Dr. Anwarul Abedin Lecture Series: Seminar on “Are there Social Limits to Economic Growth?”

The Department of Economics of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) of American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) has organized a Seminar on “Are there Social Limits to Economic Growth?” under the prestigious “Dr. Anwarul Abedin Lecture Series” of AIUB on 30th June 2024 at the Multipurpose Hall, AIUB.

The seminar was graced by Prof. Dr. Saiful Islam, Vice Chancellor, AIUB, and Dr. Md. Abdur Rahman, Pro Vice Chancellor, AIUB. The distinguished speaker of the seminar was Dr. M Niaz Asadullah, Visiting Professor of Economics at Reading University, UK.

In his talk, Dr. Asadullah shed light on a Malaysian paradox that may have lessons for the rest of the world. Despite high GDP growth with concurrent sharp reductions in income poverty and inequality, widespread discontent exists. He has discussed various dimensions of the Malaysian “miracle” with diverse data. He drew on qualitative, open-ended focus group discussions to go below the surface of the quantitative data to analyze how Malaysian citizens perceive these changes, their challenges, and their sources of discontent. His research found a broad consensus that while material living standards have improved, they have been accompanied by an underside such as a large “imbalance” between income and expenses, a need to rely both on dual incomes and multiple jobs, growing indebtedness, increased stress, and polarization across ethnic groups. The speaker tried to shed light on the narratives that the Malaysian paradox may reveal something more general about the “social limits to growth” which may also apply to the growth narrative of Bangladesh.

Then there was an open floor discussion for the audience.  Students and faculty members participated in the discussion session by sharing their queries with the invited speaker. Finally, the seminar was concluded with a vote of thanks by Professor Dr. Tazul Islam, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences with appreciation to the speaker and the enthusiastic audience. A token of appreciation and a crest was handed over to the respected speaker by the Vice-Chancellor of American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB).

The program was also attended by Dr. Mohammad Zahidul Islam Khan, Registrar, AIUB and several respected faculty members from different departments of AIUB and students. The program was moderated by Dr. Faria Sultana, Senior Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Economics, AIUB.