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Deficit financing strategy and fiscal sustainability in Bangladesh

Crawford School of Public Policy | Arndt-Corden Department of Economics

Event details

PhD Seminar (Econ)

Date & time

Friday 19 July 2024
11.00am–12.15pm

Venue

Weston Theatre JG Crawford Building and Online Zoom

Speaker

Mohammad Mahabub Alam

Bangladesh has effectively managed its public debt, implementing a deficit-biased fiscal policy due to robust GDP growth and favourable interest rates from concessional finance. However, this approach is unsustainable without fiscal reform. Analyzing data from 1983 to 2022 with a regime-switching model, the paper finds that the government’s fiscal response was positive to the rising debt (stabilizing) during 1989-1995 and 2002-2014, but insignificant during 1983-1989, 1996-2001, and 2015-2020. The primary determinant of fiscal policy appears to be temporary government spending, a fact at odds with the objectives outlined in the government’s long-term VISION 2041 plan and medium-term fiscal framework (MTFF).

To participate in-person

Venue: Weston Theatre, JG Crawford Building, 132 Lennox Crossing, Acton ACT (ANU Crawford School of Public Policy)

To participate online

Zoom link: https://anu.zoom.us/j/88964984041?pwd=cUQ1OUxLMGVScFhONUVPWk9KTE0xQT09

Updated:  7 November 2024/Responsible Officer:  Crawford Engagement/Page Contact:  CAP Web Team