Description

This issue of the South Asia Economic Report (SAER) is the first in a series of biannual reports on economic and development issues in the South Asia region. The SAER discusses recent economic performance and prospects for the South Asia region. The areas of special focus in this issue are banking, governance, and investment climate. Brief country write-ups are also provided.

South Asia is well established on a high growth path, with strong and improving macroeconomic fundamentals. While developments in India are clearly the predominant factor in the improved economic performance of South Asia, most other countries in the region have been on a similar trend. Strong performance results from comprehensive reforms in South Asia - reforms that covered most areas of the economy and were broadly similar across many of the countries in the region.

The special focus section concludes that, to accelerate growth still further, institutional reforms and targeted public investments are required. Institutional reforms need to focus on improving regulatory quality and government effectiveness. The SAER also recommends that public investments be targeted at areas where infrastructure bottlenecks are emerging. Particularly power, roads and ports form a constraint to accelerating growth.

Contents

• Introduction
• Economic Performance and Prospects
• Banking, Governance, and Investment Climate
• Country Section
• References
• Statistical Appendix