Prime Minister’s Adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir said economic inequality is not an inevitable market byproduct, but the direct result of deliberate policy choices, skewed power dynamics, and a global multilateral system that fails vulnerable nations during crises.
He made these remarks at a high-level conference titled “An Asia for Everyone: Public Services, Social Protection and the Promise of Shared Prosperity” co-hosted by Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University and Oxfam International.
Addressing researchers, legislators, and civil society representatives, Titumir argued that meaningful progress against poverty requires confronting how political power is distributed and how global institutions respond to external shocks.
Titumir challenged conventional economic narratives regarding income disparity, emphasising that political concentration inevitably corrupts public distribution channels.
“It’s basically policy that creates inequality,” Titumir noted.
“If we have to deal with it, then we must have to deal with the politics of it and political settlement of it, which means that we have to deal with how power is skewed”
Illustrating the domestic mechanics of inequality, Titumir highlighted low revenue generation and extensive tax carve-outs that favour political elites.
In Bangladesh, where tax revenue historically hovered around 6.6 percent of GDP, tax structures have favoured wealthy clienteles over progressive redistribution.
“Avoidance is a game in the town where you employ many chartered accountants... to make sure that you are not (paying),” Titumir noted, calling out systemic transfer pricing and tax exemptions that perpetuate elite enrichment at the expense of public goods.
Turning to international finance, he delivered a sharp critique of multilateral development banks and global civil society for failing to protect import-dependent developing economies from external geopolitical crises.
Following recent Middle East conflicts, Bangladesh faced a staggering $4.12 billion in additional import costs over a seven-month period, including $1.82 billion for liquefied natural gas (LNG), $2.21 billion for oil, and nearly $70 million for fertiliser.
“Are the people of Bangladesh responsible for it? No. Then how would a government be financing this additional $4.12 billion in 7 months?” Titumir asked. “We don’t see multilateralism. We don’t see international voices. We see inaction.”
Titumir pointed out that accountable governments are effectively penalised under current market models: adjusting fuel and energy prices strictly to market levels inflicts immediate harm on low-income citizens, who already bear the brunt of regressive consumption taxes like VAT and GST.
To reverse recent socioeconomic regressions, which saw an estimated 7 to 10 million people fall back into poverty due to post-COVID shocks and previous administrative misrule, the adviser outlined a strategic pivot toward a universal, life-cycle-based social protection framework.
“If you want to build a social security, then you have to invest in employment, in women, and make sure that you have a new model... investment in production that leads to formal employment and that leads to a higher tax base,” he further said.