Poor governance in impoverished Bangladesh has cut the country's gross potential domestic product growth by two percentage points a year, the World Bank said Sunday.
Bangladesh, named by anti-graft watchdog Transparency International as the most corrupt country in the world for five years running, has seen its economy grow more than five percent a year since the early 1990s.
The economy is estimated to grow a record 6.71 percent in the fiscal year ending June.
But according to the World Bank that growth would be even higher if the country's governance problems were tackled.
"A forthcoming World Bank study... found that growth would have been two percent higher if economic governance had been improved, especially by strengthening the rule of law and streamlining the regulatory and administrative environment," the World Bank said in a statement.
Crime is a major political issue in Bangladesh and nearly half the population still lives on less than a dollar a day.
Another problem is the impact on business of regular political protests.
Last year the main opposition Awami League party and its allies called 18 anti-government national strikes despite pleas from aid donors and business groups.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which leads the country's coalition government, also called national strikes when it was in opposition.
A United Nations Development Programme study last year estimated that the constant shutdowns cost the economy between 1.6 and 2.2 billion dollars each year and should be replaced with peaceful protests that did not deter foreign investors.
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