While digital media has created unprecedented employment opportunities in the Bangladeshi economy, it is also creating a kind of ‘new inequality’, said economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya.
He also said that traditional employment is shrinking due to increased productivity and the spread of artificial intelligence (AI), which is creating new challenges in the labor market.
He made these remarks while delivering a speech on the dynamics of the country’s digital economy and necessary structural reforms in the context of the Citizens’ Manifesto at a seminar organized at the Cirdap Auditorium in the capital on Tuesday (January 6).
Bhattacharya further said that the gig economy has now spread to the marginal areas of the country."
As an example, he mentioned about 1,500 freelancers in Thakurgaon, who are selling various digital products including illustrations in the global market with limited technological facilities.
However, he highlighted the lack of institutional framework as a major obstacle to this potential sector.
"Bangladesh Bank does not have a clear policy for accepting the money earned by freelancers. They do not even get basic financial facilities like credit cards. This policy vacuum has become a major obstacle in including freelancers' income in the mainstream of the formal economy."
Stating that the expansion of digital systems can play an important role in controlling corruption and increasing efficiency, Dr. Debapriya said that currently, the use of digital systems in paying utility bills and distributing stipends and allowances has reduced money laundering and made it easier to identify irregularities.
To sustain this benefit, he proposed the creation of an 'integrated national database'. According to him, it is necessary to form an autonomous monitoring and accountability institution to manage this database. It should not be under the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Election Commission in any way. The database will store information on citizens' National Identity Cards (NID), Tax Identification Number (TIN), Business Identification Number (BIN) and government services such as allowances and stipends.
While praising some of the government's recent initiatives - the introduction of Starlink and the NEIR system to ban unregistered mobile phones, Dr. Debapriya said that there was not enough consultation with stakeholders in taking these decisions.
He also commented on the lack of transparency in the proposed 'Cyber Security Act Ordinance 2025'.
He also said that there is concern in the public due to the lack of clear instructions on the protection of personal information and the ban on telephone tapping.
Debapriya also said that even though the government has sent a letter to Meta (Facebook's parent company), it is becoming difficult to control hate speech or political violence due to their lack of an office in Bangladesh and language restrictions.