Economic nationalism, literally!

Their figures are impressive! Our neighbors China and India are the second and fifth largest economies in the world. Boasting $17.96trn of GDP (World Bank data) with more than 95 percent of its 1.41bn population employed, China could soon conquer the world economically. India may not be too far as it has a present GDP of $3.39trn and has nearly the same population as China. Goldman Sachs Research predicts it could become the world’s second largest economy by 2075.

Lying next to these economic giants, we Nepalis continue to brag about our heritage and culture. If someone said Mount Everest is not in Nepal or that Gautam Buddha was not born in Nepal, it will boil our blood. We can be divided on many fronts but nationalism and national sovereignty brings us all together. We are extremely proud of our history. We were never colonized although our next door neighbor, 22 times larger than us, was! And, we do not like to compare ourselves with them for what they have achieved economically.

Although Nepal is slowly rising from the category of Least Developed Countries to Emerging/Developing category, we have not progressed significantly to catch up with the rising economies, and thus I believe it is time for us to use our nationalistic sentiments to boost our economy. Although the traditional concept of economic nationalism opposes global trade, in this column, I am mostly referring to the literal meaning of economic nationalism.

Let’s take a look at our economic context: Our GDP stands at $40.83bn, of which around 30 percent is said to be contributed by remittances; unemployment rate among the active labor force is around 11 percent. On top of that, our workforce is shrinking with thousands of youths migrating for work and education every day. There are questions and counter-questions on migration. We are getting remittance in return, higher education and better exposure make our people competitive. On the flip side, most of them who go for higher education do not return. And to those who return after getting foreign exposure, what policies are there to ensure they stay here? Lately, media have reported on how difficult it is for Nepali graduates with foreign degrees to get the ‘equivalency’ done, which limits their prospects for getting jobs in the country. Important to note here is also the probability of Nepal’s aging population outnumbering the youth population, which is not healthy for the economy.

Our policymakers have forgotten to highlight nationalism in all of this. Just asking the Nepali population living abroad to return home is not attractive enough for those who have settled in places where jobs of any kind are available, and the countries function in speed and system. It is high time to embed nationalism in the economy, not just to produce skilled forces to work in the international market but to attract them and retain them in the country instead.

Make in Nepal!

India’s Make in India movement has made strides. They have supportive policies to encourage Indian businesses to flourish. They have liberal policies to encourage Foreign Direct Investment as well. Poverty in India has gone down massively—from almost 60 percent of the population living under $2.15 a day in the 1970s to 10 percent in 2019 as per the World Bank data. China’s figures are staggering: More than 70 percent of its population lived below the poverty line in the 1990s by the same measure, which has now come down to 0.1 percent in 2019. Nepal has also made improvements. As per the Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio, 17.4 percent of Nepal’s population was poor in 2019, which was a significant decrease from 39.1 percent in 2011. However, Nepal still faces challenges to create jobs. Different governments at different times created or revised policies to promote employment and encourage the labor force for access to employment. But the everyday crowd of outbound youths at the Tribhuvan International Airport, buildings with billboards for foreign education, and decreasing enrolment for higher studies in Nepali colleges and universities have become our new reality. This could be reversed if we worked on it aggressively. Good examples set by our neighbors can be used for our motivation.

Decent pay instead of labor contracts

When Nepal and the United Kingdom signed an agreement opening doors for Nepali nurses to work in the UK, I was both happy and sad. Happy as there’s a wide income gap between doctors and nurses in Nepal and the prospect for Nepali nurses looked good. On the other hand, it hit me hard as we were unable to keep the skilled resource for us. Furthermore, we do not have the required numbers of doctors and nurses in the country. Nurses in most hospitals and health institutions are underpaid although the cost for studying nursing programs is high. The government should instead focus on ensuring better pay for the nurses so that they can serve in their own country. Where does nationalism stand when signing such labor agreements? Both sides know that the nurses will not return to Nepal. Whose loss is it then?

Looking forward

It’s a good sign that Nepal has started selling electricity to India. The cross-border transmission lines will surely help Nepal reap benefits. However, our ultra-nationalist sentiments were stirred when the Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact was being discussed. Disinformation rose to peak with the rumors of the American Army ready to camp in Nepal indefinitely. Thankfully, the clouds of misinformation cleared and we are building transmission lines jointly with the American support. It’s a good reminder to challenge our shortsightedness and welcome investments or grants from our friends that will benefit our economy.

China is predicted to be the world’s largest economy by 2030 and India to be the second largest economy by 2075. We are geographically located in such an important region. Our policymakers must utilize the strength of our friendship with these countries to strengthen our economy, to create jobs, to produce commodities of comparative advantage, and to invite foreign investment for economic prosperity. We need economic nationalism, literally, to catch up with these aggressively rising economies.

The author is a communications professional