Disability-related expenditure and poverty measures in Bangladesh

Disability and poverty are closely linked and often mutually reinforcing (Banks et al., 2017). People living with disabilities face barriers to participating in economic and social life, often suffering from social stigma, exclusion, and lack of access to services. They must also spend part of their income on disability-related goods and services, which lowers their consumption and standard of living (SOL) relative to others. By reducing the economic contribution of people with disabilities and their caregivers, disability tends to reduce economic output.

In this paper, we look at the direct costs of disability from the household perspective; the type and level of extra expenses incurred by a household because of disability. This paper aims to do a comprehensive and contextual assessment of disability-related expenditure and its impact on poverty which is typically provided through the SOL approach alone. Moreover, we use the findings from the SOL analysis to assess the adequacy and design of disability allowances in Bangladesh, whose number of beneficiaries and expenditure has grown considerably in the last decade. To the best of our knowledge, the paper is also the first to apply the SOL method to Bangladesh.

Available at: https://doi.org/10.55158/DEEPWP28