Household expenditure in the Bahamian economy in 2014 was an estimated $6.2 billion, with close to $2 billion each spent on housing (including rent) and trade - both wholesale and retail - according to figures from the Department of Statistics.
The one percent or so growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014 masks a complex set of numbers that detail changes in the economy over the last four years, including a smaller economic impact from agriculture and fisheries - particularly fisheries - and a sharp bump in the economic impact of the construction industry.
The Department of Statistics released the figures late last week, ahead of the release of the National
Accounts 2014 report later this month. The numbers show that the GDP grew by 0.93 percent in current prices and by 1.02 percent in constant 2006 prices. The current measure utilizes current price levels and currency values, without factoring in inflation; it also determines the total value of the products and services produced in a particular year. The "constant prices" measures the effects of inflation and is more useful for studying trends in economic growth.
The 2014 GDP figures are preliminary and will be revised as more data become available.
Household expenditure
The release reports on the output of the economy in some detail, and one measure of note is the private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) - or household expenditure - which on average accounts for 70 percent of the GDP.
Between 2010 and 2014, household expenditure grew from $5.4 billion to $6.2 billion, possibly reflecting rising prices.
The figure included $1.7 billion expenditure on housing and $1.8 billion on wholesale and retail trade. Expenditure on hotel and restaurant was $300 million. The figures show $676 million spent on utilities, which included electricity, cable and communications including cell phones.
Non-educational and non-health-related expenditure abroad was $100 million, while spending on education and health - including for children abroad at school - was $444 million. Financial intermediation, which includes insurance and banking, was $534 million, and spending on non-profit organizations, which includes charities, totaled $87 million.
Construction spending continued to grow, with non-residential construction - driven largely by Baha Mar and other hotel spending - grew by 21.6 percent to total over $706 million. Plus, residential construction, which the department estimates to be driven by growth in the level of construction services imported. Residential construction, estimated based on the value of the Central Bank's Residential Mortgage Commitment on New Construction, also grew by double digits, standing at $248 million.
Gross value added - Industrial origin
Traditional measures divide an economy into four segments: firstly, the extraction and harvesting of natural products from the earth (agriculture, mining and forestry); then processing, manufacturing and construction; services, such as retail sales, entertainment and financial services; and finally intellectual pursuits, like education.
The Department of Statistics results are based on early estimates from major data sources such as the Central Bank, Ministry of Tourism and the Foreign Trade Section of the Department of Statistics. They are also based on indicators which normally mimic movements of particular industries such as hotel room rates, megawatt sales, building permits, chargeable telephone minutes and consumer price index.
The department also released disaggregated figures, which reveal how the impact of certain sectors of the economy is either changing or remaining stable. For instance, between 2010 and 2014, the gross value added (GVA) to the economy from agriculture and fisheries dropped from over $170 million to $140 million. Breaking the figures down, however, shows the agriculture sector steadily hovering between $60 million and $65 million, but the fisheries sector dropping from $107 million in 2010 to just over $80 million in 2014.
Also, in 2010, GVA from construction was just under $648 million. In 2014, it was just over $1 billion.
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