Modelling Gender Impacts of Policy Reforms in Bangladesh: a Study in a Sequential Dynamic CGE Framework

The research explores the gender aspects of policy reforms in Bangladesh in a sequential dynamic computational general equilibrium (CGE) framework. This research uses the most updated SAM of Bangladesh and is the first attempt to build a gendered sequential dynamic CGE model for the Bangladesh economy. A ‘home production’ version of the gendered CGE model for the Bangladesh economy is developed. The study tries to understand how gender interests are affected by greater exposure to trade and other policy reforms. The short-run and long-run impacts of policy reforms in the labour market and in the household in a gendered framework are also explored. The research performs two simulations to examine the impact of (1) domestic trade liberalisation in Bangladesh, and (2) the phasing-out of the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) on textile and garments. This research builds a gendered social accounting matrix (SAM) for the year 2000 and uses it in a sequential dynamic computable general equilibrium framework, following the representative household approach. It is found that domestic trade liberalisation leads to a significant expansion of the ready-made garments sector in the economy, which then leads to an increase in the labour market supply share of unskilled female labour. However, this results in a fall in the shares of domestic labour supply and leisure of unskilled female members of the households. The fall in the share of leisure time may have significant negative implications for the time spent on education by this labour category. It is also observed that the long-run impacts are different from the short-run impacts with respect to the magnitude of the effects. In the case of the second simulation, it can be noted that the MFA phase-out works in completely the opposite direction. The share of market labour supply of unskilled female members of the households decreases, and the shares of domestic work and leisure increase for most of the households both in the short and long run.