Bhutan's broad-based growth has reduced poverty and inequality over the past decades. To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple global and domestic crises, the country adopted unorthodox policies such as using foreign reserves to invest in crypto-mining, which slashed reserves by half and...

Bhutan's real GDP growth rate remained robust in FY23/24. The agriculture sector grew modestly due to lower crop yields. The industry sector grew modestly, supported by strong growth in mining and quarrying industry. Hydropower and construction sectors recorded a lackluster performance in...

In August 2024, at the request of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMA), the IMF South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) conducted a Technical Assistance (TA) mission in Thimphu. The mission aimed to assist the RMA in establishing an interest rate corridor...

Migration of Bhutanese workers to Australia has sparked intense public debate and garnered media attention in recent years. The profile of migrants, largely composed of civil servants from key sectors, has alarmed the Royal Government of Bhutan about potential brain drain and disruption to the...

This Country Partnership Framework (CPF) sets out how the World Bank Group (WBG) can support the Royal Government of Bhutan's (RGoB) 13th Five Year Plan (FYP 2025-29). The CPF, which covers the period FY25-FY29, focuses on the overarching goal of accelerating economic growth and job creation...

At the request of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMA), an IMF South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) visited Thimphu during August 20-29, 2024. The mission's objectives were to assist the authorities in setting up interest rate corridor (IRC) and...

This paper examines the dynamics of poverty in Bhutan between 2017 and 2022, utilizing cross-sectional data from the Bhutan Living Standards Surveys. The paper constructs synthetic panels and estimates poverty transition probabilities. Three main findings emerge. First, poverty turnover in...

Crisis preparedness requires a comprehensive and cross-sectoral approach to risk management with targeted interventions across a range of different sectors. To provide a holistic assessment of preparedness, the crisis preparedness gap analysis (CPGA) isolates five core components of crisis...

Young people in Bhutan face rising rates of exclusion from employment, education, or training, and limited access to quality jobs, despite gains in education. Entrepreneurship is often viewed as an alternative pathway, but most youth-led ventures remain necessity-driven, informal, and...

We use data from two separate randomized control trials to examine whether career mentoring influences the educational preferences and career choices of Bhutanese students in grades 10 and 12. These mentoring programs provide information on technical and vocational education and training (TVET)...

We use data from two separate randomized control trials to examine whether career mentoring influences the educational preferences and career choices of Bhutanese students in grades 10 and 12. These mentoring programs provide information on technical and vocational education and training (TVET)...

This paper uses value-added models and panel data from a comprehensive set of highstakes secondary school exams to assess determinants of student performance during the coronavirus pandemic in Bhutan. Gender gaps, urban-rural gaps, and socioeconomic gaps do not appear to have widened...

Despite Bhutan's distinctive geographical and economic challenges, Bhutan has maintained a relatively high average real GDP growth rate of 8.8 percent over FY00-01-FY09-10, which is greater than the average of South Asian countries as well as low and middle-income economies. Bhutan's mountainous...

Bhutan's economy has recovered from the series of shocks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After experiencing contractions of 2.5 percent and 3.3 percent in FY19/20 and FY20/21, respectively, the economy exhibited signs of recovery in subsequent years. As...

Purpose - The main purpose of this article is to understand the motivations for Bhutanese students to study hospitality and tourism courses. The second objective is to analyse what countries are the preferred destinations for study abroad and visitation for students. This includes focussing on...

Between 2001 and 2019, Bhutan made significant economic progress with an average annual growth rate of 7 percent. This progress was accompanied by significant improvements in monetary and nonmonetary standards of living. However, recent shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and global macroeconomic...

This report is the outcome of a costing study undertaken to obtain information about the costs of delivering health services at different administrative health care levels in Bhutan, to: Inform the Ministry of Health about the costs of delivering various types of services at different levels; --...

The 2024 Article IV Consultation highlights that Bhutan achieved significant improvements in social conditions during the last decade, raising living standards. Poverty and inequality have declined, while extreme poverty has been eliminated. Growth is projected to accelerate over the medium term...

We use primary data to examine the potential role of wild foods in alleviating food insecurity among rural farmers in Bhutan during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that food-insecure households are more likely to collect wild foods, suggesting that food-insecure households are consuming wild...

We use primary data to examine the potential role of wild foods in alleviating food insecurity among rural farmers in Bhutan during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that food-insecure households are more likely to collect wild foods, suggesting that food-insecure households are consuming wild...

This paper uses two years of agriculture census data to build a panel dataset that consists of all the small towns in Bhutan. This dataset is used to estimate the impact of irrigation gaps and drought on the yields of paddy, maize, and other crops. The paper compares the estimated impacts from a...

The Urban Development Plans (UDPs) prepared in Bhutan usually lack priority investment plans and Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) of the proposed investments. While analyzing economic returns and conducting CBA form an integral part of other projects in Bhutan, especially donor funded projects, such...

We use primary data to examine the potential role of wild foods in alleviating food insecurity among rural farmers in Bhutan during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that food-insecure households are more likely to collect wild foods, suggesting that food-insecure households are consuming wild...

The discourse on environmental protection is well represented in international conventions, global sustainability goals, as well as national conservation and environmental policies. In this regard, Bhutan has its own unique developmental philosophy and strategy—Gross National Happiness...

The Kingdom of Bhutan aspires to move to 100 percent organic agriculture and improve self-sufficiency in its most important cereal crop, rice. Unfortunately, simulations conducted by Feuerbacher et al. (2018) suggest that a full conversion to organic agriculture as currently practiced in Bhutan...

Is there such a thing as a “Buddhist” sense of corporate ethics? In this article, the authors propose a contribution to that question by drawing on their personal experience managing or supporting the development of an innovative new business venture in Bhutan, a small and primarily Buddhist...

This paper analyzes the distributional impact of the tax-benefit system in Bhutan. It makes two main contributions: first, this is the first substantive study of this kind in Bhutan, and second, due to limited information on incomes in the household survey, a consumption-based model is combined...

The pandemic has had a substantial impact on the economy, straining pre-pandemic gains in income and poverty reduction. The wide-ranging policy measures, including containment protocols, rapid vaccination and booster campaigns, direct income support, and policy support for borrowers and...