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412 items available

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Economic Monitoring Report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee
(Washington, DC, 2015-09-30) World Bank
Palestinians are getting poorer on average for the third year in a row. As evidenced in previous World Bank reports, the competitiveness of the Palestinian economy has been progressively eroding since the signing of the Oslo accords, in particular its industry and agriculture. Even though donor aid had increased government-funded services and fueled consumption-driven growth during 2007 to 2011, this growth model has proved unsustainable. Donor support has significantly declined in recent years and, in any case, aid cannot sustainably make up for inadequate private investment. Thus, growth has started to slow since 2012 and the Palestinian economy contracted in 2014 following the Gaza war. In early 2015, GDP was still lower than it was a year ago. Due to population growth, real GDP per capita has been shrinking since 2013. Unemployment remains high, particularly amongst Gaza’s youth where it exceeds 60 percent, and 25 percent of Palestinians currently live in poverty. Against the backdrop of weak economic growth, reduced donor aid, and temporary suspension of revenue payments by the Government of Israel (GoI), the Palestinian Authority’s reform efforts have not been able to prevent another year with a financing gap. The persistence of this situation could potentially lead to political and social unrest. In short, the status quo is not sustainable and downside risks of further conflict and social unrest are high.
West Bank and Gaza : Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability
(Washington, DC, 2013-06-17) World Bank; European Union; Assistance Technique France; U.N. Development Programme
The purpose of the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment is to review the performance of the Palestinian Authority's (PA's) Public Financial Management (PFM) framework. The assessment examines progress since an informal PEFA assessment in 2007 and provides a baseline for supporting the PA in refining, where necessary, the current PFM reform strategy. The assessment has been undertaken following the PEFA performance measurement framework methodology as revised in January 2011. The assessment builds on previous reports by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on various aspects of the PA's PFM system. The assessment is based on publicly available documents and supplementary information provided by the PA and other stakeholders. These include annual budget documents, annual fiscal outturn reports, and specific reports produced by various stakeholders. The scope of the assessment includes the Public Financial Management of the central government, the subnational government (municipalities and community villages), and the autonomous public entities which are all under the umbrella of the Palestinian investment fund. The PA was established in 1994 following the 1993 Oslo agreement, with responsibility for the West Bank and Gaza (WBG) under Palestinian control. The PA has adopted a PFM model which broadly follows the Anglophone model, but in the years following its establishment, authority has increasingly become concentrated in the executive branch and the role of parliament has been reduced. The current PEFA assessment outlines a strong link between the various reforms that require a more integrated technical assistance approach. Many of these reforms are to be implemented together with other interconnected reforms in order to produce effective results. This underscores the challenging context, in which these reforms have to be implemented, but also the opportunity to create synergy and impetus between, and ownership of, the various components of the reform agenda.
West Bank and Gaza - Improving Governance and Reducing Corruption
(World Bank, 2011-05-18) World Bank
In the past decade, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has worked to strengthen economic governance and combat corruption, both essential to sustained economic growth and improved delivery of public services. This report finds the PA has made significant progress in its public institutions, establishing a strong governance environment in many critical areas. But it also identifies areas where reforms are underway but incomplete or, in some areas, not yet under consideration. Major reforms have been put in place to strengthen the PA's public financial management (PFM) systems and better manage its equity holdings, two crucial components in the public finance sector. In other important areas, such as public procurement, public sector employment, regulation of the private sector, and the work of anti-corruption institutions, reforms are underway but have not been fully implemented. This analysis relies on an understanding of the relationship between good economic governance, public service delivery, and corruption. Studies show a direct correlation between weak governance systems and the quality of public service delivery. Weak governance systems, in turn, provide an opportunity for corruption. The report does not attempt to investigate specific corruption activities or quantify the economic costs of corruption in West Bank and Gaza. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive look at the current state of economic governance in the PA. It is the first report to comprehensively assess governance reforms, ascertain citizens' and officials' actual experiences with corruption in the delivery of public services, identify institutional strengths, and highlight systematic governance weaknesses which could lead to corruption.
West Bank and Gaza - Municipal Finance and Service Provision
(World Bank, 2010-01-26) World Bank
The main general objective of this study is to promote a deeper understanding of municipal finance in the West Bank and Gaza, including identification of the key issues that local governments currently face. The paper discusses the policy implications associated with its main findings as potential policy options for future decision making on local government reforms. As such, this study aims at facilitating the process for a future policy dialogue between the World Bank and the Palestinian Authority (PA) or Ministry of Local Government (MoLG). Furthermore, it is expected that the identification of the main issues, together with their policy implications, may assist the PA or MoLG in the selection of the key areas that could potentially benefit from the World Bank's technical assistance. In particular, this study attempts to: (i) clarify the actual role that municipalities play in the provision of local services; (ii) evaluate the current assignment of municipal revenue sources and determine their adequacy to cover current expenditure functions, including an analysis of whether there are unfunded mandates, and if so, identify the main contributing factors; and (iii) determine the balance between expenditures and revenues aiming primarily to assess whether the current revenue sources cover the estimated costs of the municipal services that are being provided, and draw the corresponding conclusions on the current municipal fiscal situation. Furthermore, this Economic and Sector Work (ESW) highlights the nature and magnitude of current fiscal imbalances across municipalities in the West Bank and Gaza.
Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the Settlements
(Washington, DC, 2004-06-23) World Bank
This report stresses that the deep economic crisis in the West Bank and Gaza threatens to impoverish and alienate a generation of young Palestinians. Moreover, today's economic crisis has been caused by restrictions on the movement of Palestinian people and goods, or 'closures', which the Government of Israel (GOI) regards as essential to protecting Israeli citizens from attacks by militants. Without a major reform of the closure regime, however, the Palestinian economy will not revive and Israel's security gains may not be sustainable. The report adds that Israel's Disengagement Plan of June 6 will have very little impact on the Palestinian economy and Palestinian livelihoods, since it only proposes a limited easing of closure. An easing of closures alone, though, will not attract investors back to the Palestinian economy. The review opines that with a freeing-up of the constraints on economic activity and committed Palestinian reform, an additional major donor effort would make a difference - it would enable the Palestinian economy to turn the corner. However, the alternative to this is stark. At the wrong end of the spectrum of possible outcomes is a Palestinian economy with unemployment levels of over 35 percent by 2006, and with poverty afflicting upwards of 55 and 70 percent in Gaza. The study points out that as for the settlement assets that Israel will leave behind, those in Gaza have considerable economic value, and in time can make a significant contribution - provided that Gaza's borders are opened for trade. Prospects for economic recovery will be enhanced if the US and the EU give adequate preference to Palestinian products to help boost exports.