Summary (English)

This report summaries detailed analysis of the 2010 Bangladesh Household Income and Expenditure surveys (HIES). It explores the socio-economic condition of older people in Bangladesh, current old age social protection in Bangladesh and options for reform.

The report is structured as follows:

Section 1 aims to contextualise later analysis of old age social protection by exploring the socio-economic situation of older people in Bangladesh. Following an overview of the demographic profile of older people and the households that they live in, there is an exploration of the question of old age poverty. Analysis includes the use of different assumptions around differing needs of household members (through changing equivalence scales) to test the impact on the relative poverty of older people.

Section 2 summarises the simulations and econometric analysis of HIES data, which is presented in detail within a separate annex to this report. It begins by assessing existing social protection for older people in Bangladesh, with a focus on the Old Age Allowance (OAA), and then turns to the question of options for reform.