What tense should I use? (present continuous vs present perfect)

[KLPNO]

Hello, everybody.

I'd like to ask a question about the usage of tenses.
What tense is more appropriate in the following sentence - the present continuous or the present perfect (continuous)?

One can ask: why in the last five years the country’s economy, having all the unfavorable physical and economic peculiarities and much more favorable demand indices, is developing at a pace that decreased by one-third compared to the previous five-year period.

Many thanks in advance.

[Mister Micawber]

.
'One can ask'-- but you present no question. The structure is also rather convoluted. 'Economic' and 'economy' form a redundancy. Recast as follows:

One can ask: In the last five years, with all its unfavorable physical peculiarities and much more favorable demand indices, why is the country's economy developing at only two-thirds the pace of the previous five-year period?
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

[KLPNO]

Thank you very much, Mister Micawber.