ABSTRACT
With a population of over 100 million and a per capita income of $250, Bangladesh is the largest and poorest country covered in this study. Like most of the largest developing countries it has a relatively high share of manufactures in its exports (Table 14.1), although until recently these have been lightly processed forms of its principal export crop, jute. The high share of manufactures means that it is not vulnerable to any of the controls on primary exports, but its shift into clothing exports in the 1980s (Table 14.2) has meant that barriers on clothing exports, its own and those of its competitors, have become a crucial influence on its exports. Because of its size, it is less vulnerable to trade, and therefore potentially to external policy, than the other countries, while its poverty means that exports are less important relative to other types of external influence. Many of the most important trade effects of the external sector come from its dependence on aid to finance more than half its imports.
