Though the population in The Bahamas has expanded swiftly since 2010, the stock and affordability of new housing has not kept pace due to limited wage growth and financing constraints. This chapter takes stock of recent trends in the residential housing market in The Bahamas and discusses the...

Low efficiency and reliability in the energy sector, paired with high costs, dampens competitiveness and holds up growth in The Bahamas. This chapter takes stock of the country's electricity sector and examines the potential macroeconomic impact of the government's proposed electricity sector...

The Bahamas is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including gradual sea level rise, biodiversity loss, and intensifying hurricanes. Together, these challenges threaten to undermine the country's potential output over the long term by inflicting damages to physical assets and...

To analyze Bahamian sovereign spreads, a fundamentals-based model is estimated using data on emerging market economies. The main findings are: first, while both domestic and global covariates are important determinants of spreads, a sizeable effect comes from the interaction of global risk...

Activity has recovered to its pre-pandemic level and inflation is now modestly negative. Public finances are improving and borrowing costs have declined. Nonetheless, public debt remains high and its short duration represents an important vulnerability

The Bahamas has a strong foundation for developing the local currency bond market (LCBM), benefitting from macroeconomic stability, and favorable fiscal and borrowing plans. The government views domestic capital market development as crucial for rebuilding economic buffers and fostering...

Most studies of total factor productivity (TFP) and long-term production functions use capital stock time series obtained from ad hoc estimates of the rate of depreciation and the initial capital stock. This paper introduces a methodology that allows the simultaneous econometric estimation of...

This technical assistance report on The Bahamas focuses on operationalizing the new bank resolution framework and amended deposit insurance legislation-second mission. The Bahamas has made considerable progress in developing the legal framework, infrastructure, and key tools for an effective...

This technical assistance report on The Bahamas analyses operationalizing the new bank resolution framework and amended deposit insurance legislation-second mission. The Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBOB) has made good progress in implementing recovery plans for the domestic systemically...

This technical assistance report on The Bahamas analyses operationalizing the new bank resolution framework and amended deposit insurance legislation. The Bahamas has made considerable progress in developing the infrastructure needed for an effective bank recovery and resolution regime. The...

The Research Paper commences with an overview of Pillar One and Pillar Two followed by detailed discussions on salient provisions of Pillar Two. Pillar Two is envisaged to have a widespread impact on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) which are a distinct group of 38 United Nations (UN)...

The Research Paper commences with an overview of Pillar One and Pillar Two followed by detailed discussions on salient provisions of Pillar Two. Pillar Two is envisaged to have a widespread impact on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) which are a distinct group of 38 United Nations (UN)...

The Bahamas is experiencing a tourism-led rebound. Real GDP growth in 2021 was close to 14 percent, as stayover tourist arrivals doubled relative to 2020. The economy is projected to expand by 8 percent in 2022. Nonetheless, it will likely take until 2024 to return to the 2019 level of GDP and...

The economic impact of COVID-19 on The Bahamas is unprecedented. The archipelago was just recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Dorian in the fall of 2019, when the pandemic led to a sudden stop in tourism, the main source of income and employment. The authorities mounted a rapid...

This paper highlights The Bahamas' Request for Purchase Under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic comes on the heels of the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian in September 2019. Coupled with domestic containment measures, the...

The Bahamas appears to be resilient to current threats to its financial stability, but action is needed to safeguard against potential weaknesses. There is a large stock of problem assets that needs to be dealt with from a variety of perspectives: systemic risk monitoring, banking supervision,...

Macrofinancial risks stem from the economy's vulnerability to external shocks to tourism and real estate investment, exposure to frequent and severe hurricanes, and a small and illiquid real estate market. Stress tests reveal the overall banking system is resilient to a range of adverse...

The CBOB considers increased financial inclusion as a critical reform area. In this regard, the FSAP assessed developments in financial inclusion for individuals and enterprises (SME finance), retail payments and provides recommendations for improvements. A review of the market was undertaken...

The Bank Supervision Department (BSD) of the Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBoB) has a generally effective supervisory program in place for the size and complexity of the Bahamian banking system. Since the prior FSAP in 2012, clear progress has been made enhancing the framework in a number of...

Growth has returned after years of stagnation. The reform-oriented government is tackling structural issues, with notable achievements in the fiscal area. The financial sector is sound and resilient to current stability threats, but credit remains scarce. The offshore sector faces heightened...

Under BEPS Action 14, members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS have committed to implement a minimum standard to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP). The MAP is included in Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention and commits...

This dataset contains tax revenue collected by the Bahamas. It provides detailed tax revenues by sector (Supranational, Federal or Central Government, State or Lander Government, Local Government, and Social Security Funds) and by specific tax, such as capital gains, profits and income,...

In September 2019, The Bahama Islands were hit by a category 5 hurricane Dorian, which stalled over the islands for two days. Dorian's aftermath left an estimated $3.4 billion dollars in damages, lost lives, homes destroyed, and a weakened economy heavily reliant on tourism. As residents worked...

The purpose of this chapter is to report on the effects of a natural disaster on the tourism sector of Grand Bahama Island (GBI). This chapter explores the process of tourism destination recovery. Tourism destination recovery has become an important area of study in Small Island Developing...

Tourism, a critical economic sector for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), is extremely vulnerable to climate change. It has been becoming increasingly evident that strategic planning is essential for the sector to manage future impacts of climate change. This study examines the climate...

This chapter generally concerns how elements of liberal democratic constitutional discourse have functioned to normalize emergency and possible state of exception governance during the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the chapter focuses on the transference of legislative power to the...

When it comes to small island developing states (SIDS), the literature is burgeoning with articles on resilience and climate change or resilience as an aftermath to some type of natural disaster. As a singular topic, economic resilience or political resilience has not been as widely discussed....

This 2018 Article IV Consultation highlights that The Bahamas' real GDP is estimated to have expanded by 1.3 percent in 2017. Economic activity has been supported by the completion of Baha Mar, new foreign direct investment-financed projects, and post-hurricane reconstruction activity. However,...

This Selected Issues paper makes the case for a rules-based fiscal framework for The Bahamas and discusses its design, calibration, and implementation. The IMF staff recommends adopting a headline deficit ceiling and a cap on current expenditure growth, both calibrated to guide debt toward a...

This dataset contains tax revenue collected by the Bahamas. It provides detailed tax revenues by sector (Supranational, Federal or Central Government, State or Lander Government, Local Government, and Social Security Funds) and by specific tax, such as capital gains, profits and income,...

This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights the continued weak economic activity in The Bahamas in 2016. Hurricane Matthew, which hit The Bahamas in October 2016, significantly impacted tourism activity in 2016 and early 2017. However, completion of the megaresort Baha Mar and posthurricane...

This Selected Issues paper assesses the recent trends in The Bahamas' offshore financial center (OFC) and their contribution to the real economy. The Bahamas hosts one of the largest OFCs in the world. International banks are the most important institutions in the Bahamian OFC. Despite a sharp...

This 2016 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic growth in The Bahamas is estimated to have stalled in 2015, as a modest increase in air tourism arrivals was not sufficient to offset a contraction in domestic demand and weak exports of goods. Private consumption and investment were...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how tourism investment, business and operations were aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Abaco Cays pre-Hurricane Dorian 2019 in The Bahamas. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes an exploratory...