Good Enough for Outstanding Growth : The Experience of Bangladesh in Comparative Perspective

This paper investigates the outstanding economic growth experience of Bangladesh. Itshows that the country’s improvements in structural correlates of growth from 1990 to 2004 are in the global top5 percent for any 15-year period since 1970. They were driven by infrastructure enhancements, more openness totrade, and increasing foreign direct investment. Additionally, this period coincided with significantfinancial reforms after the banking crisis of the late 1980s and increased political stability. A further increase ingrowth after 2005 was not correlated with new growth impulses from structural improvements. Instead, the benefitsfrom previous achievements and a stable macroeconomic and institutional environment were “good enough” to prevent themean reversion of growth that comparable fast-growing economies usually experience.