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Economic cannibalism in Nepal

Bhuwan Thapaliya - 2/20/2010

Any society after consuming years and years of its precious time ultimately begs one explosive question: How much revolution is too much? I candidly avow that most Nepalese are already beginning to ask this question as they sense that enough is enough. And they are right. A nation cannot subsist only on revolution forever; it needs solidarity amongst its citizens, ample job opportunities, and the rule of law and order to prevail as a functioning nation.

The question that matters is: Have we built a society that values political revolution even at the expense of economic order? Most people would answer yes. These are revolutionary times in the Nepalese Society but same cannot be said of the Nepalese Economy. No doubt, Nepalese labor force has grown massively in recent decades but despite these unprecedented increases in the labor supply and the ever soaring remittance from the gulf nations, there can be no guarantee that the poorest workers will see their living standards rise.

Likewise, there is a substantial risk that inequality between rich and poor will grow over the coming decades, while poverty deepens. Not everyone has shared in the rising prosperity of the recent decades – indeed; many regions have not seen little increase in their incomes per capita. Inequality, both across regions and within districts, remains a significant feature of the Nepalese economy. The result is economy’s backward march. Bear in mind that by South Asian standards, Nepal has relatively bad economic growth and productivity expansion.

Effective political regulation and oversight make societies more credible. But the reality is that politics has become our favorite national passion and we have become less devoted to economic growth. Part of the change is deliberate as Nepal is on a transition phase but we sacrifice growth to fix our political mess.

And the drift away from a pro- growth ethic is also the perverse result of our politicians getting wealthier. Our Members of the Parliament prey on existing wealth as a way to enrich themselves by awarding themselves fat pay packages. They are better of than us and this has been the trend throughout Nepalese history. Isn’t it a classic case of the economic cannibalism?

It seems that our Politicians have no idea about how a modern economy works nor are they worried about the dismal state of our economy. In fact, in their words, these are "not so important issues, constitution writing is the main issue." So I ask you: what - do you consider - is the fuel that has kept the fire of the economic uncertainties raging for so many years?

Nepal still can rise as our work ethic hasn’t collapsed. However, no economic policy can quickly improve productivity growth. Hence, the task of political leaders is to convince Nepalese that our well- being depends on a new sharing of responsibilities; that the county can’t work unless its citizens take moral responsibility for their own actions.

We face a choice between a society where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good and a more contentious society where groups selfishly protect their own benefits. Sadly, there is no political solution; the politicians are the problem.