IMF has projected that India's per capita GDP will slip below Bangladesh in 2020. It is largely being attributed to the lockdown and the pandemic which has affected the world. Why is Bangladesh economy growing even when the rest of the world is faltering? BOOM Explains.
Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh and Chairman, BRAC Bank says that macroeconomic stability has been a cornerstone of Bangladeshi economic planning and that has helped sustained growth. It has also maintained exchange rate stability relative to Indian currency. Bangladesh also has a controlled fiscal deficit at about 3.5-4.5% despite the fiscal target set at 5%. It helps anchor the inflation rate, exchange rate stability as well as exports.
He also says that the Bangladesh exports had started recovering from May. By July-August, Bangladesh had bounced back to similar export volumes by the same corresponding period in 2019. The government also helped garment industries to pay their workers through the lockdown to ensure that there were no hindrances in keeping the industry afloat.
Watch BOOM's Govindraj Ethiraj interview Ahsan H Mansur on the Bangladesh economy, Indian economy, world trade relations and the reasons why Bangladesh economy is growing better than any other comparable economy.