Washington: Led by India, South Asia is moving towards becoming center of global growth and could contribute about one-third of the world's growth by 2040, according to a latest research by the International Monetary Fund.
Notably, under the IMF's geographical division of the world, South Asia does not include Afghanistan and Pakistan. For IMF, South Asia includes India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives.
Under a substantial liberalisation scenario, supported by stepped-up efforts to improve infrastructure and successfully harness South Asia's young and large workforce, the region could contribute about one-third of global growth by 2040, argues the IMF paper 'Is South Asia Ready for take Off’ A sustainable and inclusive growth agenda'.
"Looking at it both from the growth trajectory that we see and the development elsewhere in Asia, we see South Asia as moving towards being much more of center of global growth," Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific Department, IMF said.
Previewing some key aspects of the IMF research, Gulde-Wolf noted that based on demographic trends, more than 150 million people in the region are expected to enter the labour market by 2030.
"We have a region with a massive potential for demographic dividend. (This is), a region that has been seen over the recent past significant growth spurt," she said.
This young and large workforce can be South Asia's strength, if supported by a successful high-quality and job-rich growth strategy, leveraging all sectors of the economy in a balanced way. The IMF paper says.
Although policy recommendations remain country-specific, for many South Asian economies these should include: further progress in revenue mobilisation, fiscal consolidation; greater trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalisation; and investment in people, the paper notes.
