate and specific guidance for prioritizing the delivery of services to the urban poor and dealing with the issue of legal land tenure. Clearly identifying roles and responsibilities within Government, as well as for partners outside the Government (e.g. NGOs, private sector) will help to ensure implementation. Strengthening the role of local municipalities. Currently many basic services are run by Central ministries who are not always able to respond to needs at the local level. There is much scope for strengthening the role of DCC in urban management, and playing a greater role in improving interagency coordination with the various development authorities responsible for infrastructure development and service provision. Improving accountability and oversight. There is a need to hold agencies accountable for delivering quality services, with a mechanism for allowing grievances to be handled. Approaches used in other countries include a performance based monitoring system with credible indicators and feedback system and the introduction of incentives in public sector organizations. 59 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Enforcing law and order. While Mastaans do provide services to the poor who have no other options, the practices of extortion are illegal, violent and can detract from city development. Such practices can only be considered a detriment to foreign investment in Dhaka. There is a substantial role for legitimate service delivery by private providers, with the public sector ensuring a regulatory framework that ensures transparency, and adherence to the rule of law. Coordinating between service providers. Given the range of services and service providers who face the same challenges, it would be beneficial to foster coordination across institutions and to identify potential synergies. All stakeholders mentioned the need for improvements in coordination. This includes improved coordination between government agencies, Donors, and NGOs. This could be achieved through activities such as stakeholder workshops and capacity building. Developing alternative payment schemes. Cost recovery schemes are viable as evidenced by the fact that the poor already do pay substantial amounts for services. The development of alternative schemes could provide more flexibility for the poorest ensuring that they will be able to afford services in times of need. For example, a scheme designed as a savings plan that would enable pre-payment towards services or purchase of vouchers when resources are available would help to mitigate shocks such as health emergencies or seasonal shifts in employment. Utilizing alternative delivery mechanisms. For some services, alternative delivery mechanisms may provide a way to reduce cost and improve access. This could include distance learning programs, mobile health units, and shared water points where groups of households could join in purchasing a water connection. Households would then be responsible for organizing payment, and the operations and maintenance of the equipment. Building capacity through training. Implementation capacity could be strengthened at many levels including central and local government institutions, NGOs, and community members. Training in implementation issues, administration, and technical capacity would ultimately benefit the quality of the work that is carried out. 60 Chapter 4: The Challenges of Servie Delivery for Dhaka's Poor Box 4.4: Case Study: Lessons Learned from DSK's Water Delivery Project in Conjunction with DWASA There are several important lessons learned from DSK's negotiations with DWASA to provide water to urban slum communities. Among them: i) There is a willingness and ability among the urban poor to pay for basic service delivery (Ahmed, 2003). The myth that providing service delivery to poor communities requires heavy subsidies is disproved. Additionally, DWASA benefited from the increased revenue, which acted as a motivator to continue the working relationship. Moreover, DWASA has now initiated their own "Urban Water and Sanitation Initiative for Dhaka's Urban Poor" that is to be implemented with funding from Plan, UNICEF, Water Aid, and DFID in collaboration with local NGOs. ii) Mediation and negotiations for the rights of the urban poor by an NGO can be successful. It was only through DSK's continued negotiations with DWASA that water points were supplied to slum communities. iii) Community ownership is critical for the sustainable success of any project. The first attempt for a water point in a slum was taken over by the local mastaan. The second attempt put management of the water point in the hands of the community themselves, who did not allow a take-over by the mastaan. It is almost impossible for an outside NGO, such as DSK to extort any control or pressure of slum leaders; the control has to come from within the slum community. iv) If a community is already accustomed to making installment payments or regular payments of any kind, such as through microcredit loans, they are more likely to make timely payments for services such as water. Community ownership should be taken to the extreme goal of leaving the entire process up to community members, from negotiations with DWASA, to implementation of the water point and keeping local power seats out of the process. v) As with any successful project, the cooperation between the field staff and upper level management is essential. The commitment of senior level managers is as important as the commitment of field-based staff. 61 62 CHAPTER 5: CRIME AND VIOLENCE AND THE URBAN POOR I. Background and Introduction Crime and violence have been identified as a key issue for Dhaka, and particularly affects the urban poor. Accurate data on levels of violence in Dhaka are scarce ­ but available information indicates that while levels of lethal violence (homicide rates) are much below some of the very violent urban centers in Africa and Latin America, overall levels of violence are serious and perceived to be on the rise. The sheer scale and diversity of crime and violence in the poor slums of Dhaka means that it has become `routinized' or `normalized' into the functional reality of life, and affects every aspect of daily life for the urban poor. Reflecting general public opinion, daily newspaper reports attest to the extent of the problem. The situation in Dhaka was described the following way in a 2000 publication: "...Dhaka has emerged as a city of crime, insecurity and political violence...social unrest, violence, theft, robbery, looting, murder, hijacking, arson, throwing of acid on innocent females, raping of minor girls, possession and use of illegal arms, illegal rent/toll collection, frequent traffic congestion, etc. phenomenally increased over the years and have now become a way of life in Dhaka city." (Siddiqui et al, 2000). The situation in Dhaka is thought to be worse than in the rest of the country. There are few studies or statistics on crime and violence for Dhaka or other cities in Bangladesh. However, a recent IFPRI study conducted a small household survey in 14 slums in the city of Dinajpur. The area is thought to have a lower crime rate than Dhaka, and yet some form of crime or violence affected one of every six households in these slums in the previous 12 months (Garrett and Ahmed, 2004). In a 1995 survey of the urban poor 24 percent of households described the security situation in their area as poor and 8 percent as very poor. The corresponding numbers for Dhaka were 32 and 14 percent respectively (Nazrul Islam et. al., 1997). Crime and violence are no longer considered just a `social' or `law and order' problem, but also as an obstacle to development which erodes the poor's human, physical, and social capital, and with high associated economic costs. Whilst estimating the costs of crime and violence in Dhaka is beyond the scope of this study, these include costs to the judicial system, health care costs, foregone earnings, costs on private security, loss of competitiveness, and loss of jobs, production. (See Annex 4, Box A4.1). Crime and violence affect all levels of society: the rich and ­ even more - the poor, women and men, and young and old. Urban crime and violence also generate a climate of fear. The fear of crime and violence are `serious threats to the stability and social climate of cities, to sustainable and economic development, the quality of life and human rights'. (UN-Habitat Safer Cities, 2002). Ways to address crime and violence and strategies to deal with this public "epidemic" is an area that is increasingly becoming a priority ­ internationally as well as in Bangladesh - for government and citizens alike. The traditional response to crime and violence has been one of control and repression. Studies (e.g. Greenwood et al, 1998) 63 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor have shown, however, deterrents such as the severity of punishment and the strength of the police force alone have a limited impact. It is often argued that crime and violence is the output of a complex set of factors including rapid urbanization, persistent poverty and inequality, social exclusion, political violence, the more organized nature of crime, and the growth of an array of illegal activities. As such, experiences in the US, Europe, and increasingly from developing countries themselves, have shown that crime and violence can be substantially reduced through well-planned prevention strategies that go beyond traditional police responses ­ especially at the local level. This chapter presents some of the main manifestations of crime and violence in Dhaka ­ particularly as they affect the urban poor - by presenting the main findings of a qualitative and victimization study carried out in four Dhaka slums for this study. It will also briefly examine some of the social, institutional, and legal aspects to the crime and violence situation in Dhaka. In the final section, policy recommendations are presented. II. Manifestations of crime and violence affecting the urban poor in Dhaka Whilst there is some information on the types of crime and violence that routinely face the urban poor in Dhaka from anecdotal evidence, newspaper reports, and a few academic and qualitative studies from around Bangladesh - the various dimensions of crime and violence such as the range, prevalence rates, costs, and associated risk factors are not fully understood. Routine police statistics ­ that are often used to give some sense of prevalence rates in particular ­ are especially unreliable in the case of Dhaka. There appears to be a very high rate of under-reporting of crime and violence, particularly by the urban poor due to the costs involved of lodging a complaint, legally, bribery and also due to the threat of retaliation by police (UNDP, 2002; Siddiqi, 2000). Study Methodology: In an attempt to fill in some of the gaps in existing studies and police data, a victimization study was carried out in the four slums included in the `Slum Observatory' project (explained in Chapter 1) in the 2004/05 round. The study asked key questions about the types of crime and violence in slums in Dhaka; how prevalent crime and violence are; the perceptions and the degree of fear of crime and violence; the costs of crime and violence and their impact on households; and lastly how the poor respond to crime and violence and information on their views about the police, victim support services, etc. The four slums located in Pallabi, Mohammadpur, Lalbagh and Rayer Bazar are quite distinct. They differ in age and type of settlement and have quite different levels of violence ­ Shahid Nagar reported to be the most violent slum, followed by Mohammadpur, after which the other two come with some distance. Aparajeyo- Bangladesh has been providing services to children and mothers for some years in these areas and the NGO has an in-depth knowledge of and an established relationship of trust with these communities. As part of the study design, a series of focus group discussions were held in the different slums with community leaders and residents to explore perceptions of crime and 64 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor violence and potential responses to the survey questions. In addition, a series of life histories were collected. Study Limitations: Whilst the study provides a wealth of interesting data and information, a number of limitations were encountered. A key challenge of this type of study is to ensure full confidentiality in order to gain frank responses. In most cases the interviewers report that full cooperation was received from respondents when discussing the general problems of crime and violence in their slums. Many respondents seemed to enjoy having outsiders visit them and ask their opinions. However, due to the crowded conditions in the slums it was impossible to guarantee confidentiality. In most cases the head of the households (including many female-headed households) were interviewed, and bystanders or family members often listened in and joined the discussion. This resulted in an unwillingness to report personal victimization information. So while high levels of crime and violence were widely acknowledged and discussed, few respondents admitted to having been a victim themselves and the interviewers reported a real fear among residents in responding to personal victimization questions, e.g. `have you been a victim of robbery over the last 12 months'. This does not appear to have been a problem in the Dinajpur survey and may reflect the higher levels of insecurity in the slums of Dhaka where few of the respondents were willing to take the considerable and real personal risk of being seen as an "informer" in spite of repeated assurances of anonymity and confidentiality by the interviewers. On the other hand ­ and to our surprise ­ there was a very high rate of reported domestic violence. This is contrary to international experience which tends to find that in order to get information on domestic violence special surveys and methodologies are needed ­ separately from general victimization studies. Again, this may reflect the fact that domestic violence and violence against women are extremely widespread and considered a part of normal life in these communities ­ carrying no legal or social sanctions and to be freely discussed. A. Main Survey Findings Extent and variety of crime and violence: The results from the focus group discussions and surveys indicate a wide range of different types of crime and violence that occur in the slums and confirmed the complex, multi-faceted, and all-present nature of the phenomenon. The vast majority of respondents, some 93 percent, said that they have been affected by crime and violence over the last 12 months with 33 different types of crime identified by the respondents (Table 5.1). Among the most commonly reported crime and violence are toll collection, mastaan-induced violence, drug and alcohol business, land grabbing and violence, gambling, violence against women and children, illegal arms' business, arson in slum, murder and kidnapping, and sexual, physical, and psychological torture and abuse of wife. During FGDs and recording of life histories in particular, the widespread problem of alcohol and drug abuse - including serious heroin addiction - was often linked to crime and violence (trafficking, crime to support habits) and domestic violence. 65 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Table 5.1: Percentage of Respondents affected by crime and violence Slum Shahid Nagar Raver Bazar Mohammadpur Pallabi Total Affected 250 249 213 216 928 100% 99.6% 85% 86% 93% Not Affected 0 1 37 34 72 0% 0.4% 15% 14% 7% In addition, many other categories were identified such as `using children in political meetings and picketing', `loafers'dens', and acid throwing. Whilst not giving an indication of how serious the presence of each of these types of crime and violence is in the various slums, it clearly indicates the extent to which every aspect of the daily lives of the slum dwellers is affected by acts of crime and violence (Table 5.2). Table 5.2: Nature of Crime and Violence Occur in the Slums (Multi-response) Type of Crime and Violence Reported by Respondents Slum Shahid Rayer Moham Pallabi All Nagor Bazar mad pur (percent of respondents) Total affected by crime and violence 100% 100% 85% 86% 93% Clash among mastaan/terrorist groups 86 58 88 80 78 Political violence 83 53 78 76 73 Toll collection 80 50 66 48 61 Carry and distribution of drugs, alcohol and substance 54 58 56 53 55 Committing crime under the influence of intoxicants 53 58 49 57 54 Sexual abuse 44 73 48 49 53 Kidnapping 50 52 36 50 47 Conflict between husband and wife 45 81 82 74 71 Farce in the name of justice 49 27 58 56 47 Land grabbing under political shelter 67 37 63 64 58 Establish political control 25 41 68 44 45 Theft/pilferage 76 52 72 67 67 Mugging 45 68 69 55 59 Acid throwing 37 24 18 36 29 Conflict between house owner and tenant 56 27 56 43 45 Gambling 38 61 36 38 43 Torturing women/girls for dowry 56 68 54 48 56 Disturbing the community under the influence of cannabis, 46 57 54 48 51 alcohol & heroine Forcefully conducting sex trade with adolescent girls 19 27 20 31 24 Kidnapping girls 15 40 41 24 30 Selling illegal and intoxicating substances 67 67 60 47 60 Using children in political meetings and picketing 62 75 77 74 72 Harassment and regular toll collection by police 50 58 48 39 49 Violence and abuse of girls working as domestic aides 39 74 67 54 58 Loafers den 57 72 77 65 68 Known mastaan/gangs den 51 58 42 38 47 Kidnap people from other places and holding them in the 12 20 21 23 19 slum for ransom/mugging Exploding hand bombs 33 22 67 32 37 66 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor Type of Crime and Violence Reported by Respondents Slum Shahid Rayer Moham Pallabi All Nagor Bazar mad pur (percent of respondents) Illegal fire arms business and hiding arms in the slum 67 34 56 56 53 Arson in slums to gain control 33 53 55 35 44 Collecting regular toll from shopkeepers/hawkers by police 36 50 51 30 42 and their aides Harassment by police in the name of House Search 38 72 67 45 55 Collecting toll in the name of arbitration by local political 41 60 52 52 51 leaders Establish illegal casino to arrange circus/fairs 38 71 42 41 48 Operate illegal financial transactions through local clubs 40 53 25 38 39 All 25 25 25 25 100 Source: Slum Observatory Survey, 2004 Severity of crime and violence. When asked about the severity of crime and violence in the slum on a scale of 1-5, 1 being not at all and 5 being very severe, toll collection, political conflict, and the harboring of mastaans - musclemen and organized crime - to control the slum were considered most severe ­ followed by drug and substance trade, use of arms, sexual abuse, sex trade, hand bomb explosions, and murder. However, there is a clear difference in levels of severity between the different communities (Table 5.3). Table 5.3: The Severity of Crime and Violence (Multi-response). Slum Shahid Nagor Rayer Bazar Mohammadpur Pallabi Severity Severity Severity Severity N N N N scale Scale Scale scale Murder 134 2 163 2 223 2 202 1 Hand bomb explosion 94 2 161 2 190 2 174 2 Use of arms 184 2 166 3 193 3 187 2 Toll collection 207 3 217 4 203 4 182 3 Political conflict 166 4 216 4 222 4 225 3 Sexual abuse 73 2 224 2 182 2 190 2 Drug and substances trade 156 3 199 3 190 3 174 2 Harboring mastaans to 40 4 173 4 160 4 204 2 control slum Women trafficking and 55 2 99 2 146 2 143 2 sex trade All 248 25.1 248 25.1 242 24.5 249 25.2 Source: Slum Observatory Survey, 2004 These results also confirm the high level of control of mastaans over the slums and community life. This was also found in the Dinajpur survey. There seems to have been a city-wide rise in mastaani preying on city dwellers and collecting money from businesses, bus terminals, construction worksites, and slums over the last decade. According to a report prepared in 1998, there were 30 different groups, employing about 67 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor 30,000 people, active in Dhaka City (GSS, 1998 as cited in Siddiqui et al, 2000). They are mostly area based, bus terminal based, and college/university based (in particular Dhaka University and Jagannath University College). It is estimated that alcohol and drugs such as hashish, heroin, phensidyl, pethidine, etc. are sold at about 5000 points all over Dhaka City (Siddiqui et al, 2000). Political violence generally takes the form of clashes between the police and opposition political groups or between supporters of the government and opposition political parties. This is particularly noted during hartals (general strikes), processions, demonstrations and political meetings. Other political crimes are secret killings, looting, destruction of property, arson, and rioting (Siddiqui, et. al, 2000). The survey findings also indicate the strong links between political parties and criminals living in the slum areas ­ regularly paying (or compelling) slum dwellers, including children, to participate in political rallies, protests, and open-air meetings. Perceptions of safety. Overall, about 31 percent of respondents feel that they are not safe within their community though this varies greatly between slums. In Shahid Nagar, 64 percent of respondents reported to feel not at all safe in their community, followed by 33 percent in Mohammedpur, and 19 percent in Pallabi. The respondents from Rayer Bazar feel quite safe in their slum, only 6 percent reporting to not feel safe at all. (Annex 4, Table A4.1). Interestingly, much of this is attributed to the fact that the slum in Rayer Bazar is reported to have a very strongly active Imam, who does not `tolerate' immoral or criminal behavior in his area. These results reflect differentials in reported crime data as well as international patterns of urban violence, which usually find that crime and violence are concentrated in a limited number of `hotspot' neighborhoods and can also differ quite dramatically within different areas of the same slums. 