Development Policy Review
62 items available
Permanent URI for this collection
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than 1 billion people, half of whom will be under 25 years old by 2050, is a diverse ...
Items in this collection
1 - 5 of 5
-
Publication
Guinea : Development Policy Review
(Washington, DC, 2008-10)Following a decade of relatively strong growth, Guinea's economic performance weakened beginning in 2000. During 1992-1999, growth averaged 4.4 percent a year as the Government implemented a program of economic reforms aimed at liberalizing its economy and improving the environment for private sector investment. With a tightening of financial policies over the 1990s, inflation reached single digits by the late 1990s and the fiscal deficit averaged just over 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second half of the 1990s. However, since 2000 growth slowed to an average of 2.8 percent a year and inflation increased to 39 by 2006. Guinea's worsening economic performance since 2000 reflects a weaker policy framework and exogenous shocks. Macroeconomic policies were relaxed, as fiscal policy was loosened and monetary policy became highly accommodative. Government revenues from the mining sector dropped, despite a recovery in the price of bauxite-Guinea's most important export. Also, a heightened level of regional insecurity and a resulting considerable influx of refugees in Guinea put pressure on government expenditures. As a result, the fiscal deficit rose to an average of 5 percent of GDP in 2000-2004. An accommodative monetary policy led to double digit inflation and a crowding out of credit to the private sector. A concomitant slowdown in the implementation of economic reforms, coupled with increased uncertainty in the political climate and deteriorating quality of public institutions, contributed to the slowdown in economic activity. -
Publication
Determinants of the Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices and Their Impacts in the Ethiopian Highlands
(Washington, DC, 2007-04)An extensive review of literature on the determinants of adoption and impacts of land management technologies in the Ethiopian highlands was undertaken to guide policy makers and development agencies in crafting programs and policies that can better and more effectively address land degradation in Ethiopia. Several generalizations emerge from the review: 1) the profitability of land management technologies is a very important factor influencing technology adoption. In many cases it is a threshold consideration; 2) land tenure insecurity and limited transfer rights undermine land management investments; 3) the impacts of household endowments on technology adoption are mixed; and 4) the impacts of credit on input use are positive where input use is profitable and not too risky; in other cases credit is not a binding constraint, because farmers ration their use of credit to avoid risk. Further research on the adoption and impacts of land management practices is needed to build on this understanding of what works, and where. Based on this review, as well as the findings from two companion papers and stakeholder workshops, it appears that research in different biophysical and socioeconomic domains to assess the off-site as well as on-site costs and benefits of alternative land management approaches will be particularly useful in supporting efforts to scale up successful sustainable land management practices in Ethiopia. -
Publication
Madagascar : Development Policy Review, Sustaining Growth for Enhanced Poverty Reduction, Volume 1, Main Report
(Washington, DC, 2005-05)The country's approach to poverty reduction is outlined in the 2003 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, and draws on a development approach in which growth and poverty reduction are mutually reinforcing. Three areas of focus are identified in the PRSP: (1) restoration of law and improvements in governance; (2) promotion of broad-based growth; and (3) promotion of systems for establishing human and material security. The DPR presents Madagascar's development policy agenda in an integrated framework within which issues of policy consistency, priorities, and sequencing could be addressed. This DPR focuses on growth and growth strategy. It highlights the main structural and institutional impediments to achieving sustained growth and the factors constraining the ability of the poor to participate in economic growth. Emphasis is put on issues and sectors that contribute directly to growth: private sector development issues, including the availability of credit; elements of competitiveness such as infrastructure and education; and issues in sectors considered sources of growth. While the impact of government policy on poverty i s most directly felt through public expenditure and service delivery, these are dealt with in great detail in the accompanying PER, and will only be touched upon here in the context of government's growth strategy. Finally, the DPR identifies the main sources of vulnerability of the country. -
Publication
Madagascar : Development Policy Review, Sustaining Growth for Enhanced Poverty Reduction - Technical annex
(Washington, DC, 2005-05)The country's approach to poverty reduction is outlined in the 2003 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, and draws on a development approach in which growth and poverty reduction are mutually reinforcing. Three areas of focus are identified in the PRSP: (1) restoration of law and improvements in governance; (2) promotion of broad-based growth; and (3) promotion of systems for establishing human and material security. The DPR presents Madagascar's development policy agenda in an integrated framework within which issues of policy consistency, priorities, and sequencing could be addressed. This DPR focuses on growth and growth strategy. It highlights the main structural and institutional impediments to achieving sustained growth and the factors constraining the ability of the poor to participate in economic growth. Emphasis is put on issues and sectors that contribute directly to growth: private sector development issues, including the availability of credit; elements of competitiveness such as infrastructure and education; and issues in sectors considered sources of growth. While the impact of government policy on poverty i s most directly felt through public expenditure and service delivery, these are dealt with in great detail in the accompanying PER, and will only be touched upon here in the context of government's growth strategy. Finally, the DPR identifies the main sources of vulnerability of the country. -
Publication
Poverty Reduction Support Credits in Uganda : Results of a Stocktaking Study
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-06-29)Uganda pioneered the use of budget support operations known as Poverty Reduction Support Credits (PRSCs) in the World Bank. PRSCs were designed to channel programmatic lending to support policy and institutional reforms in support of a country's Poverty Reduction Strategy, usually presented in the form of a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). In the case of Uganda the PRSCs were designed as a series of annual credits supporting a three year rolling program of reforms, based on Uganda's version of a PRSC, which is known as the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) . The World Bank credits are in the form of untied budget support, financing all government activities, in the same way as domestic tax revenues. The PRSCs have been significantly co-financed by other donors in the form of grants which, like the World Bank credits take the form of untied budget support. The focus of this report is to study what has worked, what has not worked, and what could be improved in the Uganda PRSC process in the future.