The Bahamas: Selected Issues

IMF Staff Country Reports, January 17, 2025

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The Bahamas: Selected Issues

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Bibliographic details

• Published: January 17, 2025
• Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400299414.002

Analytical approach and data

• A fundamentals-based model is estimated using data on emerging market economies to analyze Bahamian sovereign spreads.
• The analysis links changes in The Bahamas’ sovereign rating with movements in Bahamian sovereign spreads.
• Time references in the analysis: spreads declined since late 2022 and, by 2024, were aligned with peer economies and the model-implied spread.
• Publication metadata:
  • Pages: 42
  • Volume: 2025
  • Issue: 009
  • Series: Country Report No. 2025/009
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400299414.002
  • Stock No: 1BHSEA2025002
  • ISBN: 9798400299414
  • ISSN: 1934-7685
  • Publication date: January 17, 2025

Key empirical findings

• Changes in The Bahamas’ sovereign rating correspond closely with significant movements in Bahamian sovereign spreads.
• Bahamian sovereign spreads have declined since late 2022 and, by 2024, are aligned both with peer economies and the model-implied spread.
• Determinants of spreads:
  • Both domestic covariates and global covariates are important determinants of spreads.
  • A sizeable effect on spreads comes from the interaction of global risk aversion and a country’s risk rating.
  • Inclusion in the Market Bond Index Global index Emerging is a significant driver for emerging markets.
• Quantified impact of index inclusion:
  • The spreads in The Bahamas would have compressed by 56 basis points compared to other countries with similar fundamentals if the archipelago were included in this index.

Thematic coverage and keywords

• Subjects covered: Climate change, Commodities, Electricity, Environment, Housing, National accounts, Natural disasters.
• Keywords used in the report: alleviating supply constraint, Caribbean, Climate change, climate change risk, Electricity, Global, Housing, housing affordability, housing affordability in The bahamas, IMF staff calculation, Natural disasters, quantifying climate.

International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. "The Bahamas: Selected Issues", IMF Staff Country Reports 2025, 009 (2025).

Content in this bundle

• The Bahamas: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 25/9; December 16, 2024
  • The Bahamas: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 25/9; December 16, 2024 (Markdown version)
  • The Bahamas: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 25/9; December 16, 2024 (PDF)