71 While these are often some of the poorest slums, many very poor slums do not have serious problems of crime and violence. This has real implications for the targeting of crime and violence prevention and reduction policies. During focus group discussions with community leaders from around the city of Dhaka the following areas were identified as the most unsafe in declining order: Vasanti, Agargoon, Lalbag, Mohammedpur, Bapura, Ghattala, Kalsi, Kalayanpur, Taltala, Mesul. Where, when, and by whom? The survey results show that crime and violence occurs in a number of different places, most of it within the slum and about 35 percent reported to happen inside the household compound (which is usually shared by a number of different families). Other high risk areas are the roadside, the market side and the way to and from work. Female garment workers are particularly vulnerable on their route to work and will often walk in groups to provide some protection or even stay the night at the garment factory. Crime and violence appear to occur throughout the day; however, evening and night are `peak times'. When asked who is involved (perpetrator) in crime 71Police data were collected for the year 2004 from all four Thana Police Stations represented in the survey. Unfortunately, the data were not available specifically for each of the slums within these areas, but do clearly demonstrate differentials between areas. 68 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor and violence the most commonly mentioned are the mastaans, from both inside and outside the community, husbands (mainly involved in domestic violence), law enforcing agencies, and neighbors and `others'. `Others' include thieves, muggers, robbers, extortionists, teasers, snatchers, murderers, arsonists, etc. The respondents indicate that many poor slum dwellers are involved with activities such as the arms trade, drug trade, trafficking, and black marketing as a means to maintain their livelihoods. Crime and violence against women. Violence against women was repeatedly raised during FGDs and the qualitative fieldwork as one of the most serious manifestations of violence affecting poor women in Dhaka. This includes physical and psychological violence inflicted by the husband or the husband's family (the latter often dowry-related), burning of wives, acid attacks, suicide as a result of physical and psychological torture, as well as violence against women in the workplace, on the way to- and from work, etc. Of our total sample (about 50 percent female respondents), 30 percent said to have been a victim of domestic violence in the past 12 months ­ in fact it was the highest reported incidence of crime or violence reported in the survey. This is likely still significantly under-reported as this was not a specialized domestic violence survey. The causes most frequently reported include marital problems, confiscation of wife's money, polygamy, dowry related issues, and not taking responsibility of children. See Annex 4, Table A4.2 for a full list. These findings reflect what is known about violence against women in Bangladesh. According to the UNFPA (2000) Bangladesh has the second highest incidence of violence against women in the world. A survey carried out in 1997 by the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs with the assistance of the Government of Denmark found that not only is violence against women widespread, it is also widely accepted: 50 percent of the women interviewed thought it the husband's right to beat his wife; 85 percent felt it was right to hit the wife if she was disobedient; 80 percent of the women respondents felt that if a man rapes a women the woman should marry the rapist. As mentioned above, part of the relatively high response rate on violence against women in our survey may be explained by this high level of social acceptance of the phenomenon.72 Women, particularly poor women, face social and economic exclusion in Bangladesh which is evident through the high levels of violence against women. While the constitution guarantees principles of non-discrimination on the basis of gender, as regards `family matters' women are subject to "Shariah" or religious law. Bangladesh is a signatory to CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women) and despite the introduction of a number of laws such as the `Ordinance of Acid-throwing Act", the `Ordinance of Women and Child Repression Act', and the revised `Ordinance of Family Act' ­ all aiming to assist women - the main problems are the lack of enforcement of these laws and lack of access for women to the legal system. 72Facts taken from a World Bank presentation: Violence Against Bangladeshi Women: a few facts and figures. 69 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Costs and impact of crime and violence in the slums. The survey results show that there are significant financial costs associated with the crime and violence in the slums. Costs related to medical treatment, loss of productivity due to injuries and direct financial costs due to the collection of `tolls' ­ many garment workers report routinely having to pay 10 percent of their wages in `protection' for example. Other costs include the illegal land renting fees, electricity and water bill fees, `tolls' collected by both local gangs and the police in the name of providing `security', losses through thefts and muggings, etc. Unfortunately the study was unable to quantify the total monetary costs to the poor of the crime and violence they routinely face. This would certainly be an area of interest for further research. The non-monetary costs are also considerable. It is clear that in many of the more violent slums there is lack of social cohesion and considerable levels of fear and mistrust. This negatively affects social capital and prevents community members from organizing. Many respondents report being afraid of moving about their community after dark ­ which particularly impacts women. Annex 4, Table A4.3 lists some of the negative effects of the high levels of violence in the slums as reported by the respondents. If anything, these responses indicate that whilst crime, violence, and fear are `routinized' and part of daily life, they do nevertheless have an enormous impact on the poor's well- being and their impacts on children are of particular concern. Some of the impacts mentioned include: children suffering high levels of insecurity and mental anxiety; family disruptions due to domestic violence; tremendous pressure on the parents of growing girls due to the risks to them; working women getting worried and scared of sexual abuse; mental anguish due to unemployment status; and constant fear and insecurity due to use of arson, arms, and explosives. Reported and non-reported crime and violence and access to justice. A majority (60 percent) of crime and violence is not reported to anyone. Of the reported numbers, only 3 percent is reported to the police. When crime was reported, it was mainly reported to community leaders (16 percent) and family members (18 percent). The very low reporting rate to law enforcement agencies or Ward Commissioners, less than 2 percent reflects the extraordinary low levels of trust in these agencies. (See Annex 4, Table A4.5). The survey data also indicate that in 88 percent of reported cases no action was taken and perpetrators went fully free. The police took action against a reported perpetrator in only 1 percent of all cases. The lack of reporting to the police or official action undertaken reflects the low prevalence of a formal preventive, investigative, or judicial authority in these slums. In 7 percent of the reported cases the community took some kind of action ­ reflecting the respondents' preference for and higher confidence in local shalish (See section 3 below). The role of political leaders and institutions and Law Enforcement Agencies in dealing with crime and violence. The links between the incidence of crime and violence and the role of political leaders/institutions are perceived to be strong. (Annex 4, Table A4.4). Respondents indicate that the leaders of different political parties 70 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor patronize the criminal activities and violence with the intention to control the slums through `terrorists' and mastaans. By controlling the slum dwellers, the politicians command a strong voting base, collect rent from the dwellers and income from other illegal activities, ensure the participation of slum dwellers in various political meetings, gathering, rallies and demonstrations, and use them in political conflicts and confrontation. During the FGDs it became clear that there is a widespread feeling that the political commitment to reduce violence is only rhetoric. At the same time, law enforcement agencies are hardly seen to play any more positive role in combating crime and violence. Police are seen to maintain a low profile in responding to crime and violence because of their deep relationships with the offenders. In most cases the victims do not lodge complaints against the criminals in fear of further retaliation by them because they often enjoy the protection of the law enforcement agencies. It is also widely reported that in addition to legitimate fees, the law enforcement agencies often collect bribes from victims just to record a case. When slum residents were asked what can be done to improve the crime and violence situation in their communities, the results range from better employment and income generation opportunities, to improved social welfare services and education and training, to improved justice, law and order, and governance (Table 5.4). Table 5.4: Respondent's recommendation regarding combating existing Crime and Violence (Multi-response). Slum Shahid Nagor Rayer Bazar Mohammadpur Pallabi All N % N % N % N % N % Job opportunity 227 90 197 79 231 93 210 84 865 87 Training 118 47 81 33 178 72 186 74 563 56 Undertake different development 138 55 132 53 193 78 159 64 622 62 activities Better governance 146 58 137 55 189 76 181 72 653 65 Compel the police to behave lawfully 132 52 144 58 185 74 156 62 617 62 Stop political crimes 141 56 189 76 220 88 154 62 704 71 Punish criminals through speedy 142 56 139 56 191 77 156 62 628 63 trials Develop strong public welfare 120 48 163 66 181 73 174 70 638 64 leadership Adopt all possible measures to 58 23 96 39 117 47 149 60 420 42 prevent women trafficking Take strong actions against sex trade 94 37 107 43 127 51 140 56 468 47 Strong control over black marketing 104 41 144 58 136 55 69 28 453 45 and drug trade Control toll collection 148 59 180 73 171 69 125 50 624 63 All 252 25 248 25 249 25 250 25 999 100 Source: Slum Observatory Survey, 2004 71 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor III. Relationship between crime and violence and social, institutional, and legal issues Various frameworks to understand crime and violence and to develop corollary short-, medium-, and long-term policy responses have been developed. One prominent approach comes from the field of public health and is based on the identification and addressing of risk factors.73 The risk factors in this model are usually classified in three groups: individual factors, domestic/household factors, and societal factors. The available information on Dhaka shows that this model is consistent with the characteristics of crime and violence ­ they are a complex mix of interpersonal, social, economic, and structural factors. Crime and violence is carried out by a variety of different individuals and groups and ranges from widespread domestic violence, to disorganized `opportunistic' street crime, to the extremely well organized - and who operate for motives that range from hunger, to greed, and to politics. Justice System. It is clear from the survey findings that there is an almost complete lack of trust by the urban poor in Dhaka in the justice system. This is confirmed by the comprehensive 2002 UNDP report on Human Security in Bangladesh which finds that many laws and practices of the criminal justice system in Bangladesh are `anti-poor' and have a far more harmful effect on the poor and disadvantaged than on other sectors of society, despite constitutional guarantees to the contrary. Consequently, many citizens, especially the poor, do not feel adequately protected. The report finds that: many laws are open to interpretation and to the use of discretionary powers, and that the current bail system favors the wealthy and influential and penalizes those without money or influence. Thus the poor are over-represented in prisons whereas many wealthy or privileged individuals guilty of crimes manage to escape the process of law; that the legal grounds for arrest without warrant are too broad and allow the police to exercise a high degree of discretion. Most preventive detention cases never reach the courts, whilst of those that do, almost 90 percent are found to be illegal; that victims of rape and other sexual violence continue to be further victimized by a legal system that discriminates against victims and protects the guilty; that laws relating to dispossession of immovable property, public nuisance, and vagrants are not implemented in-line with their original intent, and often discriminate against and harm the poor; and that in addition to loopholes in laws and procedures and lack of awareness on judicial issues among the population, there is a severe implementation gap. (UNDP, 2002). Specific recommendations are made in order to improve the laws and legal procedures and to ensure that they do not discriminate against the poor. Access to justice for the poor and legal aid. The enormous costs of going to court, the delays in court proceedings, and the lack of legal aid facilities has made the 73 Whilst looking at risk factors is very important, various authors have highlighted the need to also look at the strengths and assets or `protective factors' of individuals and communities, not just their problems. See International Centre for the Prevention of Crime, 2000; Moser, 2000) 72 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor judicial system virtually inaccessible for the vast majority of the poor. The main providers of legal aid to the poor are NGOs such as BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust) and BELA (Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association). Despite constitutional provisions stating a citizen's right to legal defense, there is currently no legal obligation for the State to provide legal aid if the pleader or accused is unable to afford the fees(UNDP, 2002). Shalish (informal courts). It is estimated that nationally about two thirds of disputes never enter the formal court process and are either settled at the local level, through informal settlement by local leaders or a community court, or remain unsettled. The results from our survey indicate a much lower use of this informal settlement mechanism (8 percent), however, it was still the most used form of seeking justice in the Dhaka slums. Since settlement of cases through formal courts is both time consuming and expensive, Shalish councils provide a welcome alternative that could be strengthened and supported. However, it is also recognized that the institutional affiliations and political backgrounds of court officials and community leaders means that their relations to other institutions, particularly the police, local political leaders, and wealthy and influential individuals open these shalish courts to outside influence and may affect their functioning (UNDP, 2002). Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Weak law enforcement, impunity, and human rights violations are central to the spread of violence. It is clear from our survey that the poor have extremely low expectations of the police. As a result, they generally prefer the intervention of community leaders to resolve conflict among community members, family members, or prefer to not report incidents at all. They will only go to the police as a last resort. Concern is widely expressed about the complicity of the police with the mastaans; torture of suspects in police custody; demanding and taking of bribes for `protection' or to lodge a complaint; poor level of police responsiveness to the poor; the vulnerability of witnesses, with witnesses complaining of having to pay transport expenses, being subject to police pressure to distort facts, and some being threatened by the other side in the case. There is a lack of any type of special witness protection program. On the other hand, it is also generally agreed that the size of the police force is too small, that police lack educational qualifications, professional training, and sufficient pay and allowances. Specific recommendation for reform include better training, rationalization of the police staffing structure, monitoring and performance indicators, and reviewing salary structures and incentives. It is found by our and other studies that the poor do want a police presence in certain areas such as markets. The trend towards community policing is welcome and should be the focus of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to facilitate community participation in crime and violence prevention and to reduce the vulnerability of the poor (UNDP, 2002, Siddiqui, 2000). See Box 5.1 for an interesting and successful example in community policing from Mumbai. During the last year, the Government formed the Rapid Action Batallion (RAB) which is a separate police unit that is mandated to provide immediate response to law and 73 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor order incidents. The RAB has been given some extra-judicial powers for combating crime and violence and its officers are better trained and better equipped in terms of weapons and transportation than the police. They are also generally considered to be `clean' and relatively free of corruption and political influence. The RAB functions, in large part, on `tip-offs' and over the last year has killed a number of professional criminals or mastaans that were involved in a variety of criminal activities during `cross- fire'. As a result it appears that the RAB's actions have contributed to some improvement in the overall crime and violence environment as some criminals appear to have gone underground or have become more circumspect about their activities. Consequently, the RAB is popularly well regarded. There are however serious concerns related to the extra- judicial nature of many of the actions taken by the RAB ­ denying suspects access to the due justice process - and overly relying on `informants' leaves it open to be easily manipulated. IV. Addressing Crime and Violence This chapter has provided a brief review of the main findings of a survey on crime and violence and the urban poor in Dhaka and has shown that urban violence is now widely recognized as a serious development problem. This is, however, a relatively new area of research and intervention, with serious data constraints as well as very limited systematization of information either analytically or operationally. The traditional