An Analysis of Socioeconomic Indicators of Rural Non-agricultural Households in Bangladesh: A Case of Handloom Weaving

Abstract

This paper attempts to examine the livelihood condition of one of the leading non-agricultural rural households called handloom weavers in Bangladesh. Therefore, a multistage sampling technique was employed to collect the primary data from 311 handloom weavers under Sirajganj District of Bangladesh during 2015. A descriptive analysis technique is used to analyze the basic socioeconomic variables such as age, education, family size, farm size, occupational status, income, investment, consumption and savings pattern, financing sources and the accesses to basic infrastructural facilities. The study reveals that the weaver households in Bangladesh lead a better standard of living with regard to most of the socioeconomic indicators except the education level, the amount of finance received, and the support services from the government. Therefore, this study recommends for the ways to improve those situations so that the weavers are able to utilize their full potential in improving their social and economic conditions within the context of Bangladesh.

Keywords: socioeconomic indicators, non-agricultural households, handloom weaving, Bangladesh