Ahmed Tasfia Tasneem, Sadik Nafis
Department of Finance, Bangladesh Institute of Governance and Management (BIGM), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Research Wing, Bangladesh Institute of Governance and Management (BIGM), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025 Jul 2;5(7):e0004774. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004774. eCollection 2025.
Early Childhood Development (ECD) inequality among different socioeconomic groups is a rising concern in developing countries. This paper aimed to identify and decompose the ECD inequality among poor and non-poor groups in Bangladesh. For measuring inequality in ECD, concentration curves and their corresponding indices were used in this study utilizing the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019 data. Furthermore, a standard decomposition approach has been used to decompose the inequality. Findings reveal that children from poor families consistently exhibit lower scores across all ECD domains. Notably, a significant disparity exists in the literacy-numeracy domain, with a concentration index of 0.1825. A lower proportion of poor children (34.17%) meet developmental milestones compared to their well-off counterparts (65.83%). Key determinants influencing ECD outcomes among the poor group include attendance at early childhood education (ECE) programs, sex of the child, multiple childcare involvement of mother, and supervision quality. Additionally, wealth-based disparities in ECD outcomes can be attributed to factors such as maternal education, access to books, nutrition, and the quality of childcare provided. The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and policy reforms aimed at addressing the specific needs of disadvantaged children, especially for literacy and numeracy skills. By prioritizing poverty reduction initiatives, access to quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs, provision of books, improving maternal education, and enhancing supervision quality, efforts can be made to narrow the wealth-based gap in ECD.
不同社会经济群体之间的幼儿发展（ECD）不平等问题在发展中国家日益受到关注。本文旨在识别并分解孟加拉国贫困和非贫困群体之间的幼儿发展不平等情况。为衡量幼儿发展方面的不平等，本研究利用2019年多指标类集调查数据，采用了集中曲线及其相应指数。此外，还使用了一种标准分解方法来分解不平等现象。研究结果显示，贫困家庭的儿童在所有幼儿发展领域的得分始终较低。值得注意的是，读写算领域存在显著差距，集中指数为0.1825。与富裕家庭的儿童（65.83%）相比，达到发育里程碑的贫困儿童比例较低（34.17%）。影响贫困群体幼儿发展结果的关键因素包括参加幼儿教育（ECE）项目、儿童性别、母亲参与多种儿童保育以及监管质量。此外，幼儿发展结果中基于财富的差距可归因于母亲教育程度、图书获取、营养以及所提供儿童保育质量等因素。研究结果强调迫切需要采取有针对性的干预措施和政策改革，以满足弱势儿童的特殊需求，特别是读写算技能方面的需求。通过优先实施减贫举措、提供优质幼儿教育（ECE）项目、提供图书、提高母亲教育程度以及提升监管质量，可以努力缩小基于财富的幼儿发展差距。