response to increasing levels of crime and violence has been one of control or repression. This approach focuses on addressing the problem after the crime or violent act has been committed. It is usually related to `toughening' up the legal and justice system, increasing policing resources and capacities, and introducing harsher penalties in an effort to deter and repress crime and violence. Under this approach, crime and violence are seen as the responsibility of the police and the courts. Most countries battling high levels of crime and violence, however, find that these measures alone are not sufficient to have a significant impact on crime and violence. This is often accompanied by a loss of confidence in the criminal justice system, whilst public concern about crime and violence remains high (ICPC, 2000). A second ­ and complementary - policy response is one of crime and violence prevention. The basic premise is to stop the crime or violent act from occurring in the first place by understanding and addressing the causes of crime and violence, the risk factors associated with them, as well as constructing safer communities by building on their strengths (e.g. level of community organization), rather than exclusively focus on a community's problems. Furthermore, prevention is a much more cost effective option than repression. Thus while there is no `silver bullet' to the problem of urban crime and violence and little systematic evaluation to date, international experiences with different policy approaches suggest that an integrated framework combining their various strengths can lead to a successful urban crime and violence prevention/reduction strategy. This 74 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor framework for local action should be based on a participatory and comprehensive diagnostic, and include some elements of: judicial/policing reform74 - ensuring that order, fairness, and access to due process is maintained in the day to day activities of the community and reducing the public fear of crime; social prevention - targeted multi-agency (multi-sectoral) and community driven programs that address the causes and risk factors of crime and violence; situational prevention ­ measures that reduce opportunities for particular crime and violence problems through urban spatial interventions and slum upgrading. Lastly, it requires a shared local vision, strong leadership, political commitment, and an action plan for the short, medium, and long-term. From regional and international experience it is evident that one of the most effective entry-points for crime and violence prevention is the local level. It is the level of government closest to the people and where projects can be designed to target the specific needs of the local community. This is also where the day-to-day delivery of services happens. These services improve people's quality of life and build better living environments. Many of these services are also the basic elements of crime and violence prevention. However, effective local government action requires all the municipal services to work together, rather than in isolation. It requires support from the different sectors in the community such as justice, health, education, media, police, social services, the private sector, NGOs, and other CBOs such as religious organizations. And importantly, it requires support from higher levels of government and links between the national level, state, region or province. See Table 5.5 for a summary of an interesting example of a local multi-sectoral crime and violence prevention initiative from Capetown, South Africa. Specific recommendations for crime and violence prevention in Dhaka Adopting a community-based approach. Working with residents' associations, women's savings and credit groups, CBO's, communities, and NGOs is essential to identify the communities' priorities, problems, and strengths and in order to build the virtually non-existent trust between those agencies responsible for the maintenance of law and order and the prevention of crime and violence (the police) and the communities they are meant to serve. Interesting methodologies in participatory community mapping for crime prevention are being developed and used in South Africa and Latin America and can be adapted for use in Bangladesh. Initial results of these processes indicate that the process allows people to understand that crime does not occur randomly but that it happens in certain and predictable places. The process also has the ability to empower communities and to act together with the police in order to prevent and reduce violence crime (See e.g. Lieberman and Coulson, 2004, World Bank, 2003). 74Whilst the World Bank can not be directly involved in policing issues such as police reform, indirectly it can recognize the importance of the role of police and judicial system, work on judicial reform, and encourage crime and violence prevention partnerships that include the police. 75 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Investing in more research and better information systems: Much more information and understanding is needed about the types of crime and violence taking place in Dhaka; associated risk factors; costs and impacts; prevalence rates; and trends. A first step would be to create a "Violence Observatory", in partnership with Government, the Police, forensic/legal medical institute, public health authorities (injury prevention/surveillance systems), and a research institute. The function of this kind of center is to systematically collect data about crime and violence from different sources and from around the city as well as to carry out periodic victimization surveys. This information is then analyzed and used to inform short-, medium-, and long- term policy decision about `hotspots', crime trends, priorities, targeting of social prevention activities, etc. Improving inter-institutional coordination: crime and violence in Dhaka arises from a complex mix of causes that require a coherent, integral, multi-sectoral approach and the participation of various public/state, and civil society agencies. Crime and violence prevention is not just the role of the police or the judicial sector, and a local champion who will assume leadership and coordination in this area is crucial. There is also much scope for an increased role for NGOs. Creating public space and implementing integrated slum upgrading approaches. There has long been an understanding of the link between `crime and grime' or rather of the link between the incidence of crime and violence and poor infrastructure, poor living conditions, lack of adequate communications technology, poor public lighting, inequitable distribution of facilities and amenities, lack of maintenance, etc. Therefore, one important violence prevention strategy is the regularization and upgrading of slums integrating `design for safety' principles as well as social prevention activities. Many public spaces in Dhaka and in its slums have lost their traditional function of promoting socialization, recreation, and citizenship as they have been invaded by the informal economy, mastaans, delinquents, drug dealing and consumption activities, etc. There is virtually no public or recreational space available in the slum areas. Physical upgrading of public and slum spaces will promote community appropriation of these spaces and prevent crime and violence from occurring in these places. This would include: i) a selection of `hotspot' areas for intervention; ii) diagnosis of relevant problems and of neighborhood perceptions of public space and insecurity in these areas; iii) assessment of already existing and related programs and new initiatives; iv) creation of a local partnership and strategy that includes the community, residents' associations, NGOs, community leaders, and state agencies. See box 5.2 for examples of how the World Bank is piloting the integration of a Crime and Violence prevention component in more traditional integrated slum upgrading programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. 76 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor Improving trust between the police and the community and improve the judicial system and deal with impunity. Community policing should be the focus of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to facilitate community participation in crime and violence prevention in the slums and to reduce the vulnerability of the poor. In addition, action is needed to address the anti-poor biases in laws and their implementation; speed up judicial processes ­ possibly through working with shalish informal community courts and community policing programs; and to improve access to legal aid by working with legal aid providing NGOs. Training for police on implementing new approaches such as community policing is also needed. Implementing programs for the prevention of violence against women. Domestic and violence against women needs to be addressed through stepped up programs on introducing legal awareness, literacy and advocacy campaigns, legal aid, and better training of the police and judicial system so that women victims of violence can access the justice system without fear of further victimization. Introducing women complaint officers in police stations could reduce the intimidation to report acts of violence. In addition, programs such as the `One- Stop Crisis Centre' are providing valuable experiences in providing integrated services to women and children victims of domestic violence. Further support and engagement of the women's movement is essential as well as working with and channeling resources for the prevention of domestic violence with community-based women groups such as lending and credit co-operatives. Addressing domestic violence will require an attitude change in society and will take time. Investing in a wide spread public education targeted at specific groups could begin to foster that change. Focusing attention on the needs of children and youth. In order to prevent crime and violence in the medium and long term, much attention and programs are needed that target the needs of children and youth, boys and girls. International experience has shown different violence prevention programs to be effective for different groups, in different types of communities, and in different countries. Still, based on reports, evaluations, and research studies, certain types of efforts seem warranted. These can take the form of school-based, community- based, or family-support programs such as (Guerra, 2005): Individual level programs Universal, high-quality child care and preschool education for young children Social skills and problem solving interventions for primary and secondary school children Life skills training and civic education for adolescents Building relationships: programs for families, peers, and mentors Home visitation programs for parents of infants and young children 77 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Parent school partnerships that encourage parental involvement in children's education and learning Programs and policies to prevent child abuse and maltreatment Parent training programs, particularly those that help families utilize resources Gang prevention programs that combine prevention, intervention, and suppression Mentoring programs that provide role models for at-risk youth School and community programs Improving the quality of education, including universalizing primary school Emphasizing cooperative learning and student/family engagement Developing community policing programs that are sensitive to local conditions Building infrastructure within communities to provide opportunities for youth and families to engagement in positive activities (recreation, learning, employment) Building physical and social capital in communities through collaborative efforts Investing in drug and alcohol abuse prevention/treatment. Given the known role of alcohol and drugs as risk factors for violence, both from international evidence as well as coming strongly from our fieldwork in Dhaka - decreasing availability and ease of access to both should contribute to reductions in violence ­ particularly domestic violence. Although large scale studies are scant, there is evidence that reducing alcohol availability is related to a drop in violence rates. In addition, alcohol and drugs prevention and treatment programs specifically targeting the poor are needed. 78 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor Table 5.5: Linking urban spatial and non-spatial interventions: The KfW/ City of Cape Town Khayelitsha Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading Project Spatial Types of violence and manifestations Spatial and non-spatial violence prevention or reduction manifestation interventions Shebeens Shebeen Violence Shebeens (bars) relocated to sites where social & police control is Assault more efficient Murder Alternative opportunities for socializing where alcohol is Rape controlled Drug & alcohol-related violence Business code of conduct by Shebeen owners' association Murder; domestic & child abuse Domestic spaces Domestic Violence More houses of refuge & counseling facilities Assault Police stations equipped with trauma facilities & female officers Rape Facilities for conflict resolution Child abuse Police receive training in handling domestic violence cases Emotional abuse Awareness-raising campaign on domestic rights Open public space Gender-Related & Economic Violence Improved street lighting & visibility Open fields Rape Widely spread & functional telephone system Narrow lanes Robbery Rape-relief centers & self-defense training Empty stalls Assault Safe walkways Murder Vegetable stalls locked at night 24-hour internal public transportation system More visible police patrolling & neighborhood watches Banks & ATMs Economic Violence Increased access to banking & safe deposit places Robbery on long routes to & from More visible police patrolling & neighborhood watches banks & ATMs Income generation Informal housing Economic Violence Income generation Burglary in unsecured homes More & better visible police patrolling & neighborhood watches Sanitary facilities Gender-Related & General Violence Sewers installed & outside toilets phased out Rape on narrow paths to & from Refuse containers provided with smaller lids so bodies cannot be outside sanitary facilities dumped Refuse containers used to dump Communal sanitary facilities supervised corpses Schools School Violence Schools should be declared gun-free zones Theft of property Schools should be protected against theft & keep out guns by Vandalism and gangsterism installing better fencing, metal detectors & guard dogs Physical violence Guarded schools could then double as safe off-street playgrounds Possession of drugs & weapons after hours Group rape Roads & Road & Transport Violence Stations declared gun-free zones (metal detectors & lockers) transport Taxi-violence-related deaths & injuries Jobs & services must be brought closer to residents to reduce Robbery excessive transport needs Assault Trains need to be accompanied by police Sexual harassment & assault by drivers Conflict management / development programs for taxi-violence Source: Summarized from KfW/City of Cape Town: `Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading: Feasibility Study' (2002). 79 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Box 5.1: Community Police Stations in Mumbai's slum. The police in Mumbai, India, have started a partnership with community organizations to provide police services in the `slums', areas that traditionally had received few police services but where they were much needed. By September 2004, 65 slums in Mumbai had `slum police panchayats', each made up of ten representatives from the slum (seven women, three men) and a local police officer. Each community representative is a police sayayak (helper), and wears a photo-badge authorized by the Police Commissioner, but they are appointed by residents' associations, not by the police. The community also makes available a room in each slum, where the police are based and which also serves as an office for the police panchyat. These panchyats are responsible for policing in their area. They establish a permanent partnership between the police and the slum residents. Residents get to know their local police constables, and this also ensures more police accountability to the local population. In turn, the police know that they have partners working in each slum. The decision to have a majority of women on each police panchyat is in recognition of the fact that women are disproportionately the victims of crime, and often face problems of domestic violence. In addition, there are strong savings and credit groups formed by women slum and pavement dwellers and these support the police panchyats. Each police panchyat is opened with a public celebration. The community volunteers help patrol the settlement to maintain law and order. They also seek to resolve disputes before they escalate into violence or other crimes. Slum inhabitants can bring disputes to the police panchyat, which meets every day, and under the auspices of the local police many complaints and conflicts are resolved. The police panchyats have proved to be able to resolve many issues such as domestic quarrels and disputes between neighbors over plot or house boundaries. They also help to prevent disputes from escalating into violence or problems of public order. For slum inhabitants, they are also much quicker and easier to use than going to the police to lodge a formal complaint. They also feel more confident about making complaints, as they know some of the community volunteers and the police. This also frees up police time to allow them to concentrate on serious crimes. The volunteers are clear that they do not have police powers and that dispute resolutions are undertaken by the group as a committee, with details of all cases discussed being carefully recorded. In some slums, the police volunteers have also brought pressure on local people who are illegally brewing and selling alcohol to close down, as a way of reducing drunkenness and the violence to which it often contributes. The local savings and credit groups have also supported the people who previously made illegal alcohol to develop new livelihoods or have rewarded them with new houses. Without the community volunteers, the police would find it almost impossible to control this. One of the key characteristics of the police panchyats is that they can be implemented on a very large scale without additional resources from the government. They first started because the Police Commissioner promoted the idea, but they are sustained in each locality because they meet the needs of the police: they get free helpers, a safe location within each slum from which to work, and a system that resolves many small disputes without their involvement. They are also rooted in local representative organizations in slums, where the stressors that contribute to violence and crime are obvious ­ the overcrowded poor quality homes and the lack of infrastructure (e.g. water and sanitation) and civic amenities (schools, open space). Source: Environment and Urbanization, Vol 16, No 2, October, 2004. 