Bangladesh, Oct. 19 -- What does national progress mean to a household that must choose among food, medicine, and a child's education? Economic growth, new infrastructure, and international recognition certainly matter. Yet, none can substitute for the minimum assurance that a family will not be abandoned when prices rise, illness strikes, or employment disappears. For Bangladesh, this question has acquired renewed urgency. As the country considers the timing of its graduation from the United Nation's least developed country category, the more consequential issue is whether development policy can protect those with the least capacity to absorb economic shocks.

The evidence is sobering. In its Bangladesh Development Update, released on O...