WB economist blames mainstream approach for South Asia’s trade underperformance

Government policies, underlying South Asia’s formal sector, seen as the primary reason for the region’s failure to optimize its export potential at a conference held in Washington D.C., USA.

“The reason for underperformance in trade in South Asia seems to be the way formal sector is being run,” said Dr. Hans Timmer, chief economist for the South Asia region, World Bank.

This year’s conference, themed as “Emerging Global Challenges and Development Strategies in South Asia”, has been jointly organized by the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling-SANEM and The World Bank. 

Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director of SANEM, presented papers on trade dynamics and shared his insights on South Asia’s trade performance.

“The export potentials of the South Asian Countries have not been fully realized,” said Raihan, who is also a professor of economics at the University of Dhaka,

The day-long conference was consisted of five sessions on five different topics: “Global Trade Scenario”, “Trade and Investment,” “Labor Market,” “Social Capital Institutions,” and “Challenges of Social Sectors.”

Dr. Raihan chaired the first session at the event, while prominent WB economists conducted the remaining sessions.

During the closing session of the conference, the speakers reiterated their commitment to continue the discussion forum in the years to come.