80 Chapter 5: Crime and Violence and the Urban Poor Box 5.2: Crime and Violence Prevention Components in Bank-financed Integrated Slum Upgrading Operations: The World Bank is operationalizing local crime and violence prevention in some of its urban operations through the development of specific project components in the LAC region. These components do not intend to solve the country's or city's overall crime and violence problems, rather they seek to take advantage of the infrastructure and social investments taking place and mainstream prevention at the local level into the overall projects. The components focus specifically on the reduction of the very high levels of homicide, youth violence, and associated risk factors in the participating neighborhoods. The components adopt a municipal/ urban renewal approach with a preventive, multi-sectoral, and local strategy through activities that are complementary to, coordinated with, but go beyond traditional police responses. Particularly important are the synergies between the infra-structure, upgrading, and the `situational prevention' - and the community-based `social prevention' activities. The overall objective is a comprehensive intervention at the neighborhood level that is also closely coordinated with other relevant municipal, government, and non-governmental programs addressing crime and violence and their associated risk factors in these neighborhoods. The components generally have six subcomponents: -Diagnostics: Crime and violence mapping of the micro areas using police statistics and where possible using GIS systems; victimization section in the baseline surveys, willingness-to-pay for increased safety, and; community based and situational diagnostics. -Situational prevention: measures that reduce opportunities for particular crime and violence problems through spatial interventions such as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) methodology and urban renewal. This method is mainstreamed in the infrastructure works of the projects through the training of the architects, engineers and other technical staff. This methodology is very new in Latin America but has been successfully piloted in Chile and in the Bank-financed PROMETROPOLE project in Pernambuco, Brazil. -Capacity-building, training and technical assistance in multi-sectoral crime and violence prevention to the participating government agencies, municipalities, CBOs.. -Complementary investments and activities: A fund for complementary investments and activities: the neighborhood residents work with the partner agencies and the technical staff of the project to develop a plan for C&V prevention and use these funds to implement the prioritized subprojects and community programs that are not already covered by one of the other project programs or partner programs. The menu for these may include: social infrastructure investments ­ such as recreation centers, community facilities, and public lighting not financed through the infrastructure works components, and; Social prevention activities ­ such as life skills, job skills, and parenting skills training, conflict resolution training, homework clubs, sports and arts-based recreational activities, victim support, and domestic violence prevention. -Community Organizers: The role of these technical experts in community organization and crime and violence prevention is - at the neighborhood level ­ to: carry out community-based diagnostics; formulate participatory community safety plans and strategies; liaise and coordinate with other relevant agencies and associations, in particular with Community Safety Councils and the Police; coordinate closely with the works to ensure integration of CPTED principles; identify and work with youth at ­risk in the community; organize and mobilize the community around the concept of safety though community campaigns (e.g. community clean-up\painting days, community safety festival); initiate additional projects such as summer camp for at-risk youth, etc. -Monitoring and Evaluation component: Evaluations of the components have been designed and will be carried out Whilst we have as yet no data from these Bank-financed projects, a few similar community- based integrated interventions have yielded dramatic results. The `Fica Vivo' program in the Morro das Pedras favela in Belo Horizonte, Brazil resulted in a 45 percent reduction in homicide rates in its first year. 81 82 REFERENCES Absar, S. S. 2001. "Problems Surroundings Wages: the Ready Made Garment Sector in Bangladesh." Labour and Management in Development Journal 2:2-17. Asian Development Bank (ADB). 2001a. Key Indicators 2001: Growth and Change in Asia and the Pacific. Asian Development Bank: Manila. ______. 2001b. "Women in Bangladesh". Asian Development Bank: Manila. Afsar, R. 2000. Rural Urban Migration in Bangladesh. Causes, Consequences and Challenges. Dhaka: University Press Limited. ______. 2003. "Internal Migration and the Development Nexus, the Case of Bangladesh." Paper presented at the Regional Conference on Migration, Development and Pro-poor Policy Choices, Dhaka, June 22-24. Ahmed, A., F. Naher, and J.Garrett. 2003. Crime and Violence in Dinajpur. Evidence from a SHAHAR Survey. Final report submitted to CARE-Bangladesh. Ahmed, I. (unknown) "Violence, Mastanocracy and Chronic Poverty." (mimeo.) University of Dhaka Department of International Relations: Dhaka. Ahmed, S. and Z. Sattar. 2004. "Trade Liberalization, Growth and Poverty Reduction: The Case of Bangladesh." World Bank Report IDP-190. Washington, D.C. Amin, S. et al. 1997. "Transition to Adulthood of Female Workers: Some Evidence from Bangladesh." Population Council Policy Research Division Working Paper 102. New York. Amin, S. et al. 2003. "Does Microcredit Reach the Poor and Vulnerable? Evidence from Northern Bangladesh." Journal of Development Economics 70(1):59-82. Amin, S. et al. 2004. "Poverty and Other Determinants of Child Labor in Bangladesh." Southern Economic Journal 70(4): 876-892. Arndt, C. et al. 2002. "Opportunities and Challenges in Agriculture and Garments: A General Equilibrium Analysis of the Bangladesh Economy." International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Discussion Paper 107, Bangladesh and the World Trade Organization (WTO)Project. Washington, D.C. Barkat, A. and S Akhter.1999. "Human Deprivation in the Urban Slums and Squatter Settlements in Bangladesh: A Rapid Survey."(mimeo.) Dhaka. 83 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Labor Force Survey. 1991. Report on Labor Force Survey: 1990-91. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics: Dhaka. ______.1996. Report on Labor Force Survey: 1995-96. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics: Dhaka. ______. 2000(a).Report on Labor Force Survey: 1999-2000. Key Data. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics: Dhaka. ______. 2000(b). Labor Force Survey 2000. Data. Dhaka: BBS. ______.2001. Population Census 2001, Preliminary Report. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics: Dhaka. ______.2001. Household Income and Expenditure Data, 2001Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics: Dhaka Berger, Louis Group, Inc. "Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka," working paper #3: Population projections to 2024 in STP area. Bangladesh Consultants Ltd, June 2004. Bhuyan, A. R. et al. 2001. "Rural Urban Migration and Poverty: The Case for Reverse Migration in Bangladesh." Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) Focus Study 10. Dhaka. Buvinic, M., A. Morrison and M. Shifter. 1999. "Violence in the Americas: A Framework for Action." In A. Morrison, eds. Too Close to Home: Domestic Violence in the Americas. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and John Hopkins University Press. Buvinic, M. and A. Morisson. 1999. Violence Prevention ­ Technical Notes 1 to 6. Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) Sustainable Development Department: Washington, D.C. Caldwell, B. et al. 2002. "Why Do the Children of the Poor Die in Dhaka, Bangladesh?" Population Research and Policy Review 21(3):159-178. Cameron, J. 1996. "The Challenge of Combining Quantitative Methods in Labour Force and Livelihoods Analysis. A Case-Study of Bangladesh." Journal of International Development 8(5):625-653. Centre for Urban Studies. 2001. "Report of the Task Force on Urban Governance." National Policy Forum: Dhaka. Chaudhury, N. and J.S. Hammer. 2003. "Ghost Doctors: Absenteeism in Bangladeshi Health Facilities." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3065. 84 References Washington, D.C. Center for Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) and ACHR Asian Coalition of Housing Rights (ACHR). 2000. "Forced Evictions in Bangladesh", Mission report of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, Switzerland and the Asian Coalition of Housing Rights, Bangkok. Deaton, A.1997. The Analysis of Household Surveys ­ A Microeconometric Approach to Development Policy. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. Deichmann, U. et al. 2003. "Information-Based Instruments for Improved Urban Management." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3002. Washington, D.C. Delap, E. 2001. "Economic and Cultural Forces in the Child Labour Debate. Evidence from Urban Bangladesh." Journal of Development Studies 37(4):1-22. Dowlah, C.A.F. 1999. "The Future of the Readymade Clothing Industry of Bangladesh in the Post-Uruguay Round World." World Economy 22(7):933-953. Dubois, J.L. 1997. "Monitoring Urban Poverty at the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics: Design and Implementation Issues for an Adaptive 1-2-3 Survey." Development Institutions et Analyses de Long Terme (DIAL) Document de Travail DT/97/13. Paris. Elson, D. 1999. "Labor Markets as Gendered Institutions: Equality, Efficiency and Empowerment Issues." World Development 27(3):621-627. Evans, T. G., et al. 1999. "Demystifying Nonparticipation in Microcredit: A Population-Based Analysis." World Development 27(2):419-430. Fouquin, M. et al. 2004. "Mondialisation et régionalisation: le cas des industries du textile et de l'habillement."Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales (CEPII) Document de Travail 2002-08. Paris. Garrett, J. and A. Akhter. 2004. "Incorporating Crime in Household Surveys: A Research Note." Environment and Urbanization 16(2):139-151. Gilbert, J., and T. Wahl. 2000. "Applied General Equilibrium Assessments of Trade Liberalization in China." Paper presented at the Workshop on China's Accession to the WTO. CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis and Institute of Qualitative and Technical Economies of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, Beijing, October 19­20. Greenwood, P. et al. 1996. Diverting Children from a Life of Crime. Measuring Costs and Benefits. Santa Monica: Rand Corporation. 85 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Guerra, N. 2005. Youth Crime Prevention. World Bank Community Based Crime and Violence Prevention in Urban Latin America and the Caribbean Program. Washington. D.C. Harpham, T. and M. Tanner eds.1995. Urban Health in Developing Countries. London: Earthscan. Harris, J. R. and M.P. Todaro. 1970. "Migration, Unemployment and Development: A Two-Sector Analysis." American Economic Review 60(1):126-42. Hefferson, Robert and Salma Shafi, "Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka", working paper #2: Existing land use and future scenarios, Robert Hefferson and Salma Shafi, July 2004. Hoek-Smith, Maria. 1998. "Housing Finance in Bangladesh, Improving access to Housing Finance by Middle and Lower Income Groups." Report prepared for the Government of Bangladesh, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co- Operatives and UNDP/UNCHS (Habitat). Hossain, M.Z. 2001. "Rural-Urban Migration in Bangladesh: A Micro-Level Study." Paper presented at the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (USSP) General Conference, Salvador, August 20-24. Huq-Hussain, S. 1996."Female Migrants in an Urban Setting ­ the Dimensions of Spatial/Physical Integration ­ the Case of Dhaka." Habitat International 20(1):93-107. Hussain, Syed Minuddin. 2004."Bangladesh Land Law Study."(mimeo.) International Labor Organization (ILO) Employment Sector. 2002. Women and Men in the Informal Economy: A Statistical Picture. International Labor Organization: Geneva. Islam, M. H., Chowdhury, Q.A. 2003. "Slums in Dhaka City: a Situation Analysis of Four Selected Slums of Dhaka City."(mimeo.)Aparajeyo Bangladesh: Dhaka. Islam, N. 1985. "The Poor's Access to Residential Space in an Unfairly Structured City, Dhaka." Oriental Geographer 29-30 (1&2):37-46. ______. 1998. Human Settlements and Urban Development in Bangladesh. Dhaka: University of Dhaka. ______. 1999. Urbanization in Bangladesh and the Growth of Dhaka: Land Use, Poverty and Governance. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies: Calcutta. ______. 2004. "The Poor's Access to Land and Housing in Dhaka." Paper written for the World Bank. Dhaka Urban Poverty Study. 86 References Islam, N. and A. Ulah Ahsan, eds. 1996. Urban Bangladesh ­ Geographical Studies. University of Dhaka: Department of Geography, Urban Studies Programme. Dakha. Islam, N. ed. 2000. Urban Land Tenure and housing finance in Bangladesh. UN-Habitat, Center for Urban Studies. Dhaka. Islam, N. and S.A. Shafi. 2004. "Solid Waste Management and the Urban Poor in Dhaka." Forum on Urban Infrastructure and Public Service Delivery for the Urban Poor Regional Focus: Asia, New Delhi, June 25-26. Islam, N., N. Huda, F. Narayan, and P. Rana, eds. 1997. Addressing the Urban Poverty Agenda in Bangladesh, Critical Issues and the 1995 Survey Findings. Dhaka: University Press. Islam, R. 2003. "Labour Market Policies, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction: Lessons and Non-Lessons from the Comparative Experience of East, South-East and South Asia." International Labor Organization Recovery and Reconstruction Department, Issues in Employment and Poverty Discussion Paper 8. Geneva. Kabeer, N. 1991. "Cultural Dopes or Rational Fools? Women and Labour Supply in the Bangladesh Garment Industry." European Journal of Development Research 3(1):133- 160. Khan, A.R. 2001. "Employment Policies for Poverty Reduction." International Labor Organization Recovery and Reconstruction Department, Issues in Employment and Poverty Discussion Paper 1. Geneva. Khan, H.R. and Q.I. Siddique 2000. "Urban Water Management Problems in Developing Countries with Particular Reference to Bangladesh." Water Resources Development 16(1): 21-33. Khandker, S. 2003. "Microfinance and Poverty: Evidence Using Panel Data from Bangladesh." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2945. Washington, D.C. Kibria, N. 2001. "Becoming a Garment Worker: The Mobilization of Women into the Garment Factories of Bangladesh." In R. Sobhan, ed. Globalisation and Gender: Changing Patterns of Women's Employment in Bangladesh. Dhaka: University Press Limited. Knaul, F M. and M. A. Ramírez. 2002. The Impact of Child Abuse and Family Violence on the Probability of Future Family Violence, Educational Attainment, and Labour Outcomes: The Mexican Case. Mexico, D.F. Knowles, J.C. 2001. "Bangladesh: Public Expenditure Review, Education Sector." (mimeo.) Background paper for the World Bank. 87 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor KPMG. 2002. "Dhaka Eastern Bypass Concept Paper."(mimeo.) Report for the KPMG Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Center (IIFC). Kruger, T., K. Landman and S. Liebermann. 2001. Designing Safer Places: A Manual for Crime Prevention Through Planning and Design. CSIR: Pretoria Liebermann, S. and J. Coulson. 2004 "Participatory Mapping for Crime Prevention in South Africa ­ Local Solutions to Local Problems." Environment and Urbanization 16(2):125-134. Lips, M. et al. 2003. "Textile and Wearing Apparel Sector Liberalization ­ Consequences for the Bangladesh Economy." Paper presented at the 6th Conference on Global Economic, The Hague, June 12-14. Majumder, P. et al. 1996. The squatters of Dhaka City: Dynamism in the Life of Agargaon Squatters. Dhaka: University Press Limited. Mannan, F and Rashid, SF (2004), "The Heterogeneity of the Urban Poor: Political- Economy and Social Conditions in Urban Slums," Univeristy of Southampton, UK. Funded by DFID (Project Number: KAR Project, R8028). Mahmud, S. 1997. "Women's Work in Urban Bangladesh: Is There an Economic Rationale?" Development and Change 28(3):235-260. Matin, I. and D. Hulme. 2003. "Programs for the Poorest: Learning from the IGVGD Program in Bangladesh." World Development 31(3):647-665. Mehra R. and S. Gammage. 1999. "Trends, Countertrends, and Gaps in Women's Employment." World Development 27(3):533-550. Morrison, W. 2001. "Summaries of Studies of the Impact of WTO on China's Trade". Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Center for Cooperation with Non-Members. Paris. Moser, C. and C. McIlwaine. 2000. Urban Poor Perceptions of Violence and Exclusion in Colombia, World Bank. Washington, D.C. Moser, C. et al. 2005. "Violence, Fear, and Insecurity Among the Urban Poor in Latin America." In M. Fay ed., The Urban Poor in Latin America. World Bank. Washington, D.C. Nabi, R. et al. 1999. "Consultation with the Poor. Participation Poverty Assessment in Bangladesh." Bangladesh: NGO Working Group on the World Bank. Osmani, S.R. 2003. "Exploring the Employment Nexus: Topics in Employment and Poverty." Report prepared for the Task Force on the Joint ILO-UNDP Programme on 88 References Employment and Poverty. Oxfam. 2004. "How Rich-Country Protectionism in Textiles and Clothing Trade Prevents Poverty Alleviation." Oxfam Briefing Paper 60. Oxford. Paul-Majumder, P. and A. Begum. 2000. "The Gender Imbalances in the Export Oriented Garment Industry in Bangladesh." World Bank Policy Research Report on Gender and Development, Working Paper Series 12. Washington, D.C. Rahman, M. et al. 1999. "Child Labor in Bangladesh: A Critical Appraisal of Harkin's Bill and the MOU-Type Schooling Program." Journal of Economic Issues 33(4):985- 1003. Rahman, M. and D. Bhattacharya. 2000. "Bangladesh Experience with Trade and Investment Liberalisation. A Perspective on Poverty Alleviating Implications." In Liberalisation and Poverty: Is There a Virtuous Circle. India: Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS). Rahman, M. M. 2002. "Problems of the NGOs in Housing Urban Poor in Bangladesh." Habitat International 26(3):433-451. Rahman R. I and K. M. Nabiul Islam. 2003. "Employment Poverty Linkages: Bangladesh." International Labor Organization, Issues in Employment and Poverty Discussion Paper10, Geneva. Rashid and Mannan, 2004, "The Heterogeneity of the Urban Poor: Political-Economy and Social Conditions in Urban Slums" and Aparajeyo, 2002 "Slum Observatory Survey." Ravallion, M. and Q. Wodon. 2000 "Does Child Labour Displace Schooling? Evidence on Behavioural Responses to an Enrollment Subsidy." The Economic Journal 110(502):158-175. Rau, M. et al. 2003. Espacios Urbanos Seguros: Recomendaciones de diseno y gestion comunitaria para la obtención de espacios urbanos seguros. Santiago de Chile: Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo. Remenyi, J. 2000. "Poverty Reduction and Urban Renewal Through Urban Agriculture and Microfinance: A Case Study of Dhaka, Bangladesh." (mimeo.) Geelong Victoria: Deakin University, School of Australian and International Studies. Roy, A.N., Jockin, A., Javed, A. 2004. "Community Police Stations in Mumbai's Slums." Environment and Urbanization 16(2):135-138. Salmon, C. 2002. "Performance of the Bangladeshi Labor Market during the Nineties." 89 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Background paper for the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Salway, S. et al. 1998. "Livelihoods and Health Among the Urban Poor of Dhaka. Descriptive Findings from the Urban Livelihoods Study. ULS Study Report. Institute for Development Policy Analysis and Advocacy, Dhaka. Salway, S. et al. 2003. "A Profile of Women's Work Participation Among the Urban Poor of Dhaka." World Development 31(5):881-901. Sarker, N. C., Huq, N.A. 2004. "Dhaka City: Road Digging and Public Sufferings." Oriental Geographer 48(2) Sen, B. 2003. "Drivers of Escape and Descent: Changing Household Fortunes in Rural Bangladesh." World Development 31(3):513-534. Seraj, T.M. and S. Afrin, 2003. "Solving Housing Problem Through Private Sector Real Estate Development in Dhaka." In N. Islam, ed. Water and Sanitation for Cities, World Habitat Day 2003 Souvenir, Dhaka: Centre for Urban Studies (CUS), Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP). Sethuraman S.V. 1998. "Gender, Informality and Poverty: A Global Review." International Labor Organization Working Paper. Geneva. Shafaeddin, S.M. 2004. "Is China's Accession to WTO Threatening Exports of Developing Countries ?" China Economic Review 15(2):109-144. Shafi, S. A.1999. "Study on Financing of Urban Low-Income Housing." Report for the Asian Development Bank. Sheltech Consultants Ltd. Shaw, M. 2000. The Role of Local Government in Community Safety. International Centre for the Prevention of Crime: Montreal. Shefali, M. K. 2002. "Impact of International Trade Regime on Female Garment Workers in Bangladesh." Paper presented at the International Workshop on "Globalization, Trade Liberalization and Economic Growth in Asia: Should Labour ad Environmental Standards be Part of the Equation? The Case of Bangladesh." University of New England, Australia: October 3-4. Siddiqui, K. ed. 1994. Local Government in Bangladesh. 