Country’s macroeconomic stability not in comfortable state: CPD

The country’s macroeconomic stability is not in a comfortable state anymore though it is in a recovery trajectory, led by export-oriented sectors during the early months of FY2022, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

The think tank made the comment in its review titled “State of the Bangladesh Economy in FY2021-22” revealed on Thursday at its office in the capital.

“The trends of key macroeconomic correlates during the early months of FY2022 evince that many of these are in a recovery trajectory, led by export-oriented sectors,” CPD Executive Director Fahmida Khatun said in her keynote presentation.

Within the external sector, robust growth in export earnings and import payments, as well as the rise in overseas migration, depict clear signs of recovery, she said.

Although the remittance inflow has been exhibiting negative growth in comparison with the very high benchmark of the preceding year, it is still higher than the corresponding period of the pre-pandemic year, said the think tank.

“Consequently, policy space for tackling the prevailing and emerging challenges has become comparatively limited.”

Against this backdrop, trends in recovery, emergent risks and the available policy space should receive due cognisance while designing and implementing policy responses, it suggested.

The government needs to opt for a focused and targeted expansionary fiscal policy reinforced by accommodative monetary policy, it added.

Moreover, effective design, implementation and monitoring of the required policy packages demand real-time and updated data on key macro-fiscal indicators such as poverty, employment, inequality, and budget execution.

The think tank also emphasised that the lost reform and good governance agenda must be revitalised by the government in order to address the newly emerging challenges.