GDP Fluctuations and Long-Run Economic Growth: A Study of Selected South Asian Countries

This paper studies the relationship between GDP fluctuations and long-run economic growth using a macro-panel approach (small N, large T) in a panel of five selected South Asian countries — Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — over the period 1980–2010. The study applies modern non-stationary panel techniques including cross-sectional dependency tests, panel unit root tests, panel cointegration tests (Pedroni), and the Group Mean Fully Modified OLS (GM-FMOLS) estimator. Results contribute to the debate on the growth-volatility nexus, examining whether GDP fluctuations inhibit or are neutral to long-run growth in the South Asian context.