2nd edition, Dhaka: University Press Limited. ______.1997. Land Management in South Asia. A Comparative Study. Dhaka: University Press Limited. Siddiqui, K. et al. 2000. Overcoming the Governance Crisis in Dhaka City. Dhaka: University Press Limited. Singha D. 2001. "Social Intermediation for the Urban Poor in Bangladesh" Paper 90 References presented at Department for International Development (DFID) Regional Livelihoods Workshop: Reaching the Poor in Asia, May 8-10. Shefali, M.K. and N.U. Kendra. (undated) "Women and shelter development: perspectives and reality in Bangladesh context." Paper presented at the United Nations Foundation and the Quest Ltd Seminar, Dhaka, December 6-7. Sobhan, R. 2002. "Bangladesh in the Next Millennium: Between Promise and Fulfillment." Centre for Policy Dialogue: Dhaka. Ullah, A.K.M.A. 2004. "Bright City Lights and Slums of Dhaka City: Determinants of Rural-Urban Migration in Bangladesh." Migration Letter 1(1): 26-41. United Nations (UN). 2001. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2001 Revision. United Nations. New York. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA). (undated). Commodity Trade Statistics Database. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. New York. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2002. Human Security in Bangladesh. In Search of Justice and Dignity. United Nations Development Programme Bangladesh. Dhaka. ______.2004. Human Development Report. United Nations Development Program. New York. United Nations Family Planning Association (UNFPLA). 2000. State of the World's Population. United Nations Population Fund. New York. United Nations Habitat (UN-Habitat). 2002. Safer Cities Approach. United Nations Habitat. New York. Walkenhorst, P. 2003. "Liberalising Trade in Textiles and Clothing: A Survey of Quantitative Studies." Working Paper of the Trade Committee (2003)/2 Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development: Paris. Ward, K., et al. 2004. "The Effects of Global Economics Restructuring on Urban Women's Work and Income-Generating Strategies in Dhaka, Bangladesh." Critical Sociology 30(1):63-102. Werner International. 2003. 2002 Labor Cost Comparison Report. World Health Organization (WHO). 2002. World Report on Violence and Health. World Health Organization. Geneva. 91 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Wodon, Q., T. 1997. "Food Energy Intake and Cost of Basic Needs: Measuring Poverty in Bangladesh." Journal of Development Studies 34(2):65-101. ______.1999. "Micro-determinants of Consumption, Poverty Growth, and Inequality in Bangladesh." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2076. Washington, D.C. World Bank. 1996. "Bangladesh: Labor Market Policies for Higher Employment." World Bank South Asia Country Department 1, Country Operations Division, Report 13799- BD. Washington, D.C. ______. 1998(a). "Bangladesh, From Counting the Poor to Making the Poor Count." World Bank Report 17534-BD. Washington, D.C. ______. 1998(b). Bangladesh 2020. A Long-run Perspective Study. Bangladesh Development Series, World Bank and Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies, Dhaka: University Press Limited. ______. 1999(b). Bangladesh. Key Challenges for the Next Millennium. World Bank: Washington, D.C. ______. 2002. "Poverty in Bangladesh: Building on Progress." World Bank Report 24299-BD. Washington, D.C. ______. 2003.(a) "Improving the Investment Climate in Bangladesh" World Bank and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute. ______.2003(b). A Resource Guide for Municipalities: Community-Based Crime and Violence Prevention in Urban Latin America. World Bank, Washington D.C. ______. 2004(a) Housing Finance Reforms in Bangladesh. South Asia Finance and Private Sector, World Bank. Washington, D.C. ______ 2004(b). World Development Report 2005, World Bank: Washington, D.C. Zaman, H. 2001. "Paid Work and Socio-Political Consciousness of Garment Workers in Bangladesh." Journal of Contemporary Asia 31(2):145-160. Zaman, H. 2004. "The Scaling-up of Microfinance in Bangladesh: Determinants, Impact, and Lessons." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3398. Washington, D.C. 92 93 94 Annexes 95 96 Annex 1: Poverty Profile Background Tables and Figures Figure A1.1: Cumulative Distribution of Per Capita Expenditure, Dhaka 1 E C Pfo .8 ontiubirtsid .6 evtialu .4 mu .2 C 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 Monthly PCE Cumulative distribution of PCE lower poverty line upper poverty line Figure 1: Per Capita Expenditures (PCE) Distribution in Dhaka (HIES) Figure A1.2: Poverty and Extreme Poverty Headcount, Urban Bangladesh 60 Dhaka 50 50 Chittagong 46 poverty Khulna in 40 31 28 living 30 20 17 12 individuals 10 % 0 Extreme (food) Poverty Poverty 97 Figure A1.3: Access to Water for Dhaka's Poor % households below the poverty line 80 70 60 50 % households 40 below the poverty 30 line 20 10 0 Piped water Tube wells Figure A1.4: Housing quality and poverty incidence 1 .8 Substandard housing .6 F CD .4 Upper poverty line .2 0 0 5000 10000 15000 Monthly PCE other housing poor quality housing upper poverty line 98 Figure A1.5: Kernal Density of Expenditures in Urban Areas 1 .8 yti .6 ns De .4 .2 0 6 8 10 12 ln_pcexp Dhaka Chittagong Khulna Table A1.1: Housing quality and poverty incidence % households below poverty (upper) line Brick/cement Hemp/Hay Material of Wall 25.95 39.46 Material of Roof 7.03 4.32 Table A1.2: Inequality of distribution of consumption expenditure by quintile Quintiles % of consumption expenditure accruing to this quintile Dhaka Pune Bangalore (India) (India) Poorest 20% 8.35 7.8 8.59 2 11.55 9.79 13.25 3 15.80 16.57 12.08 4 22.25 22.44 27.91 Richest 20% 42.61 43.4 38.17 99 100 Annex 2: Supplemental Data on Labor Table A2.1: Population aged 15 years and over and working population in the Dhaka district. in thousands. 1996-2000 Dhaka District Usual % Extended % change definition change definition 1996 2000 1996 2000 Population, aged 15 years and over n.a. 5612 n.a. 5612 - Population, aged 15 years and over, male n.a. 2848 n.a. 2848 - Population, aged 15 years and over, female n.a. 2764 n.a. 2764 - Active population, 15 years and over 2632 3108 18% 2891 3318 15% Active population, 15 years and over, male 2079 2365 14% 2089 2404 15% Active population, 15 years and over , female 553 742 34% 802 913 14% Sexual distribution Male 79% 76% 72% 72% Female 21% 24% 28% 28% Labor force participation* Total - 55% - - 59% - Male - 83% - - 84% - Female - 27% - - 33% - Bangladesh Population, aged 15 years and over n.a. 74203 n.a. 74203 Population, aged 15 years and over, male n.a. 38325 n.a. 38325 Population, aged 15 years and over, female n.a. 35877 n.a. 35877 Active pop. 15 years and over 36054 40734 13% 50337 53519 6% Active pop. 15 years and over, male 30666 32175 5% 31268 33458 7% Active pop. 15 years and over , female 5388 8558 59% 19069 20061 5% Sexual distribution Male 85% 79% 62% 62% Female 15% 21% 38% 38% Labor force participation Total - 55% - - 72% - Male - 84% - - 87% - Female - 24% - - 56% - Source: different LFS issues. Notes: *: Number of economically active persons to the population of 10 years and over. 101 Table A2.2: Main characteristics of Dhaka's labor force compared with the overall country. 2000 Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh Dhaka Description of the labor force (thousands) Sectoral distribution of the employed pop. Total population, 10 years and over 91643 6442 Agriculture 62.3 11.8 Total population, + 10 years, Male 47640 3249 Manufacturing 7.4 17.1 Total population, + 10 years, Female 44003 3193 Trade 12 23.2 Transport 4.6 9.3 Active pop., + 10 years 60297 3509 Community services 7.4 21.7 Active pop., + 10 years, Male 37487 2460 Household services 2.6 9.9 Active pop., + 10 years, Female 22809 1049 Other sectors 3.6 7.0 Employed pop., + 10 years 58071 2770 Agriculture 62.3 11.8 Employed pop., + 10 years, Male 36134 2291 Industry 10.3 20.6 Employed pop., + 10 years, Female 21937 959 Services 27.4 67.6 Labor force participation rate (total) 65.8% 54.5% Formal public sector 4 14.2 Labor force participation rate (male) 78.7% 75.7% Formal private sector 13.9 36.9 Labor force participation rate (female) 51.8% 32.9% Informal sector 81.7 48.7 Non-profit instit. sect. 0.3 0.1 Distribution of the active population by gender Status of employed population Male 62.0% 70.1% Self-employer 32.4 33.5 Female 38.0% 29.9% Employer 0.2 0.3 Unemployment and underemployment Employee 13,3 48,8 Unemployment rate (standard) 3.7% 7.4% Unpaid family worker 36.7 12.9 Proposed unemployment rate 11.0% 10.4% day laborer 17.6 4.6 Underemployment rate 35.3% 16.0% Education level of the employed pop. (+ 15) Un- & underemployment rate 39.2% 22.2% No education 49.4 30.9 Class I-V 24.8 17.6 Class VI-X 16.1 21.9 SSC/HSC 6.5 15.4 Degree & above 3.2 14.2 Source: 2000 LFS Notes: extended definition of the labor force in Dhaka SMA. Population aged 10 years and over. Table A2.3a: Sectoral distribution of employment by gender Sectoral Sectoral Sectoral % of women in distribution of distribution of distribution of the sector male employment female employment employment (both sexes) Agriculture 8.9% 19.0% 11.9% 47.3% Manufacturing 13.6% 25.5% 17.1 % 44% Construction 3.6% 0.6% 2.7 % 6.8% Trade 32%% 2.4% 23.2 % 3% Transport 12.7% 1.0% 9.2 % 3.2% 102 Finance 4.6% 1.0% 3.5 % 8.4% Community services 20.3% 25.0% 21.7 % 34% Household services 3.8% 24.3% 9.9 % 72.7% Source: 2000 LFS Notes: extended definition of the labor force in Dhaka SMA. Population aged 10 years and over. Table A2.3b: Some key figures on female employment in developing countries Women's economic activity rates % of % of women in women in the manuf. the services Sector South Asia 43% Pakistan: 36%, India: 42%, Sri Lanka: 43%, 41% 15% Nepal: 56%, Bangladesh: 66% East Asia and South East 57% Malaysia: 48%, Philippines: 49%, 44% 41% Asia Indonesia: 56%,China: 72%,Thailand: 73%, Latin America and 42% Brazil: 43%, Venezuela: 43%, 36% 48% Caribbean Sub Saharan Africa 62% Cote d'Ivoire: 44%, Niger: 69%, 28% 36% Mozambique: 82%, Date and source 2002 ** 2002 ** 1990's * 1990's * Source: * Mehra and Gammage (1999). **UNDP (2004) Table A2.4: Labor force in the main cities of Bangladesh in 2000 Bangladesh Dhaka Chittagong Khulna Rajshahi Usual definition Labor force participation rate (total) 49.2% 51.6% 50.2% 47.4% 51.6% Labor force participation rate (male) 73.5% 74.3% 73.3% 70.7% 73.0% Labor force participation rate (female) 22.8% 28.3% 25.5% 23.0% 27.6% Distribution of the active population Male 78.0% 72.9% 75.4% 76.2% 74.7% Female 22.0% 27.1% 24.6% 23.8% 25.3% Extended definition Labor force participation rate (total) 65.8% 54.5% 56.1% 52.3% 57.7% Labor force participation rate (male) 78.7% 75.8% 75.1% 71.5% 74.2% Labor force participation rate (female) 51.8% 32.9% 35.7% 32.3% 39.3% Distribution of the active population Male 62.0% 70.2% 69.2% 69.8% 67.8% Female 38.0% 29.9% 30.8% 30.2% 32.2% Source: Data computed from 2000 LFS. Notes: Statistical Metropolitan Areas. Population aged 10 years and over. 103 Table A2.5: Sectoral composition of the employed labor force in the 4 main cities DMA Chittagong Khulna Rashahi Agriculture 11.8 21.8 10.0 27.2 Manufacturing 17.1 24.0 20.1 10.3 Garment 11.9 11.4 7.4 6.2 Trade 23.2 18.8 20.4 21.0 Transport 9.3 13.2 11.6 11.5 Community services 21.7 7.9 15.3 18.5 Household services 9.9 7.8 9.7 3.6 Other sectors 7.0 6.4 12.9 8.1 Total 100 100 100 100 Agriculture 12% 22% 10% 27% Industry 21% 29% 30% 17% Services 67% 49% 60% 56% Total 100 100 100 100 Note: extended definition of the employed labor force aged 10 years and over. Source: 2000 LFS Table A2.6: Unemployment and underemployment in the 4 main cities of Bangladesh Bangladesh Dhaka Chittagong Khulna Rajshahi Unemployment rate (standard) 3.7% 7.4% 5.0% 3.5% 7.3% "Proposed" unemployment rate 11.0% 10.4% 11.2% 7.0% 8.6% Underemployment rate 35.3% 16.0% 21.7% 23.3% 27.3% Unemployment and underemployment rate 39.2% 25.2% 25.6% 26.0% 32.6% Source and notes: Salmon, based upon 2000 LFS. Definitions are the following: Standard unemployment rate = absolutely unemployed/total labor force; "Proposed" unemployment rate = total unemployed persons (absolutely unemployed + unpaid family workers)/total labor force; Underemployment rate = people working less than 35h per week/employed labor force; Unemployment and underemployment rate = total unemployed persons + underemployed persons/total labor force. 104 Table A2.7: Distribution of income and expenditure per capita, hies versus lfs (in taka) 2000 LFS income per 2000 LFS expenditures 2000 HIES expenditures capita per capita per capita percentile Centile centile centile D1 500 440 647 ---Zl: 649- D2 625 583 ---Zl: 649--- 801 D3 750 666 963 ---Zu: 893-- D4 870 800 1141 ---Zu: 893-- D5 1000 933 1360 D6 1250 1003 1583 D7 1600 1333 1832 D8 2166 1800 2425 D9 3333 2500 3243 Source: author's calculations on the 2000 LFS. Notes: Zl: low poverty line, Zu: upper poverty line. Table A2.8: General characteristics of the household by income group. Variable The poor The precarious The non-poor Mean Std.Dev Mean Std.Dev Mean Std.Dev Number of observations 454 296 750 Size of the household 5.13 1.73 4.68 1,87 4,40 1,95 Size of the house (acre) 20.80 81.80 37.30 160,60 58,45 172,40 Size of the land (acre) 25.24 186.22 31.30 114,08 58,03 332,57 % of households owning their house 0.28 0.45 0.27 0,45 0,34 0,47 % of households with livestock 0.18 0.38 0.16 0,37 0,10 0,29 % of households reporting no asset 0.81 0.39 0.78 0,41 0,59 0,49 % of household headed by a woman 0.08 0.27 0.05 0,23 0,09 0,29 Age of the mother 32.08 8.36 31.67 8,90 33,52 10,44 Age of the father 40.49 10.55 40.25 11,17 42,20 11,82 % of workers in the household 0.64 0.23 0.65 0,25 0,59 0,26 Number of earners per household 1.56 0.83 1.58 0,80 1,58 0,95 Number of males in the working age 1.38 0.89 1.44 0,86 1,59 1,00 Ratio number of earners/size of the household 0.30 0.17 0.34 0,19 0,36 0,22 % of heads of the household without any education 0.50 0.50 0.38 0,49 0,12 0,33 % of heads of the household with education level 1 0.22 0.41 0.22 0,41 0,11 0,31 % of heads of the household with education level 2 0.19 0.39 0.22 0,41 0,21 0,40 % of heads of the household with education level 3 0.09 0.29 0.18 0,39 0,57 0,50 % of wives without any education 0.58 0.49 0.46 0,50 0,14 0,35 % of wives with education level 1 (class 1-5) 0.16 0.37 0.19 0,39 0,14 0,34 % of wives with education level 2 (class 6-10) 0.12 0.32 0.19 0,39 0,24 0,43 % of wives with education level 3 (HSC/SSC & above) 0.15 0.35 0.17 0,38 0,49 0,50 Source: 2000 LFS 105 Table A2.9: Probit models. estimations of the probability to be poor. marginal effects 1 2 3 4 Marg.eff Std err. Marg.eff Std err. Marg.eff Std err. Marg.eff Std err. Size of the household 0.032*** 0.008 0.039*** 0.007 0.036*** 0.009 0.056*** 0.010 Age of the head -0.002 0.001 -0.002* 0.001 -0.003* 0.002 -0.004** 0.002 % of boys 5-9 0.016 0.128 0.029 0.129 -0.087 0.159 -0.076 0.176 % of boys 10-14 - 0.122 - 0.123 - 0.149 - 0.167 0.338*** 0.350*** 0.410*** 0.525*** % of girls 5-9 -0.024 0.131 0.026 0.129 0.022 0.171 0.143 0.179 % of girls 10-14 -0.066 0.121 0.042 0.119 -0.297** 0.151 -0.146 0.163 % of women 15-59 - 0.119 - 0.117 - 0.141 - 0.153 0.681*** 0.554*** 0.898*** 0.800*** % of women over 60 -0.360 0.222 -0.240 0.215 - 0.270 -0.640** 0.276 0.719*** % of men over 15 - 0.112 - 0.109 - 0.131 - 0.141 0.807*** 0.627*** 0.994*** 0.870*** % of men un- or underemployed 0.543*** 0.133 0.469*** 0.131 0.688*** 0.163 0.655*** 0.175 Head in the formal sector - 0.035 -0.061* 0.034 - 0.041 -0.075* 0.044 0.104*** 0.136*** Head day laborer 0.409*** 0.070 0.305*** 0.079 0.403*** 0.049 0.288*** 0.075 Head employee 0.020 0.038 0.054 0.038 0.005 0.046 0.061 0.049 Head in sectors up - 0.044 -0.068 0.069 - 0.065 -0.046 0.086 0.172*** 0.260*** Head in the construction sector -0.128** 0.045 -0.088 0.052 -0.181** 0.076 -0.073 0.088 Head in the trade sector - 0.030 -0.065** 0.031 -0.079** 0.039 -0.024 0.043 0.092*** Head in the agriculture 0.008 0.048 -0.017 0.044 0.017 0.061 -0.058 0.063 Head in the community services -0.014 0.050 0.052 0.058 -0.075 0.058 0.049 0.065 Head in the public sector - 0.043 -0.119** 0.046 -0.155** 0.059 -0.075 0.066 0.165*** Head in public community services 0.204** 0.092 0.180** 0.097 0.163* 0.080 0.128 0.091 Head in household services 0.039 0.084 0.085 0.084 -0.069 0.099 0.014 0.096 Head in the manufacturing sector 0.006 0.118 -0.029 0.106 -0.013 0.151 -0.065 0.156 Head in the formal manufac.sector 0.014 0.128 0.088 0.139 0.027 0.160 0.141 0.161 Household without any asset 0.154*** 0.026 0.111*** 0.026 0.276*** 0.031 0.235*** 0.035 Head with education level 1 (class 1-5) - 0.029 - 0.046 0.082*** 0.136*** Head with education level 2 (class 6-10) - 0.025 - 0.039 0.160*** 0.320*** Head with education level 3 (HSC:SSC & - 0.025 - 0.031 above) 0.345*** 0.592*** Number of observations 1500 1500 1500 1500 Percent correction predictions Poor (+ precarious for 3 & 4) 72.7 75.0 65.2 65.1 Non-poor (+ precarious for 1 & 2) 50.0 53.1 55.7 54.5 Notes: * significant at 10% level. ** significant at 5% level. *** significant at 1% level. Dependent variables: Estimations 1 & 2: Probability of being poor (deciles 1 to 3), Estimations 3 & 4: probability of being poor or precarious (deciles 1 to 5). 106 Table A2.10: Prevalence of poverty by sector, both sexes (in percentage) % of poor % of precarious % of poor & precarious Agriculture 42.7 22.1 64.8 Mining 33.3 11.1 44.4 Manufacturing 33.1 24.6 57.7 Garment 35.5 23.6 59.1 Energy 9.1 18.2 27.3 Construction 37.8 24.3 62.2 Trade 25.9 21.5 47.4 Transport 40.0 26.4 66.4 Finance 8.4 9.5 17.9 Community services 27.6 14.6 42.2 Household services 27.0 12.0 39.0 Household services (without live-in domestics)* 45.5 19.8 66.3 Public sector 21.1 16.9 38.1 Private sector** 24.7 18.7 43.4 Informal sector** 37.6 21.3 58.9 Notes: Employed population aged 10 years and over, extended definition of the labor force. *see text ** this distribution does not take into account the problem of the live-in maids. 107 Table A2.11: Prevalence of poverty by thana # of % of poor % of Sectors over-represented in the thana obs. precarious Cantonment 178 36% 8% Construction, transport, household services Demra 535 46% 17% Transport, trade Dhanmondi 226 5% 8% Community and household services Thana 43, dt Dhaka* 109 67% 14% Agriculture Gulshan 294 22% 18% Manufacturing Keraniganj 515 53% 18% Agriculture and manufacturing Kotwali 237 38% 14% Community services Lalbagh 491 31% 18% Trade and manufacturing Mirpur 629 16% 15% Community and household services Mohammadpur 172 42% 28% Transport , manufacturing, construction Motijheel 211 25% 21% Community services Ramna 208 4% 1% Household services and finance Sabujbagh 425 10% 16% Household services and finance Savar 182 23% 33% Agriculture and construction Sutrapur 458 40% 20% Manufacturing and trade Tejgaon 271 17% 37% Transport and manufacturing Uttara 131 58% 16% Agriculture Bandar* 117 32% 26% Manufacturing Narajanganj 415 34% 18% Manufacturing Gazipur Sadar 317 51% 35% Agriculture Thana 50, Dt Narajanganj* 104 39% 42% Manufacturing Notes: author's calculations based upon the 2000 LFS. The number of observations includes all persons aged 5 to 99. *: small sub-sample: number of workers less than 50. Table A2.12: Working time in Dhaka sma by income group: average and distribution Working time The poor The precarious The non-poor Total Average 46.3 hours 48.2 hours 49.6 hours 48.3 hours <15 hours 5.5% 3.1% 3.7% 4.1% 15-19 hours 3.2% 2.2% 1.1% 1.9% 20-29 hours 9.7% 7.6% 6.3% 7.6% 30-39 hours 8.1% 7.6% 4.9% 6.4% 40-49 hours 27.2% 29.9% 32.3% 30.3% 50-59 hours 18.2% 23.4% 20.5% 20.3% 60-69 hours 16.8% 15.7% 17.9% 17.1% >70 hours 11.0% 10.1% 13.0% 11.8% Total 100% 100% 100% 100% Source: 2000 LFS Notes: this distribution does not take into account the problem of the live-in maids. 108 Table A2.13: Share of living-in domestics (LID) in Dhaka sma by income group The The precarious The non-poor poor % of non-relative members amongst female workers <0.1% <0.1% 25% % of non-relative members amongst male workers <0.3% <1% <3% % of maids amongst female workers 16.1% 13.5% 27.7% % of non-relative amongst the maids * * 90% % of maids amongst the non-relative female workers * * 98% Notes: *: number of cases less than 10 Table A2.14: Working time by gender and by income group in Dhaka sma Working time Poor Precarious Non-poor Total Average time, both sexes 46.3 h. 48.2 h. 49.6 h. 48.3 h. Male workers 51.5 h. 51.1 h. 52.5 h. 51.9 h. All female workers 34.7 h. 40.6 h. 42.8 h. 39.8 h. Female workers excluding 34.5 h. 40.5 h. 36.8 h. 36.7 h. live-in domestics (LID) Only female live-in 47 h. 60 h. 60.9 h. 60.3 h. domestics (LID) Source: computed from 2000 LFS. Extended definition of the labor force. Table A2.15: Status by gender and income group (in %) Status of employment Poor Precarious Non-poor Non-poor Total without non relative members Male workers Self employer/own account 41.6 46.4 38.0 40.8 Employer 0.3 0.0 0.4 0.3 Employee 39.3 41.4 52.5 46.3 Unpaid family worker 7.2 6.4 7.5 7.2 Day laborer 11.5 5.7 1.6 5.4 Total 100 100 100 100 Female workers Self employer/own account 24.3 13.5 11.9 15.8 16.1 Employer 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.1 Employee 39.6 54.7 64.4 53.2 54.7 Unpaid family worker 31.8 27.7 22.5 29.6 26.4 Day laborer 3.9 4.0 1.3 1.35 2.6 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Source: computed from the 2000 LFS. Extended definition of the labor force. Population aged 10 years and over. 109 Table A2.16: Un- and underemployment rate of workers, by gender and income groups Poor Precarious Non-poor Non-poor Total without LID.