The Bangladesh Development Update: Economy Progressing, but Below Potential

[Kloitra]

You're wrong, the price of the meal would also increase because of the fall of rupee since you have to import petroleum or other sources of energy and also other commodities through $USD from the international market. You have to pay more for the imported raw materials and thus it will decrease the value addition of the GDP.

PPP dude, this is why PPP. It takes into account prices of local goods.

You're fundamentally wrong, the change in base year was done to reflect more accurate picture of the economy, not to make it more impressive, previously the economic projections were underestimated, after the change in base year, they are now more accurate.

The drastic change in the figures don't reflect actual change, is what I meant. The figures look good because of change in base year. Doesn't mean economy suddenly got so much better in just one year. It just mean that economy wasn't properly being represented in figures previous years.

Also, Even the worst year, 2013, west Bengal economy was better than Bangladesh (per capita GDP/income, PPP/nominal). It is only getting better now. Besides, a couple of years can't change the immigration numbers drastically. People have migrated over the years, not in just one or two.

 

[extra terrestrial]

The drastic change in the figures don't reflect actual change, is what I meant. The figures look good because of change in base year. Doesn't mean economy suddenly got so much better in just one year. It just mean that economy wasn't properly being represented in figures previous years.

Yes, that's what I meant, which is why I said you need to compare the recent data of Bangladesh with that of India or West Bengal.

Also, Even the worst year, 2013, west Bengal economy was better than Bangladesh (per capita GDP/income, PPP/nominal). It is only getting better now.

Actually the data you showed was of April 2012 - March 2013 for West Bengal, the worst year was Jan 2013 - Dec 2013 and that's when India's per capita GDP declined from from $1,514 to $1,509 while Bangladesh's increased from $916 to $1,033. The decline of India's per capita GDP would reflect in the data of April 2013 - March 2014 of West Bengal.

 

[tahsin]

India has a lot of super wealthy people who form a very significant elite and control a large chunk of the nation's wealth while the majority of people are still pretty poor. This can skew the the per capita figures and distort the real picture. Bangladesh doesn't have many extremely wealthy but has a larger proportion of its population in the middle class. Bangladesh has also been able to get a lot of its extremely poor off poverty in recent years, which India also has though less successfully. Reduction in poverty is not just quantified fiancially but also other non-financial measures that improve social standing.

 

[Kloitra]

Yes, that's what I meant, which is why I said you need to compare the recent data of Bangladesh with that of India or West Bengal.


Actually the data you showed was of April 2012 - March 2013 for West Bengal, the worst year was Jan 2013 - Dec 2013 and that's when India's per capita GDP declined from from $1,514 to $1,509 while Bangladesh's increased from $916 to $1,033. The decline of India's per capita GDP would reflect in the data of April 2013 - March 2014 of West Bengal.

GoI site doesn't have 2014 data yet, that is what I posted before. And even when it was worst hit, economy grew by 4.5% nominal. That means per capita increased in INR.