TITLE:
Comparative Analysis of Consumption Expenditure and Income Nexus before and after Pandemic: Evidence from a Particular Area of Bangladesh
AUTHORS:
Salina Siddiqua
KEYWORDS:
Consumption, Income, COVID-19, Keynes Consumption Function, Coastal Area, Bangladesh
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.13 No.4,
July
20,
2023
ABSTRACT: By April 2023 around 762 million confirmed
cases and over 6.8 million deaths have been reported globally due to COVID-19 (WHO). Huge economic loss took
place due to the movement restrictions of production materials and workers.
Bangladesh’s GDP growth sharply declines to 6.93 percent in FY20 from a record
high of 7.88 percent growth in FY19 (WDI, World Bank). Also due to factors like month-long
lockdowns, restricted movements, sudden job cuts, the income of people
decreased especially for those who belong to informal sectors like day
laborers, rickshaw pullers, etc. This decline in income and the uncertainty of
working opportunities also impact peoples’ consumption behavior. One upazila
has been selected from Bhola district i.e. Daulatkhan, a coastal area where
majority of the population is involved in informal sectors. Conducting a
primary survey, this paper aims to find out changes in income-consumption
pattern before and after pandemic. Using Keynes consumption function, different
MPC has been found for different periods, it became even worse among different
professions as well. Thus this research suggests to take need base policies
instead of a generic one to make vulnerable population’s life secure. Necessary
policy recommendation has been proposed along with opening a new dimension of
future research.