* Male workers Unemployment rate (standard) 9.1% 7.0% 5.5% 6.9% Unemployment rate proposed 9.5% 7.7% 5.6% 7.2% Underemployment 9.6% 8.8% 4.9% 7.1% Total unemployment and underemployment 17.8% 15.2% 10.1% 13.5% Female workers Unemployment rate (standard) 12.2% 10.9% 5.3% 6.9% 9.7% Unemployment rate proposed 24.8% 17.6% 13.6% 17.9% 20.4% Underemployment 47.4% 36.0% 31.3% 41.7% 42.6% Total unemployment and underemployment 53.8% 43.0% 34.9% 45.8% 48.2% *LID.: live-in domestics Table A2.17: Participation rates of women to the labor force, by income group (in %) Poor Precarious Non-poor Non-poor Total without LID. Participation rate to the extended labor 34.7 33.2 31.5 26.2 32.9 force Participation rate to the usual labor force, 29.2 27.6 28.0 22.5 28.3 (excluding household activities) Participation rate to the paid extended labor 17.6 15.0 10.9 10.9 13.8 force Source: computed from 2000 LFS. Table A2.18: Options offered to the women Number Shares Shares among workers Not to work 1784 67.1% - To work as garment worker 224 8.4% 25.6% To work as maid 171 6.4% 19.5% Live-in maid 102 3.8% 11.6% Live-out maid 69 2.5% 7.9% To work in another job 479 18.0% 54.8% Total 2658 100% 100% Notes: the unemployed are included in the workers. Extended definition of the labor force. 110 Table A2.19: Determinants of female participation to labor force. probit models. marginal effects. 5 6 7 extend paid labor usual force Age 0.0353*** 0.0052 0.0293*** 0.0046 0.0291*** 0.0050 Age² -0.0005*** 0.0001 -0.0004*** 0.0001 -0.0004*** 0.0001 No education 0.0942*** 0.0363 0.0337 0.0307 0.0393 0.0339 Education, level 1 0.0918** 0.0364 0.0311 0.0312 0.0326 0.0338 Education, level 2 0.0086 0.0306 -0.0465* 0.0245 -0.0376 0.0278 Non-relative 0.6178*** 0.0341 0.7198*** 0.0377 0.6525*** 0.0364 Head of the household 0.3209*** 0.0551 0.3648*** 0.0555 0.3111*** 0.0561 Married -0.1395*** 0.0388 -0.1229*** 0.0346 -0.1315*** 0.0368 Divorced or widow -0.1602* 0.0424 -0.1003** 0.0327 -0.1190** 0.0407 Presence of children<5 years -0.1503*** 0.0263 -0.1009*** 0.0234 -0.1246*** 0.0248 % of male children 5-9 0.2944** 0.1064 0.0168 0.0895 0.1352 0.1003 % of male children 10-14 0.2312 0.0973 0.0393 0.0816 0.1591* 0.0911 % of female children 5-9 0.1307* 0.1117 0.0849 0.0934 0.1014 0.1047 % of female children 10-14 0.1666*** 0.0932 0.0686 0.0782 0.1326 0.0881 % female 15-60 0.2386** 0.0823 0.1707** 0.0690 0.2901*** 0.0763 % female over 60 0.2176 0.1935 0.2879* 0.1605 0.2794 0.1802 % of male un- or underemployed 0.2010** 0.1097 -0.1197 0.0998 0.1174 0.1033 Head formal -0.1003*** 0.0275 -0.0516** 0.0242 -0.0802*** 0.0262 Head employee 0.1720*** 0.0393 0.1315*** 0.0354 0.1556*** 0.0380 Head self employer* 0.1146*** 0.0354 0.0791** 0.0311 0.1231 0.0340 Head in the transport -0.0094 0.0360 0.0177 0.0312 -0.0184 0.0332 Head in the construction 0.0250 0.0544 -0.0073 0.0427 -0.0333 0.0459 Head in the trade sector -0.0535* 0.0302 -0.0223 0.0258 -0.0560** 0.0276 Head farmer 0.1310*** 0.0482 -0.0463 0.0337 -0.0187 0.0399 Head in the community services -0.0129 0.0310 -0.0163 0.0252 -0.0296 0.0282 Head in the household services 0.0386 0.0637 0.0303 0.0555 -0.0029 0.0580 Head in the manufacture -0.0177 0.0357 -0.0286 0.0286 -0.0159 0.0332 Household reporting no asset -0.0488** 0.0237 0.0138 0.0202 -0.0087 0.0222 D1-D3 without female contribution 0.1624*** 0.0275 0.1738*** 0.0263 0.1817*** 0.0270 D4-D5 without female contribution 0.0338 0.0277 0.0348 0.0259 0.0331 0.0270 Number of observations 2658 2583 2658 Percent correct prediction Entry 69.4 86.8 77.3 No entry 74.0 72.1 72.9 Notes: * significant at 10% level. ** significant at 5% level. *** significant at 1% level. ; Women aged 10 years and over. 111 Table A2.20: Choice of activities of women. multinomial logit models. risk ratios 8 9 10 11 Maid (in & Live-in Live-out Garment out) versus domestic domestic versus non- non-worker versus non- versus non- worker worker worker Age 1.234*** 1.099 1.229*** 1.210*** Age² 0.996*** 0.9974** 0.9970*** 0.9967*** Education, level>1 1 1 1 1 No education 44.32*** 20.501*** 19.568*** 1.375 Education, level 1 22.31*** 14.811*** 13.722*** 2.458*** Member of the family 1 Non-relative 107.02*** Unmarried 1 1 1 1 Married 0.193*** 0.0430*** 0.205*** 0.651 Divorce or widow 0.505 0.607 0.638 0.985 No children under 5 1 1 1 1 Presence of children under 5 0.580** 1.822 0.492*** 0.472*** % of male in age of working 0.258* 0.196 0.275 1.146 % of male un- or underemployed 0.611 0.535 0.673 0.697 Head in the informal sector 1 1 1 1 Head in the formal sector 0.296*** 5.940*** 0.156*** 0.825 Head day laborer 1 1 1 1 Head employee 1.785 0.147*** 3.111** 1.891** Head self employer 1.242 0.126*** 1.312 1.369 Head, education level>1 1 1 1 1 Head, education level 1 1.259 0.024*** 1.361 1.595** Household reporting asset 1 1 1 1 No asset 0.919 0.272*** 1.106 1.044 D6-D7, without female contribution 1 1 1 1 D1-D3, without female contribution 1.397 0.074*** 1.919* 2.584*** D4-D5, without female contribution 0.491* 0.338** 0.732 1.152 Options included in the logit multinomial 0: non-worker 0: non-worker 0: non-worker 0: non-worker In italics, the reference group 1: garment 1: garment 1: garment 1: garment Underlined, the estimation presented 2: maid 2: live-in maid 2: live-in maid 2: live-in maid Number of observations: 2658 3: other 3: live-out 3: live-out 3: live-out maid maid maid 4 : other 4 : other 4 : other Notes: * significant at 10% level. ** significant at 5% level. *** significant at 1% level. Women aged 10 years and over. In italics, risk ratios that could not be strictly interpreted given the inclusion of L-I.M among the observations. 112 Table A2.21: Labor force participation rate of children and sector distribution of their employment Boys Girls Both Labor force participation amongst the 5-14 21% 19% 20% years old Sector of employment of child workers Agriculture 13% 20% 16% Manufacturing 25% 27% 26% Trade 34% 0% 18% Transport 9% 0% 5% Community services 8% 9% 8% Household services 9% 43% 25% Other 2% 2% 2% Total 100% 100% 100% Source: computed from 2000 LFS. 113 Table A2.22: Determinants of child work. probit model. marginal effects. 12 13 14 15 16 All obs. All obs. Boys Girls Girls. without without non- non- relative relative Female -.0521 .0418 -.0865** .0422 Age .1175*** .0236 .0934*** .0215 .1202*** .0352 .0832** .0336 .0591** .0258 Age² -.0027** .0011 -.0019* .0010 -.0028 .0018 -.0013 .0016 -.0008 .0013 No education .3898*** .0648 .3353*** .0657 .5015*** .0923 .2937*** .0853 .2633*** .0858 Education, level 1 .1218*** .0198 .1066*** .0177 .1684*** .0320 .0903*** .0251 .0674*** .0194 Son -.0423 .0318 -.0543* .0285 -.0810* .0512 Daughter -.0239 .0312 .0011 .0308 -.0003 .0320 -.0004 .0246 Non relative member .4854*** .1247 .1674 .1437 .6788*** .1402 Presence of children -.268*** .0395 -.2653*** .0392 -.2424*** .0530 -.3095*** .0596 -.2557*** .0560 aged under 5* % of male in age of -.2427*** .0593 -.2053*** .0536 -.2491*** .0961 -.1979** .0772 -.1471** .0611 working % of male un- or .4157*** .0759 .3488*** .0675 .7456*** .1261 -.0637 .1156 -.0710 .0923 underemployed Head in the informal .0238 .0172 .0302** .0157 .0241 .0267 .0296 .0232 .0280 .0185 sector Head self employed .0166 .0181 .0115 .0163 .0069 .0271 .0062 .0237 .0083 .0191 Head day laborer .0947*** .0432 .0826*** .0391 .1350** .0682 .0407 .0516 .0322 .0415 Mother, education level 2 .0392* .0245 .0340* .0218 .0172 .0329 .0658** .0377 .0485* .0297 Mother, education level 3 .0371* .0244 .0297 .0222 .0353 .0407 .0327 .0289 .0199 .0234 Father, education level 2 .0613*** .0272 .0509** .0242 .0177 .0353 .0941*** .0403 .0729*** .0327 Father, education level 3 -.0061 .0190 -.0036 .0171 .0024 .0312 -.0138 .0242 -.0072 .0191 Household reporting no -.0282* .0175 -.0278* .0160 -.0339 .0271 -.0382 .0249 -.0310 .0200 asset Decile 1- 3 without child .0511*** .0191 .0480*** .0170 .0507* .0295 .0675*** .0273 .0564*** .0215 contribution Decile 4- 5 without child -.0133 .0207 -.0062 .0185 -.0199 .0294 .0029 .0327 .0144 .0258 contribution Number of observations 1839 1776 917 922 873 Percent of correct prediction Entry 48.7 43.9 42.0 40.4 37.6 No entry 75.2 75.5 77.3 83.5 82.1 Notes: * significant at 10% level. ** significant at 5% level. *** significant at 1% level. Children aged 5-14 years. 114 Table A2.23: Comparison of wages between Dhaka and the rural areas in 2000 (in taka) Dhaka (1) Rural areas (2) (1)/ (2) Average monthly wage 3312 1835 1.80 Average monthly wage by level of education No education 1323 902 1.47 Class I to V 1971 1407 1.40 Class VI to X 2783 1866 1.49 SSC-HSC 3964 3496 1.13 Degree and above 7696 4533 1.70 Average monthly wage by sector Agriculture 1768 1059 1.67 Manufacturing 2329 1706 1.37 Construction 6273 1771 3.54 Trade 3000 1360 2.21 Transport 3918 2519 1.56 Finance 7270 3604 2.02 Community services 4507 3227 1.40 Household services 1370 783 1.75 Average monthly wage by gender Male 4159 2132 1.95 Female 1600 887 1.80 Source: 2000 LFS. Extended definition of the labor force. Employed population aged 10 years and over. Table 5.2: Comparison of un- and underemployment rates between Dhaka and rural areas Dhaka (1) rural areas (2) (1)-(2) Unemployment rate 7.4% 3.3% 4.1 Proposed unemployment rate 10.4% 11.3% -1.1 Underemployment 16.0% 38.6% -22.6 Unemployment rate by level of education no education 3.2% 1.6% 1.6 Class I to V 5.9% 3.4% 2.5 Class VI to X 8.3% 5.0% 3.3 SSC-HSC 13.5% 10.5% 3 Degree and above 6.0% 8.3% -2.3 Proposed unemployment rate by level of education no education 5.5% 9.1% -3.6 Class I to V 10.0% 12.9% -2.9 Class VI to X 13.6% 14.4% -0.8 SSC-HSC 14.9% 13.5% 1.4 Degree and above 6.7% 9.9% -3.2 Source: 2000 LFS. Extended definition of the labor force. Employed population aged 10 years and over. 115 Table A2.24: Education levels of workers by income group (in percentage) The poor The precarious The non-poor Total Male workers Literacy rate 52.3 58.75 88.68 72.16 No education 43.3 35.8 9.1 24.4 Class I-V 26.2 22.8 10.6 17.6 Class VI-X 22.0 21.7 24.6 23.3 SSC/HSC 6.1 13.8 25.2 17.4 Degree & above 2.1 5.6 30.2 17.2 Technical & 8.4 8.4 10.8 9.6 Vocational training Female workers Literacy rate 32.6 46.9 60.7 (73.6) 49.3 No education 66.8 50.7 35.5 (21.4) 48.1 Class I-V 14.3 23.0 17.1 (20.8) 17.4 Class VI-X 14.3 18.4 20.2 (24.8) 18.0 SSC/HSC 3.9 6.9 15.0 (18.4) 10.0 Degree & above 0.5 0.7 11.9 (14.6) 6.2 Technical & 9.9 1.5 6.1 (7.1) 6.3 Vocational training Notes: Employed workers aged 15 years and over. Figures in parenthesis indicate the corresponding share for the female workers excluding the LID. Source: 2000 LFS. Table A2.25: Estimates of the employment elasticity with respect to sectoral growth. annual average Annual average Employment Sources growth of value- growth of elasticity added employ. 1991-2000 1991-2000 1991-2000 Agriculturea 3.3% 0.9% 0.27 Salmon (2002) Industrya 7.2% -0.8% <0 Salmon (2002) Manufacturinga 6.9%* -3.3% <0 Salmon (2002) Servicea 4.5% 4.8% 1.06 Salmon (2002) Totala 5.1% 1.6% 0.31 Salmon (2002) 1980-1989 Manufacturingb 0.78 Rahman & Islam (2003) Manufacturingc 0.63 (1981-90) Khan (2001) 1990-1998 Manufacturingb 0.72 Rahman & Islam (2003) Manufacturingc 0.39 (1991-98) Khan (2001) 1980-1998 Khan (2001) Manufacturingb 0.78 Rahman & Islam (2003) Sources and notes: a: Salmon (2002), calculations based on ADB, (2001a), Key Indicators of Developing Asian and Pacific Countries for the GDP by industrial origin (at constant 1995-96 market prices); LFS, 1990-91 and 1999-2000 for the distribution of labor force; BBS for wages; b: Rahman & Islam (2003), calculations based on the Census of Manufacturing Industries (4-digit level). c: Khan (2001), calculations based on national data (not defined). For Khan (2001), the elasticities have been estimated by fitting the following equation: Log EMP=C[1]+C[2].D1 +C[3].D2+C[4].log VA +C[5].D1*log VA+C[6].D2*log VA. EMP: employment in manufacturing, VA: real value-added in manufacturing, D1: dummy for 1981-90, D2: dummy for 1991-98. 116 Table A2.26: Ranges of value-added elasticities of employment at 4-Digit Range of VA elasticity of N° of % of total Sub-sector employment (1980-98) activities CMI under study employment (%) <0.50 2 1.5 3533 Soap & all detergents (8.7) 3713 Iron & Steel Re-Rolling 0.50-0.75 5 10.9 3116 Oil except Hydo (21.7) 3126 Tea & Coffee Processing 3211 Cotton Textiles 3321 Mfg. Of Wooden Furniture 3832 Ag. Machinery & Equipment 0.75 & above 16 45.8 3118 Grain Milling (69.6) 3122 Bakery Product 3124 Manufacture of Gur 3128 Edible Salt 3143 Biddies Manufacturing 3214 Silks & Synthetic Textiles 3216 Handloom Textiles 3223 Knitwear 3223 Readymade Garments 3241 Tanning & Leather Finishing 3311 Saw & Planning Mills 3318 Bamboo & Cane Product 3611 Earthenware 3691 Bricks Tiles & non clay 3814 Furniture & Fixture 3857 Ship breaking dismantling Average 0.78 23 58.2 All 23 sub-sectors (100) Source: calculated by Rahman & Islam (2003) from Census of Manufacturing Industries (CMI), various years. Table 5.6: Elasticities of employment of the rmg sector Period Elasticity of employment relative to: Value-added Output Export Export Source of calculations (value) (volume) 1980-89 0.94 (0.86) 0.98 (0.97) Rahman & Islam (2003) 1990-98 0.86 (0.33) 0.91 (0.46) Rahman & Islam (2003) 1980-98 0.96 (0.85) 0.96 (0.89) Rahman & Islam (2003) 1985-1995 0.60 0.66 Author's calculations 1995-2001 0.55 0.48 Author's calculations Notes: between parenthesis: elasticities standardized per enterprise. Data used by Rahman & Islam (2003) are those of the Census of Manufacturing Industries (CMI). Data used by the author are those of the BGMEA. 117 Table A2.27: Description of the samples of Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi: 2000 LFS # # Total population Total working pop. households individuals over 10 (weighted) over 10 (weighted) over 10 years old years old (thousands) years old (thousands) Dhaka SMA 1500 5364 6642 3509 Chittagong SMA 700 3020 3114 1746 Khulna SMA 500 2042 2114 1106 Rajshahi SMA 350 1356 1447 835 Bangladesh 9787 34498 91639 60293 Table A2.28. List of thanas composing Dhaka sma in the 2000 lfs and in the 2000 hies. 2000 2000 2000 2000 LFS HIES LFS HIES Cantonment x x Motijheel x x Demra x x Ramna x x Dhanmondi x x Sabujbagh x x Thana 43, dt Dhaka* x Savar x x Gulshan x x Sutrapur x x Keraniganj x x Tejgaon x x Kotwali x x Uttara x x Lalbagh x x Bandar* x x Mirpur x x Narajanganj x x Mohammadpur x x Gazipur Sadar x x Thana 50, Dt Narajanganj* x Table A2.29. Population of the different Dhaka's areas in 2000 LFS # obs. male female Total pop. over 5 years Dhaka region 9100 4608 4492 16.2 million Dhaka district 5809 2944 2865 8 million Dhaka SMA 6225 3161 3064 7.5 million Table: A2.30. Export, employment and number of factories in the garment sector. 1985- 2002 Year Export index Export index Share in total Number of Employment index volume `000 million US$ exports garment million doz factories workers 1985-86 4762.58 100 131.48 100 16.05% 594 0.198 100 1990-91 30566.63 642 866.82 659 50.47% 834 0.402 203 1995-96 72005 1512 2547.13 1937 65.61% 1353 1.29 652 1999-2000 111905.77 2350 4349.41 3308 75.61% 3200 1.6 808 2001-2002 140444.59 2949 4583.75 3486 76.57% 3618 1.8 909 Source : BGMEA, cited by Ahmed and Sattar (2004) 118 Table A2.31: International comparison: cost of labor and price of a shirt Average price in euro of a shirt exported to the EU Spinning and weaving labor cost comparisons 2002 2002 Country Price Ratio to Country Total cost in Ratio to US (in euros) Bangladeshi US$ cost % price Poland 9.7 3.34 Japan 22.76 150% Tunisia 9.5 3.28 USA 15.13 100% Mauritius 8.6 2.97 France 14.22 94% Morocco 7.9 2.72 Italy 13.92 92% Turkey 7.9 2.72 Taiwan 7.15 47% Macedonia 7.8 2.69 Hong Kong 6.15 41% Taiwan 7.6 2.62 South Korea 5.73 38% Romania 7.2 2.48 Poland 2.90 19% Hong-Kong 7.2 2.48 Brazil 2.50 16% South Korea 6.6 2.28 Mexico 2.30 15% Bulgaria 6.2 2.14 Turkey 2.13 14% Vietnam 6.1 2.10 Morocco 1.89 13% China 5.9 2.03 Tunisia 1.77 12% Indonesia 5.4 1.86 Mauritius 1.33 9% Sri Lanka 4.8 1.66 Thailand 1.24 8% India 4.7 1.62 Malaysia 1.16 8% Myanmar 3.9 1.34 Egypt 1.01 7% Bangladesh 2.9 1 China Coastal 0.69 5% India 0.57 4% China Inland 0.41 3% Sri Lanka 0.40 3% Pakistan 0.34 2% Bangladesh 0.25 2% Sources: Average price in euro of a shirt exported to the EU in 2002: Fouquin & al. (2002); Spinning and weaving labor cost comparisons in 2002: Werner International (2003) Table A2.32: Rank correlation coefficients between export items of China and its main competitors in Asia. Countries Correlation coefficient Number of common Statistical significance (%) products Sri Lanka 0.75 24 1 Pakistan 0.56 21 1 Viet Nam 0.55 28 1 Indonesia 0.53 25 1 Bangladesh 0.46 25 5 Thailand 0.42 31 5 India 0.39 19 10 Source: Shafaeddin (2004) calculated from UN/DESA (undated). SITC 3-digit level. 119 Cost of Living Differences. To adjust for cost of living differences between the different geographical areas, calculations were done using the CBN poverty lines (2000) defined by geographical area. Two poverty lines are calculated in Bangladesh, the "upper" and the "lower" poverty lines. Both consist of the same amount of food items but differ in the amount allowed for non-food items. The "upper" lines include a more generous allowance for non-food items. The differences between the CBN poverty lines of Dhaka and those of the other regions could be considered as a proxy of the cost of living differentials as they are perceived by the potential migrants. These differentials between the different regional areas and Dhaka (SMA) are presented in Table A2.33. TABLE A2.33: cost of living differentials between Dhaka and the rest of the country Upper Lower poverty lines poverty lines diff, Dhaka diff, Dhaka (ZU) (ZL) (ZU) (ZL) Coefficient 1 Coefficient 2 SMA DHAKA 893 649 1,000 1,000 OTHER URBAN DHAKA 629 521 0,704 0,803 RURAL DHAKA 659 548 0,738 0,844 RURAL FARIDPUR TANGAIL JAMALPUR 591 540 0,662 0,832 SMA CHITTAGONG 971 702 1,087 1,082 OTHER URBAN CHITTAGONG 818 694 0,916 1,069 RURAL SYLHET COMILLA 738 572 0,826 0,881 RURAL NOAKHALI CHITTAGONG 719 582 0,805 0,897 URBAN KHULNA 803 609 0,899 0,938 RURAL BARISAL PATHUAKALI 616 546 0,690 0,841 RURAL KHULNA JESSORE KUSHTIA 624 527 0,699 0,812 URBAN RAJSHAHI 726 557 0,813 0,858 RURAL RAJSHAHI PABNA 690 586 0,773 0,903 RURAL RANGPUR DINAJPUR 582 510 0,652 0,786 Source : Salmon, C. using CBN poverty lines (see Ahmed, 2004) Secondly, using the Labor Force Survey (LFS, 2000), we calculated the "real" (corrected) average monthly wages and the "real" average net self employment incomes, by using coefficients 1 and 2 of Table A2.33 as weights. Coefficient 2 (based on lower poverty line) tends to underestimate differences in the cost of living between Dhaka and the rest of the country as it mainly takes into account the differentials in prices of food items. As a consequence, when using coefficient 2, we probably overestimate differences in incomes between Dhaka and the other areas. Coefficient 1 takes into account differences in prices of both food and non-food items between Dhaka and the other regions. 120 Thirdly, we compared the corrected wages and the corrected net self employment incomes perceived in Dhaka and in the rest of the country, by level of education, by sector, by sex and by region. The results are presented in the following tables. Table A2.34 shows that on average, the wages earned in Dhaka are 30% to 50% higher than those earned in rural areas. The differential is more pronounced for the female wage-earners than for their male counterparts. The wage differential between Dhaka and the rural areas is positive for all categories of education (but remains small for the less educated when applying coefficient 1) except for the SSC-HSC. This last result can be explained by the fact that most of this category of educated people are found in the community sector (education, health), where there is very few regional differences in wages. By contrast, differences in wages are more important for the highly educated, given their larger number of job opportunities in Dhaka than in the rural areas (21% to 43%). Moreover, differences are particularly significant for most of sectors of activity (except community services) but, paradoxically, are not very large for the manufacturing sector. Once differences in cost of living are taken into account, there is a only a little earning differential for work in a manufacturing in Dhaka compared to one in a rural area (0 to 11%). 