State of the Bangladesh Economy in FY 2008‐09

The Budget for FY2009-10, expected to be presented at the session of the Bangladesh JatyornSangshad on 11 June 2009, comes in the backdrop of manifold challenges that thernBangladesh economy had to face in FY2008-09. From the perspective of macroeconomicrngovernance the current fiscal year has been unusual on a number of counts. While thernCaretaker Government (CTG) was in charge of macroeconomic management during the firstrntwo quarters of FY2008-09, the last two quarters were managed under the stewardship of thernnewly elected government. This transition in power within one single fiscal year injectedrnuncertainties both in terms of policy making and policy continuity as well as with regard tornprivate sector investment decisions. On a different level, macroeconomic management inrnFY2008-09 also became more challenging as a consequence of the high inflationary pressurernon the economy during the first few months of the year. The need to address the adversernimpact of the ongoing global economic crisis over the subsequent period of the fiscal yearrnemerged as a new challenge confronting both the policymakers and the private sector.