World Bank2015-04-242015-04-242015-04https://hdl.handle.net/10986/21777This report highlights recent economic updates in Bangladesh as of April 2015. Economic growth in Bangladesh was gaining momentum in the first half of FY15. Capacity utilization improved and investments were showing some signs of recovery. This growth was also job-friendly. The 12-monthly-moving average inflation decelerated from 7.6 percent in February 2014 to 6.8 percent in February 2015. The resilience of the Bangladesh economy continues to be tested by faltering political stability, weak global markets, and structural constraints. These are inhibiting the economy s income growth as well as progress on shared prosperity. Despite the emergence of a $1.3 billion deficit in the current account in the first seven months of FY15, the surplus in the overall balance of payments has been sustained, leading to continued accumulation of official foreign exchange reserves to prevent nominal exchange rate appreciation. Reserves are at a comfortable level at over 6 months of imports of goods and services. Fiscal policy has remained consistent with macroeconomic stability. Tax revenue growth has been weaker than targeted while expenditure have also been short due as usual to an implementation shortfall. The projected recovery in global growth, particularly in the United States and the Euro Zone, and continued softness in international commodity prices, bode well for Bangladesh. The country will need to restore political stability and implement faster structural reforms to capitalize on these opportunities. The potential GDP growth rate is on a declining path due to declining labor force growth and stagnant productivity growth, as well as the rate of capital accumulation. Raising the low Female Labor Force Participation (FLFP) rate offers on opportunity to boost the economy s potential growth rate. Moving forward, the biggest challenge remains ensuring durable political stability. This is a precondition for accelerated, inclusive, and sustainable growth.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCELERATORACCELERATOR EFFECTACCESS TO INFORMATIONACCOUNTINGADVERSE IMPACTAGGREGATE DEMANDAGRICULTUREAIRARREARSASSET PRICEASSET QUALITYBALANCE OF PAYMENTBALANCE OF PAYMENTSBALANCE SHEETSBANK BORROWINGBANK FINANCINGBANK INTEREST RATESBANKING SECTORBANKING SYSTEMBANKRUPTCYBANKRUPTCY LAWBASE YEARBENCHMARKBENCHMARK STOCKBINDING CONSTRAINTBORROWERBROAD MONEYBUDGET DEFICITBUSINESS CYCLECAPITAL INFLOWSCAPITAL MARKETCASH RESERVECASH RESERVE RATIOCOLLECTIVE ACTIONCOMMERCIAL BANKSCOMMODITY PRICECOMMODITY PRICESCOMPETITIVENESSCONSUMER GOODSCONSUMPTION EXPENDITURESCONTRACT ENFORCEMENTCORPORATE GOVERNANCECREDIT FLOWSCREDIT GROWTHCREDIT PROGRAMSCURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICITDAMAGESDEBTDECENTRALIZATIONDECLINE IN INVESTMENTSDEFICITSDEMAND FOR CREDITDEPOSITDEREGULATIONDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT AGENCYDEVELOPMENT PROJECTSDIESELDISBURSEMENTDISBURSEMENTSDIVIDENDSDOMESTIC CREDITDOMESTIC MARKETDRIVERSDURABLEECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC DEMANDECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC OUTLOOKECONOMIC RESEARCHECONOMIC TIME SERIESECONOMIC TRENDSECONOMIC VALUEELASTICITYELASTICITY OF DEMANDEMERGING MARKETEMERGING MARKETSENFORCEMENT MECHANISMSENTRY BARRIERSEQUIPMENTEXCESS LIQUIDITYEXCHANGE RATEEXCHANGE RATESEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESEXPORT COMPETITIVENESSEXPORT GROWTHEXPORTERSEXPORTSEXTERNAL DEBTFINANCIAL CRISISFINANCIAL PERFORMANCEFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL STABILITYFINANCIAL WEAKNESSESFISCAL DEFICITFISCAL POLICIESFISCAL POLICYFIXED CAPITALFIXED INCOMEFIXED INVESTMENTFORECASTSFOREIGN CAPITALFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFOREIGN EXCHANGEFOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVESFOREIGN INVESTMENTFOREIGN INVESTMENTSFRAUDSFUELFUEL PRICESGDPGDP DEFLATORGENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCESGLOBAL ECONOMYGLOBAL MARKETGLOBAL MARKETSGOVERNMENT BORROWINGGOVERNMENT FUNDINGGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROSS VALUEGROWTH RATEHOUSEHOLD INCOMEHUMAN CAPITALIMPORT COSTINCOMEINCOME GROWTHINCOME TAXINCREASING RETURNSINFLATIONINFLATION RATEINFLATIONARY EXPECTATIONSINHERITANCEINSTITUTIONAL CAPACITYINSURANCEINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL MARKETINVENTORIESINVENTORYINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT RATESINVESTMENT RESOURCESLABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLAND OWNERSHIPLAND RECORDSLEGAL FRAMEWORKLIQUIDITYLOANLOAN AMOUNTLOAN DEFAULTSLOCAL MARKETSLOW INTEREST RATESMACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENTMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMARKET ANALYSTSMARKET INDEXMARKET INDICESMARKET PARTICIPANTMARKET PRICEMARKET PRICESMICRO-CREDITMONETARY FUNDMONETARY POLICIESMONETARY POLICYMONOPOLYMULTIPLIER EFFECTSNATIONAL ECONOMIESNATIONAL SAVINGNATURAL DISASTERNATURAL DISASTERSNEGATIVE SHOCKNOISENOMINAL INTEREST RATENONPERFORMING LOANSOIL PRICEOIL PRICESOUTSTANDING CREDITOWNERSHIP DATAPETROLEUM PRODUCTSPOLICY RESPONSEPOLITICAL STABILITYPOLITICAL UNCERTAINTYPOPULATION GROWTHPORTFOLIOPRICE MOVEMENTSPRICE VOLATILITYPRIVATE BANKSPRIVATE CREDITPRIVATE INVESTMENTPRIVATE INVESTMENTSPRIVATE SECTOR CREDITPRODUCTIVITY GROWTHPUBLIC INVESTMENTREAL EXCHANGE RATEREGULATORY FRAMEWORKREMITTANCEREMITTANCESRESERVERETURNROADSSAFETYSAFETY NETSAFETY NETSSETTLEMENTSOLVENCYSTOCK EXCHANGESTOCKSTAXTAX COLLECTIONTAX RATETAX REVENUETAX REVENUESTOLLTOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITYTOTAL REVENUETRADE CREDITTRADE FINANCETRADINGTRANSACTIONTRANSACTION COSTSTRANSPORTTRANSPORT FARESTRANSPORT SECTORTRANSPORTATIONTREASURYTREASURY BILLTREASURY BILL RATETRIPSTROUGHTRUETRUST FUNDTURNOVERVALUE ADDEDWAGE DIFFERENTIALSWAGESWORKING CAPITALReportWorld Bank10.1596/21777