121 TABLE A2.34 : Comparison of average monthly wages between Dhaka and the rural areas (in taka) Dhaka (a) Rural areas (b) Rural areas (b) Ratio (a)/(b) Ratio (a)/(b) Correction 1 Correction 2 Correction 1 Correction 2 AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGE 3237 2490 2138 1,30 1,51 Average monthly wage by level of education No education 1323 1237 1071 1,07 1,24 Class I to V 1971 1849 1609 1,07 1,22 Class VI toX 2646 2605 2227 1,02 1,19 SSC-HSC 3773 4823 4127 0,78 0,91 Degree and above 7624 6276 5313 1,21 1,43 Average monthly wage by sector Agriculture *1768 1389 1208 *1,27 *1,46 Manufacturing 2329 2426 2100 0,96 1,11 Construction *6273 *2410 *2057 *2,60 *3,05 Trade 3000 *1950 *1676 *1,54 *1,79 Transport 3918 *3476 *2978 *1,13 *1,32 Finance 7270 4951 4266 1,47 1,70 Community services 4507 4442 3781 1,01 1,19 Household services 1370 1088 940 1,26 1,46 AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGE BY SEX Male 4159 2891 2841 1,44 1,46 Female 1600 1181 1015 1,35 1,58 Source : author's calculation based on LFS 2000 Notes : Rural wages are corrected to take into account the cost of living differential between Dhaka and the rest of the country. * : less than 50 cases. Table A2.35 shows that there is a great deal of heterogeneity in differentials of wages and incomes according to the geographical areas (rural and urban). As shown above, differentials in wages are higher than differentials in net self employment incomes. On average, the wages are 32% to 47% higher in Dhaka than in the rest of the country and net self employment incomes are 14% to 29% higher. Differentials are the highest between Dhaka and the rural Rajshahi and Pabna areas, reaching more than 150% for the wages. This is mainly explained by the differences in structure of activity between these regions. The differential is narrower for the areas near Dhaka. It is noteworthy that once differential in costs of living are taken into account, there remain very large differences in incomes or wages between Dhaka and other urban areas of the country. The differential in net self employment incomes is particularly wide between Dhaka and urban Chittagong, for instance, reaching more than 45%. While most of studies have focused on rural migrants, the influx of urban migrants (from other towns to Dhaka) may 122 be significant. When observing the real earnings, Dhaka seems to remain attractive compared to all other areas in the country, both rural and urban. However, even if earnings are one of the main reasons to migrate to Dhaka, it is not the only factor to consider. TABLE A2.35: Differential of wage and and net self employment income between Dhaka and other geographical areas (in percentage) Average monthly wage Net self employment income Correction 1 Correction 2 Correction 1 Correction 2 SMA DHAKA ref ref ref ref OTHER URBAN DHAKA 4% 18% -2% 12% RURAL DHAKA 16% 33% 14% 31% RURAL FARIDPUR TANGAIL JAMALPUR 3% 29% 8% 36% SMA CHITTAGONG 53% 52% 50% 49% OTHER URBAN CHITTAGONG 33% 55% 47% 72% RURAL SYLHET COMILLA 49% 59% 14% 22% RURAL NOAKHALI CHITTAGONG 48% 65% 30% 45% URBAN KHULNA 62% 69% 24% 29% RURAL BARISAL PATHUAKALI 5% 28% 21% 47% RURAL KHULNA JESSORE KUSHTIA 16% 35% -1% 14% URBAN RAJSHAHI 43% 50% -8% 3% RURAL RAJSHAHI PABNA 157% 200% 20% 37% RURAL RANGPUR DINAJPUR 15% 39% -4% 15% DIFFERENTILA DHAKA (SMA)/OTHER AREAS 32% 47% 14% 29% Source: author's calculation based on LFS 2000 Notes: Rural wages are corrected to take into account the cost of living differential between Dhaka and the rest of the country. 123 124 Annex 3: Supplemental Information on Land and Housing Table-A3.1. Urbanization in Bangladesh, 1901-2001 Census Total Urban Percent Variation Exponential year Population population Urban percent growth rate 1901 28,928,000 702,035 2.4 - - 1911 31,555,000 807,024 2.6 15.0 1.4 1921 33,254,000 878,480 2.6 8.9 0.9 1931 35,604,000 1,073,489 3.0 22.2 2.0 1941 41,997,000 1,537,244 3.7 43.2 3.6 1951 42,063,000 1,819,773 4.3 18.4 1.7 1961 50,840,000 2,640,726 5.2 45.1 3.7 1974 71,479,000 6,273,602 8.8 137.6 6.7 1981 87,120,000 13,228,163 15.2 110.9 10.7 1991 106,314,000 20,872,204 19.6 57.8 4.6 2001 123,851,120 28,605,200 23.1 37.1 3.2 Source: Population Census-2001: National Report (Provisional). (Dhaka: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2003):T-5.1:28 BOX A3.1 : Classification of Building Types in Bangladesh Housing units in urban Bangladesh are traditionally classified as: - pucca or permanent (meaning brick or cement for walls and roof, with average life span of 50 years), - semi pucca or semi-permanent (wall in CI sheet, brick or cement, roof in CI sheet or wood , with life span of 15-20 years) - kutcha or temporary (walls in mud or mud and bricks ; roof in tile or CI sheet, , with maximum life span of 5 years or less) - jhupri or thatch (walls and roof in straw or bamboo , with maximum life span of 1 year or less). Box A3.2 : RAJUK's performance RAJUK was created in 1952 when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. It was created for planning, control of development, and building housing as part of a highly centralized economic system. It has always provided most of its services upper and middle-income people. RAJUK has largely failed on the three fronts (see Islam et al. 1997, chapter 14). Planning has been deficient and seems inconsistent with the functioning of a market economy. Master plans have been drafted without local participation, and not taking informal developments into account. A look at the shape of Dhaka city nowadays (again, see Maps 1 and 2) shows that a very small proportion of urbanized land has been planned and is legal. The yellow areas indicate that over the 20 years between the developments described in the two maps i.e., 1984 to 2004, most development has not been planned. RAJUK focuses mostly urbanized tracks of public land, with buildings for the administration, universities, housing for civil servants and students. These parts of the city have remained largely intact. Today, RAJUK is said to have only a handful of planners on their payroll, which is totally insufficient to assume RAJUK's mission as the metropolis planning agency.75 Another problem comes from the lack of legal obligation or 75 For example, Detailed Area Maps for the 1997 City Development Plan have not been drafted until now. The work seems to have just started, and has been contracted to local consulting firms. The procedure followed is non partic patory and centralized (the plan is prepared then presented to the local community).In the - i 125 delay imposed on RAJUK to prepare new plans or updating old plans for the Dhaka Metropolitan Area. The last plan is relatively recent (1997), the former one dated back to 1959. In the face of the explosive growth of Dhaka during this period, this tardiness seems to be three or four times too long. Control of development and planning enforcement are absent. A large part of Dhaka is terra incognita for RAJUK and develops largely out of official control. In the case of originally planned neighborhoods where ownership of land was private, very often the initial buildings are long gone and have been redeveloped, very often illegally. Virtually all new development on the fringes of the city, apart from few public programs, is spontaneous and violates the current development plan of the city. This is particularly worrying for the environmental consequences to the city. For example, after the construction of the western embankment which protects the western parts of the city, encroachments have progressed very rapidly on both sides of the bund. On the city side, retention ponds are quickly being filled. All experts say that the consequences of the disappearance of the water retention ponds are disastrous in terms of water logging. The 2004 flood has been a warning, with water in the southern parts of the city taking three months to recede. On the development side, RAJUK has done little. From World Bank (2004), the public land servicer has been able to provide enough serviced land to meet between 1 and 2 percent of the demand for such parcels. Some experts also estimate that the market is ripe for private land servicing, and that the status of RAJUK creates unfair competition on this market in a variety of way. Besides, it does not cater to the poor, so that it operates on the same business lines as private developers, which are now well organized and more efficient. RAJUK announced recently a shy tentative to include the poor in their programs, by reserving 7.5 % of the land to poor households in one of their new programs.76 Box A3.3: Unplanned development of the lowlands Most undeveloped land in the inner Dhaka area (see Maps 1 and 2) is lowlands, only a few feet above the river level, and thus prone to flooding. Because higher locations are already urbanized, most of the new developments in the city follow an incremental approach consisting in progressively filling up the river or retention ponds or lakes. This process is organized by individuals who become landlords of the newly developed land and rent out the units built on it. Stage 1: Bamboo structures on stilts are built above the river next to already filled land. These units have no utilities (sometimes electricity is available via pirate hook-ups). Stage 2: filling occurs, with solid waste, sand and other materials. At the end of this process, the gap is totally filled and the new ground permits heavier construction. Stage 3: Bamboo constructions are replaced by "pucca" construction in bricks and cement, usually one floor high. At this stage, stone / brick roads have been traced, and electricity is usually present, either because owners have managed to get titles from RAJUK, more often by pirate hook-ups. Basic sanitation (collective) and sewage (side drains on each side of the road) are added. Very often, businesses and shops occupy the front side of the constructions, with the back serving as housing, dormitories, or small factories. Stage 4: one- or two-storey units are replaced with 5 or 6 storey buildings. case of the Dhaka-Narayangonj-Demra (DND) area, the presentation of the local plan to the local community generated protests which eventually led to the scrapping of the plan. 76 RAJUK was not created to cater housing for the poor. This was initially the mission of the Human Settlements Directorate. 126 Box A3.4: Slum Improvement/Upgrading Programs of the National Government The Government of Bangladesh began implementing upgrading program in urban slums in the mid eighties at the instance of UNICEF. This program has been active in some 25 cities, including Dhaka. Originally the program had a strong physical component like improvement of drains and sanitation. It had no housing component. Later the World Bank, the ADB and major NGOs like CARE supported some slum improvement programs. None in Dhaka (DMDP area) however, has any housing component. All programs together have made very little impact on improvement of slums in Dhaka, due to the massive scale of the problem. Dhaka City Corporation itself established its own Slum Improvement Department in the early 90s, but fund allocations to this department has always been very small, although over 1/3rd of DCC's population lives in slums. The NHA is the new form of the former Human Settlements Directorate. The latter agency managed some housing programs after the partition, mainly for displaced people coming from India. The NHA, established in 2001, has been implementing some small projects for the low income families and is now trying to help a private company to implement a resettlement project in multi storied buildings in Mirpur, Dhaka. Box A3.5 : NGO programs targeted to poor renters Currently NUK is operating three Hostel and Development Centre for women garment workers in Dhaka city with 600 seat-capacity, and two Student Hostels with 150 seat capacity in Dhaka and Mymensingh. All the hostels are operating on a non-profit basis in hired premises. Recently, BRAC also engaged in this activity and "Grihayan Tahabeel" (Housing Fund) of the Government of Bangladesh, administered through Bangladesh Bank, approved Tk 100 million to BRAC for building hostels for 2,500 women workers of garment factories in Uttara, Dhaka with 1 percent interest, repayable in 20 years. BRAC has another program centered on housing, targeted at single women renters. BRAC staff act as middlemen between landlords and single women who otherwise would not be able to find a place to live. They lend Tk. 5000 to cover the upfront costs of rental (3-4 months of rent as a security deposit). The woman will then be able to mobilize her own social network and sublet rooms or space to other women, which will provide a source of income to repay the loan. BoxA3. 6: The Land Tenure System The land tenure system in Bangladesh has evolved over a long historical time and stands now in a complex status. Urban land at present is characterized by a variety of tenure types, identified as Non-formal, de facto tenure; Private freehold; Government or Khas land; Public leasehold; Private leasehold; Apartment tenure; Community ownership; Cooperative ownership; Wakf (charitable/religious land); and Abandoned property and non-resident vested property. Non-formal, de facto Tenure Land occupied and used without permission from its owner is a form of tenure known as `squatting'. This is quite common in Dhaka specially on government property. The government in 1975, while clearing slums of Dhaka city under the Emergency Rule, forced nearly 200,000 squatter dwellers to settle in government allotted plots outside Dhaka city. As regards the tenure of such land, the government is yet 127 indecisive. Another massive eviction of 40,000 squatters took place in 2002 at Agargaon in the City but without any resettlement provision. There have been innumerable evictions between 1975 and 2004. Private Freehold This is the most familiar form of tenure through which a private individual or a group of individuals can own land outright. The law gives the owner the right to use or dispose of land in any way he/she likes as long as he/she does not impair the law of the land or planning regulations. Government Land or Khas Land Land under Government ownership are called Khas Lands. Government or semi-government agencies are the full owners of land. In urban areas, it generally applies to land directly used by the public such as parks, roadways and sites for public buildings. The government has the right for different uses of such land and can also sell it. The main sources of Khas Lands are as follows : Land vesting in the Government by virtue of holdings exceeding the land ownership ceiling (100 bighas or 13.4 ha); Accretion of land from the sea or rivers; Acquisition of land in cases of default in payment of land development tax; Common-use land (roads, rivers, pastures, etc.) and special use land (forest, fisheries, shrimp land, hats, bazaars, etc) and unusable land (hills, marshes, etc); Land acquired by compulsory acquisition or purchase. Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Poverty Ordinance 1982 prohibits the use of acquired land for purposes other than that for which it was acquired. Dhaka City has an unknown quantity of Khas Land, but it is quite substantial more than 1000 cares of which still remain vacant. Public Leasehold Some government agencies have directly leased out land to private individuals or firms for a specified period of time. These are known as public leases. The time period may vary between few months to 99 years. For example, RAJUK, has developed some residential areas and leased them to private individuals for 99 years. The lease-holders enjoy all the privileges of a private freehold except the fact that any transfer or sale have to be approved by the authorities concerned. Some of the leases may be for a temporary period and may be treated as on rent and mostly used for commercial purposes. Government has resettled some of the landless in government (Khas) land on long term lease. Private Leasehold It applies to rental market of all categories of property: residential, commercial and industrial. In it a private owner gives his property on lease to an individual or to a group of individuals for a certain period with certain restrictions and for specific uses or activities. Apartment Tenure Apartment construction is a comparatively recent phenomenon; the law relating to ownership rights in apartments is not well-developed. Apartments are sold under a variety of legal arrangements. The lack of a standard system handicaps the developer, the purchaser, and the tax collector. This system does not concern the poor of Dhaka. It is mainly limited to upper and middle income groups. Community Ownership It refers to property owned, managed and controlled by community consent. Land may be assembled through donations, surrender or purchase by common contributions. These lands are mostly used for graveyards, prayer halls and such purposes. Cooperative Ownership 128 This is a recent phenomenon and mostly occurs in urban, semi-urban and urban-fringe areas. The property is primarily used for the development of residential purpose. There are laws to regulate such holdings. In most cases the ownership is individual but with certain restrictions on transfer, sale, and use. There are examples of this type in tenure at various locations, but mostly in the fringe areas. There is potential for use of this system for the poor, but only if organized by responsible NGOs. Wakf It means charitable and religious land. When a property is given for charitable and religious uses through legal methods it becomes a wakf property. Government appoints a person to look after such property. Most of the public mosques belong to this category. In case of mosques, private trusts or government trusts, government appointed agencies look after the properties. Abandoned property and non-resident vested property Properties abandoned by the Pakistanis after the War of Independence of 1971 and the properties retained by Indians till the war of 1965 were declared as abandoned properties and non-resident vested properties respectively. The government looks after these properties. Box A3.7: Legal and Regulatory Complexities of Land Management Land management in Bangladesh is very complicated involving tedious processes of land records, land registration, land transfer and land taxation and land reforms. Management of urban land is more complex, because of its high value, multiple ownership, high frequency of transfer, and corruption at various stages. As far as the poor's access to land in urban areas is concerned unless they already own some land through inheritance, it is nearly impossible for them to buy land, because of their low affordability and the legal limits to parceling of land below a certain size (of 1½ Katha), and also because of the lack of transparency or authenticity of title or ownership of land to be purchased. The more likely means of making land available for the poor is the government's intervention. It can either release some of its own land (Khas Land) or acquire land from private owners of land for housing the poor. Both possibilities have become limited. Due to poor record keeping and high level of corruption, the quantum of khas land has been getting smaller everyday. The rich and the powerful keep on grabbing khas land by various unscrupulous means (below). 