Bhutan Development Update, March 2020

Growth in Bhutan is estimated to have remained subdued in 2018-19 as hydropower production declined further. Inflation decelerated to its lowest level in 2018-19 since 2003, reflecting a rapid decline in food prices. Growth in bank lending to the p...

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Main Author:	World Bank
Format:	Report
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2020
Subjects:	POVERTY TRENDS POVERTY AND EQUITY SHARED PROSPERITY POVERTY REDUCTION ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC CENSUS MONETARY POLICY FINANCIAL SECTOR EXTERNAL SECTOR FISCAL TRENDS WELFARE IMPACT
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/746771583997797516/Bhutan-Development-Update http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33450

id	okr-10986-33450
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-334502021-05-25T09:33:24Z Bhutan Development Update, March 2020 World Bank POVERTY TRENDS POVERTY AND EQUITY SHARED PROSPERITY POVERTY REDUCTION ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC CENSUS MONETARY POLICY FINANCIAL SECTOR EXTERNAL SECTOR FISCAL TRENDS WELFARE IMPACT Growth in Bhutan is estimated to have remained subdued in 2018-19 as hydropower production declined further. Inflation decelerated to its lowest level in 2018-19 since 2003, reflecting a rapid decline in food prices. Growth in bank lending to the private sector remained strong in 2018-19 (16.7 percent, YoY) but risks to the financial sector are on the increase. The current account deficit (CAD) widened in 2018-19 on the back of lower electricity and tourism receipts. The fiscal balance improved in 2018-19 due to a sharp decline in capital spending. Risks to the outlook arise primarily from delays in the completion of the remaining large hydro projects, volatile hydropower revenues, and slippages in the implementation of non-hydro revenue measures. Bhutan faces two key challenges: making growth more inclusive and less reliant on hydropower. Therefore, Bhutan needs to facilitate more private-sector-led growth to increase employment opportunities and domestic revenues. While Bhutan achieved great strides in poverty alleviation, the pace of progress in shared prosperity has slowed in recent years. Also, disparities in poverty and other development outcomes across districts persist. 2020-03-23T17:15:15Z 2020-03-23T17:15:15Z 2020-03 Report http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/746771583997797516/Bhutan-Development-Update http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33450 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Economic & Sector Work Economic & Sector Work :: Economic Updates and Modeling South Asia Bhutan
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	POVERTY TRENDS POVERTY AND EQUITY SHARED PROSPERITY POVERTY REDUCTION ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC CENSUS MONETARY POLICY FINANCIAL SECTOR EXTERNAL SECTOR FISCAL TRENDS WELFARE IMPACT
spellingShingle	POVERTY TRENDS POVERTY AND EQUITY SHARED PROSPERITY POVERTY REDUCTION ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC CENSUS MONETARY POLICY FINANCIAL SECTOR EXTERNAL SECTOR FISCAL TRENDS WELFARE IMPACT World Bank Bhutan Development Update, March 2020
geographic_facet	South Asia Bhutan
description	Growth in Bhutan is estimated to have remained subdued in 2018-19 as hydropower production declined further. Inflation decelerated to its lowest level in 2018-19 since 2003, reflecting a rapid decline in food prices. Growth in bank lending to the private sector remained strong in 2018-19 (16.7 percent, YoY) but risks to the financial sector are on the increase. The current account deficit (CAD) widened in 2018-19 on the back of lower electricity and tourism receipts. The fiscal balance improved in 2018-19 due to a sharp decline in capital spending. Risks to the outlook arise primarily from delays in the completion of the remaining large hydro projects, volatile hydropower revenues, and slippages in the implementation of non-hydro revenue measures. Bhutan faces two key challenges: making growth more inclusive and less reliant on hydropower. Therefore, Bhutan needs to facilitate more private-sector-led growth to increase employment opportunities and domestic revenues. While Bhutan achieved great strides in poverty alleviation, the pace of progress in shared prosperity has slowed in recent years. Also, disparities in poverty and other development outcomes across districts persist.
format	Report
author	World Bank
author_facet	World Bank
author_sort	World Bank
title	Bhutan Development Update, March 2020
title_short	Bhutan Development Update, March 2020
title_full	Bhutan Development Update, March 2020
title_fullStr	Bhutan Development Update, March 2020
title_full_unstemmed	Bhutan Development Update, March 2020
title_sort	bhutan development update, march 2020
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2020
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/746771583997797516/Bhutan-Development-Update http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33450
_version_	1764478789497126912

Bhutan Development Update, March 2020

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