24 Firms Grab 561 Acres of Public Land "A total of 24 real estate companies have illegally occupied over 561.18 acres of public land in Dhaka and its suburbs, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Land was told yesterday". "A meeting of the JS body held yesterday wit its chairman Adv Mahmudur Rahman in the chair was also informed that of those companies eight have applied for granting lease of the occupied land in Dhaka and Gazipur districts". "The amount of illegally occupied land would be much higher", the Committee Chairman told reporters after the meeting. He said criminal cases would be filed against the land grabbers soon. "He said the standing committee had recommended to the government that it take immediate measures to restore government control over the occupied land". [The Independent, 10 June 2004] The alternative scope of providing land for housing (through acquisition or purchase) is also rather remote as the process itself is very complex and time consuming and also due to the fact that the poor 129 rarely gets a priority in government commitments. Even process of acquisition of land for higher income housing developments may take decades in Dhaka (as illustrated by the Purbachal New Town Project of RAJUK). There always are legal disputes and delays associated with the process. An effort has been made since 1988 to modernize land record system through computerization, but even after such a long time, the donor aided project has not been effective because of opposition and interference of vested interests. Zoning Dhaka City does not enjoy any clear zoning policy, or at least there is no proper implementation of the concept of zoning. The 1959 Master Plan had kept provisions for residential areas with some commercial and institutional uses. The residential areas were identified with income groups and density standards. Gradually most of the residential areas have become mixed use areas and also to some degree mixed income areas too. Some areas were zoned as low income in the 60s, but some of these also got transformed into middle income or became mixed middle and low income areas. Settlements or neighborhoods of the poor (slums) are not normally recognized by RAJUK and therefore are absent in their (proposed) planning maps. In the absence of any strong zoning regulation or restrictions, the poor do enjoy some degree of freedom in being able to locate themselves at various points in the city. The 1995-2015 DMDP plan which received official approval in August 1997 has not been accompanied by any zoning plan or map. It may only be thought of after the six Detail Area Plans (only recently begun) are completed in the next two years or so. Sub-division Control In Dhaka, RAJUK, as the Capital's planning and development authority, plans and controls residential and housing development. All plans must obtain permission from RAJUK. This is applicable for both individual home builders as well as for large and small real estate and housing developers. "Residential estates", "model towns", "new towns" or individual buildings all come under the Building Construction Act and Town Improvement Act, Set back rules etc. and the DMDP (Master Plan, 1995- 2015). The Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) completed in 1993 has, however, not received government approval. It also has guidelines for buildings. RAJUK rules stipulate that all residential estates should develop only up to 65 percent of the land for housing purpose and the rest be used for roads, open space, community purpose and other uses. However, in reality the private developers hardly comply with the rules and RAJUK is not able to fully monitor these. RAJUK itself tries to follow the formula in their own residential projects. Individual plots in RAJUK projects are sub-divided to a minimum size of 2 katha (1440 ft2. or 134 m2). However, the BNBC recommended minimum plot size of 65 m2 (70 ft2.). For individual home builders obtaining building permission from RAJUK is a tedious and often unpleasant experience, because of red tape and corruption. Land Use Policy A sketchy National Land Use Policy was adopted in 2001, but people hardly refer to this document. Dhaka city is covered by the Town Improvement Act 1953 and the 1959 and 1997 Master Plans for land use policy. None of these have any particular provision for the poor. Land Ceiling There is no official ceiling on amount of land or number of housing units that can be owned in urban areas of Bangladesh. However, the nation-wide ceiling of 100 bighas (or 13.34 hectares) should prevail in urban areas too. The 1982 Land Reform Committee had suggested the ceiling of 5 katha (3600 sq. ft) for individual land owners in Dhaka City. It was never approved and therefore Dhaka (or any other urban area in Bangladesh) has no land ceiling. The 1984 Land Reform Ordinance makes no reference to urban land ceiling. Density Control 130 The 1959 Dhaka Master Plan had introduced density control in residential areas. However, the new plan (1995-2015) has no such controls. The Detail Area Plans, if completed in the next two years, may come up with recommendations for density control. As a matter of fact, RAJUK itself keeps or changing or revising density standards even in its own planned areas every few years, disregarding capacity of utility services, roads, and social or community needs. Government planned squatter resettlement projects have implemented 600 persons to an acre density in Dhaka. Environmental Pollution Control Bangladesh Government has approved the Environment Conservation Act in 1995, it has also approved the Water-bodies and Wetlands Protection Act in 1999. Both these legal instruments have implications for housing development. If properly implemented, housing development in Dhaka City or Greater Dhaka will be seriously slowed down, as much of the land development in the private formal sector and land and housing in the informal sector is in gross violation of the wetland acts. RAJUK itself flouts its rules from time to time by filling in water bodies to build houses for the influential people. Other government agencies are also seen to be disregarding rules and legal obligations. Private real estate companies violate the act unscrupulously. All major housing or residential development projects are obligated to obtain "No Objection Certificates" from the Department Environment before getting permission from RAJUK. They normally "manage" such permission without much problem. Box A3.8: Why Are Land Prices So High in Dhaka? Other factors related to the investment side of housing contribute as well to the level of land prices. The first one is the city growth. In a simplified Wheaton-diPasquale model of urban land markets, price-to rent ratios are negatively related to the risk-adjusted rates of return available to investors, positively related to the growth rate of the city. Dhaka may be the fastest growing city in the world today, with a growth rate comprised between 3.5 and 4 % per year. Thus, land prices are high. Anecdotal evidence about prices and rents in high standard apartment buildings suggest that cap rates (defined as rent-to-price ratios) may average around 5 or 6%, which is low compared to current inflation. This confirms that expectations of never ending growth indeed drive prices up. These expectations are self-sustained by the fact that housing prices appear to have never fallen in the past. Other factors fuel the rise of house prices, by making housing in Dhaka the "best" investment available in the country and the first to which even relatively wealthy households would turn to: - Alternative investments such as stocks, bonds, and financial assets, are either not available in large quantities, not accessible, or of questionable integrity. This is true in particular for private sector workers, for which no pension funds are available and investment in housing is the best way to stock wealth for the retirement period. Moreover, the returns on these products have not shown the steady growth of housing prices in the capital city. - Housing is also, in the context of the country, the ideal vehicle for the recycling of the money coming from remittances and money from the underground economy, - Experts mention that rich people from the countryside may want to invest their wealth in housing in Dhaka for security reasons. Buying a flat in an apartment building in Dhaka offers the benefit of anonymity, compared to investing one's wealth in the countryside. Other institutional constraints not elaborated upon here certainly play a role by impeding the fluidity of the land market: badly managed land records, costly land registration procedures, uncertainty of property rights, difficulties and corruption to obtain building permits, etc. Developers mention that until recently, there was a lack of adequate regulations for land development and construction. 131 Table A3.2: List of Evicted Slums in Dhaka from 1975 to 2002 Year No of Location of evicted slums Slum 1975 13 Babupura slum, Palashi slum, Ramna Railway slum, Sohrawardi Hawker's + market slum, Kamlapur slum, Shahjahanpur slum, Malibagh slum, Moghbazar slum, Hazaribagh slum, Azimpur slum, Armanitola slum, Tejgaon slum, Bashabo slum. 1981 1 Karatitoal Bastee 1983 1 Kamlapur Railwa Sweeper Colon 1985 2 Agargoan slum [near old Haji camp], Sweeper colony slum [near Pangu Hos- pital] 1987 1 Lalba h slum [Raj Nara an Road] 1988 4+ Railway slum of Kawranbazar, Shahid Nagar Bastee [Lalbagh], Cantonment camp Bastee of Mirpur, Bihan Colony [Mirpur] 1989 1 Taltola Sweeper Colony, Gulshan-1 1990 8+ Agargaon Bastee, Kamlapur Bastee, Moghbazer Bastee, Babupure Bastee, Kazipara Bastee, Kamlapur Bastee, one slum from Mohammadpur and another from Tejgaon. 1991 2 Nilkhet Bastee, Bakshibazar slum. 1992 2 Palashi Bastee, one slum from Baridhara 1993 3 One slum from Kamlapur and another from Mirpur and Pallabi 1994 3 Agargaon Bastee, South Shahjahanpur, Kollyanpur Pora Bastee in Mirpur 1995 3 Three slums from Azimpur, Panthpath and Kawranbazar 1996 5 Bijli Mahalla slum, Bagunbaii Bastee, lslambag slum, Amtoli slum and Lalbagh slum 1997 2 Bhashantek Bastee, one slum from Mirpur 1998 4 Kawranbazar Railway slum [Twice], Azimpur, Kamlapur 1999 30 Sayedabad rail crossing slum, KM Das Lane Bastee, Golapbagh slum, Methor- + patti, Sonarbangla Bastee, TT Para Bastee, Rail Barrack slum, Moghbazar Wireless gate Bastee, Comilla slum [Moghbazar], City Law College Bastee, Bakshi Bazar Bastee, Farirupul Box culvert slum, Banani Jheelper slum, Badda Gudaraghat slum, Badda Chaitola Bastee, Banani 11 No. Road slum [WAPDA colony], Bandhara Block F slum, Mirpur Section 11 Block C slum, Shantibagh Munshirtek slum, Ghuntighare slum [Gandeña], Gandaria shop slum, Per Gan- dana slum, Ganderia Rail line slum, Jurain slum, FDC Rail crossing slum, Kawranbazar Truck-stand slum, Tejgaon Kawranbazar Rail way slum, Nakhal- para slum, Tejkunipara slum. 2000 20+ Boat ghat slum [Rayerbazar], Pauibagh Nalirpar Bastee, Jheelpar Bastee [Pal- labi], Tongi Diversion Road slum, FDC Front slum, Kawranbazar slum, Tejgaon Industrial Area slums, Begunbari slum, Mohammadpur New Colony slum, Shahjahanpur Rail way Bastee, Kawranbazar Rail way slum, Meradia slum, Moghbazar Wireless gate Bastee, Nakhalpara Rail Gate Bastee, Khilgaon Bastee, Segun Bagich, Banani, Amtoli, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Tejgoan and others 2001 24+ Agargaon, Badda, Baridhara J Block, Bagunbari, Circuit House Area, Gulshan Taltola, Tejgoan Industrial Area, Tejgoan Railway Colony, Tongi, Tongi Diver- sion Road, Mohammadpur New Colony, Shahjahanpur Railway, Taltola, Agar- gaon, Karwan Bazar Railway, Khilgaon, Malibagh, Meradia, Titi Para, Nakhal- para Rail Gate, Proshika Pallabi Jhilpar and others 2002 Amtoli, among others 2003+2004 Agargaon (nearly 40,000 people evicted during March-June) Source: Rasheda Nawaz, "Right to Shelter", in Human Rights in Bangladesh, 2002. Ain O Shalish Kendra (ASK), Dhaka: 2003. Newspapers, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), Coalition for Urban Poor, and CUS Bulletin No. 42 (June 2002). 132 Annex 4: Supplemental Data on Crime and Violence Box A4.1: The costs of crime and violence The costs of crime and violence are often divided into four categories: direct /indirect costs, non-monetary costs, economic multiplier effects, social multiplier effects. Direct and indirect costs Direct costs of crime and violence measure the value of goods and services spent dealing with the effects of and/or preventing crime and violence through the use of scarce public and private resources on the criminal justice system, incarceration, medical services, housing and social services. The indirect costs include lost investment opportunities, foregone earnings of criminals and victims of crime and violence. Non-monetary costs Non-monetary costs measure the non-economic effects on the victims of crime and violence. It is evaluated by taking into consideration: increased morbidity (diseases resulting from violence like disability, mental injuries), increased mortality through homicide and suicide, abuse of alcohol and drugs, depressive disorders. Economic multiplier effects The economic multiplier effects measure the overall impact that crime and violence have on the macroeconomic situation of a country, the labor market, as well as inter- generational productivity impacts. For example, victims of domestic violence have higher rates of absenteeism, are more likely to be fired from their jobs, and the domestic violence affects their earning power. Social multiplier effects The social multiplier effects measure the impact of crime and violence in such areas as: the erosion of social capital; the inter-generational transmission of violence; the reduction in quality of life; and effects on citizenship, and confidence in and functioning of the democratic process, government and its institutions. Source: Buvinic, M., Morrison, A., 1999. 133 Table A4.1: Perceptions of safety Name of slum Mohamm Shahid Nagar Rayer Bazar adpur Pallabi Total How safe do you feel in No safe 161 16 70 41 288 terms of your physical 64.4% 6.4% 32.9% 19.0% 31.0% security(crime,violence) fairly safe 46 139 113 103 401 in this community? 18.4% 55.8% 53.1% 47.7% 43.2% Safe 18 81 29 9 137 7.2% 32.5% 13.6% 4.2% 14.8% Very safe 25 13 1 63 102 10.0% 5.2% .5% 29.2% 11.0% Total 250 249 213 216 928 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Source: Slum Observatory Survey on Violence and Crime, 2004 Table A4.2: Respondent's Opinion regarding the Domestic Crime and Violence against Women (Multi-response). Name of slum Shahid Nagor Rayer Bazar Mohammadpur Pallabi All No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Deterioration in the relationship between 198 79.8 191 77.3 216 86.4 244 98.0 849 85.4 husband and wife Wife beating 175 70.6 208 84.2 196 78.4 198 79.5 777 78.2 Confiscation of wife's money (working 109 44.0 122 49.4 126 50.4 164 65.9 521 52.4 women) Confiscating ornaments from wife 99 39.9 146 59.1 97 38.8 169 67.9 511 51.4 Physical and psychological torture on 145 58.5 183 74.1 176 70.4 196 78.7 700 70.4 wife for dowry Sexual abuse of wife 125 50.4 208 84.2 144 57.6 168 67.5 645 64.9 Non-maintenance of wife 172 69.4 195 78.9 189 75.6 212 85.1 768 77.3 Not taking any responsibility of the 151 60.9 180 72.9 186 74.4 176 70.7 693 69.7 children Misbehaving and physical abuse of the 48 19.4 204 82.6 149 59.6 145 58.2 546 54.9 children Polygamy 194 78.2 163 66.0 220 88.0 206 82.7 783 78.8 Divorce of wife 129 52.0 143 57.9 145 58.0 190 76.3 607 61.1 Have illicit sexual relations with several 116 46.8 108 43.7 156 62.4 172 69.1 552 55.5 women in the slum Have illicit sexual relations with girls / 125 50.4 142 57.5 124 49.6 181 72.7 572 57.5 women from other slums in lure of marriage Selling of household goods by drug 102 41.1 153 61.9 149 59.6 136 54.6 540 54.3 addicted males All 248 24.9 247 24.8 250 25.2 249 25.1 994 100 Source: Slum Observatory Survey, 2004 134 Table A4.3: Respondent's Opinion regarding the Psychological Effect of Crime and Violence (Multi-response). Slum Shahid Nagor Rayer Bazar Mohammadpu Pallabi All No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Create psychological pressure on children 176 69.8 174 70.2 191 76.7 165 74.0 706 72.6 that lead them to get scared Slum dwellers have to face psychological 173 68.7 169 68.1 192 77.1 141 63.2 675 69.4 pressure in all spheres Breakdown in the peaceful relationship 117 46.4 201 81.0 207 83.1 192 86.1 717 73.8 between husband and wife Deterioration in family peace and harmony Tremendous mental pressure on the parents 148 58.7 179 72.2 206 82.7 188 84.3 721 74.2 for their growing girls Working women get worried and scared of 122 48.4 174 70.2 199 79.9 163 73.1 658 67.7 sexual abuse Parents worry about their children's 116 46.0 139 56.0 151 60.6 159 71.3 565 58.1 involvement in drug abuse Wives get scared and suffer mental pressure 140 55.6 155 62.5 163 65.5 173 77.6 631 64.9 for fear of abuse, beatings and taking of their valuables by their 111 44.0 186 75.0 129 51.8 151 67.7 577 59.4 husbands for gambling Loss of mental health due to unemployment Perverted sexual desire and acts Possibility of children losing their moral 149 59.1 141 56.9 192 77.1 170 76.2 652 67.1 values due to bad environment Get fed up of day-to-day life 82 32.5 142 57.3 126 50.6 155 69.5 505 52.0 Develop scared mentality due to use of arms 150 59.5 174 70.2 196 78.7 160 71.7 680 70.0 and explosives Loss of normal human values and development of a criminal attitude 124 49.2 187 75.4 180 72.3 173 77.6 664 68.3 within children 144 57.1 135 54.4 179 71.9 160 71.7 618 63.6 Increased tendency to commit suicide because of sexual, physical and 195 77.4 159 64.1 211 84.7 180 80.7 745 76.6 psychological abuse 63 25.0 122 49.2 103 41.4 113 50.7 401 41.3 All 252 25.9 248 25.5 249 25.6 223 22.9 972 100 Source: Slum Observatory Survey, 2004 135 Table A4.4: Respondent's Opinion regarding the Role of Political Leaders/Institutions in Dealing the Crime and Violence (Multi-response). slum Shahid Nagor Rayer Bazar Mohammadpur Pallabi All No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Political parties patronize crimes 246 98.4 204 82.3 203 85.3 200 82.3 853 87.1 and violence Clashes among different political 188 75.2 154 62.1 187 78.6 190 78.2 719 73.4 parties Keep political control and 186 74.4 129 52.0 168 70.6 171 70.4 654 66.8 leadership through the support of terrorists Lack of committed and effected 141 56.4 163 65.7 162 68.1 166 68.3 632 64.6 leadership All 252 25.5 248 25.3 238 24.3 243 24.8 979 100 Source: Slum Observatory Survey, 2004 Table A4.5: Respondent's Opinion regarding the Role of Law Enforcement Agencies in Combating/Aggravating Crime and Violence (Multi-response). slum Shahid Nagor Rayer Bazar Mohammadpur Pallabi All No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Providing shelter to criminals 227 90.1 211 85.1 229 93.1 211 85.1 878 88.3 through monetary corruption Association of the law enforcing 94 37.3 119 48.0 162 65.9 136 54.8 511 51.4 agencies with criminal for committing crime Political pressure disables the law 157 62.3 170 68.5 161 65.4 174 70.2 662 66.6 enforcing agencies to work impartially Misuse of power by the police 173 68.7 187 75.4 166 67.5 172 69.4 698 70.2 Lack of accountability of the police 122 48.4 153 61.7 146 59.3 177 71.4 598 60.2 force Politicize the administration with the 158 62.7 159 64.1 157 63.8 179 72.2 653 65.7 ruling political party Non-separation of the judicial 35 13.9 98 39.5 77 31.3 132 53.2 342 34.4 system from administrative division All 252 25.4 248 24.9 246 24.7 248 24.9 994 100 136 137 World Bank Bangladesh Development Series publications Paper No. 1 Bangladesh PRSP Forum Economic Update ­ Recent Developments and Future Perspectives (Nov. 2005). Paper No. 2 End of MFA Quotas: Key Issues and Strategic Options for Bangladesh Ready Made Garment Industry (Dec. 2005). Paper No. 3 Bangladesh Country Water Resources Assistance Strategy, (Dec. 2005). Paper No. 4 Comparative Advantages of Health Care Provision, (Dec. 2005). Paper No. 5 Targeting Resources for the Poor in Bangladesh (Dec. 2005). Paper No. 6 Improving Trade and Transport Efficiency ­ Understanding the Political Economy of Chittagong Port (Dec. 2005). Paper No. 7 Revitalizing the Agricultural Technology System in Bangladesh (Dec. 2005). Paper No. 8 Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project, Effectiveness and Lessons Learned (Dec. 2005). Paper No. 9 Social Safety Nets in Bangladesh: An Assessment (Jan. 2006) Paper No. 10 Bangladesh Country Assistance Strategy (April 2006) Paper No. 11 Economics and Governance of NGOs in Bangladesh (April 2006) Paper No. 12 Bangladesh Country Environmental Analysis (September 2006) Paper No. 13 India-Bangladesh Bilateral Trade and Potential Free Trade Agreement (December 2006) Paper No. 14 To the MDGs and Beyond: Accountability and Institutional Innovation in Bangladesh (February 2007) Paper No. 15 Strengthening Management and Governance in the Health, Nutrition and Population Sector of Bangladesh (March 2007) Paper No. 16 Bangladesh: Piloting through the Development and Management of Economic Zones (June 2007) Paper No. 17 Dhaka: Improving Living Conditions for the Urban Poor Forthcoming Publications The Bangladesh Vocational Education and Training System Bangladesh Strategy for Growth and Employment All Bangladesh Development Series papers are downloadable at www.worldbank.org.bd/bds 138