Sector/Thematic Studies
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Economic and Sectoral Work are original analytic reports authored by the World Bank and intended to influence programs and policy in client countries. They convey Bank-endorsed recommendations and represent the formal opinion of a World Bank unit on the topic. This set includes the sectoral and thematic studies which are not Core Diagnostic Studies. Other analytic and advisory activities (AAA), including technical assistance studies, are included in these sectoral/thematic collections.
Sub-collections of this Collection
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Country Gender Assessment -
Recent Economic Development in Infrastructure -
Emerging Technologies -
Energy Study -
Energy-Environment Review -
Equitable Growth, Finance & Institutions Insight -
Debt and Creditworthiness Study -
General Economy, Macroeconomics, and Growth Study -
Legal and Judicial Sector Assessment -
Gender Innovation Lab Federation Causal Evidence Series
Items in this collection
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Publication
Collection of Policy Notes for the New Somali Government: Unlocking Somalia’s Potential to Stabilize, Grow and Prosper
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2022-06)The arrival of a new government provides an opportunity to reinvigorate the reform agenda to deliver inclusive growth for the Somali people. Since the establishment of the Provisional Constitution in 2012, Somalia has made commendable progress on many fronts. Macroeconomic stability has been maintained, high levels of indebtedness are being addressed through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, several sector laws and institutions have been established, and a poverty reduction strategy paper has been developed – the ninth National Development Plan (NDP9). However, much remains to be done and the time has come to mark the next milestone in Somalia’s development trajectory through advancing reforms anchored in the HIPC process. The objective of the collection of policy notes is to provide sector-specific policy advice for the leadership of the new government, drawing on the expertise of the World Bank Group. This overview chapter synthesizes the advice across the sector policy notes and is organized in four sections. The first section outlines the current context. The second section presents the framework for organizing the policy notes. The third section summarizes the advice, and the fourth section concludes. -
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Somalia Economic Update, June 2022: Investing in Social Protection to Boost Resilience for Economic Growth
(Washington, DC, 2022-06)Somalia is currently experiencing extreme and widespread drought which has been assessed as an unprecedented climatic event not seen in at least 40 years by meteorological agencies and humanitarian partners. After four consecutive seasons of poor rains, 90 percent of the country is experiencing severe drought conditions that include failed crop harvests, widespread water shortages, and decline in livestock production. The drought has intensified the humanitarian crisis and is driving the country into a brink of famine. Significant displacement of people is occurring as they abandoned their homes in search of food, water, and pasture for their livestock. The situation is being exacerbated by the war in Ukraine which has pushed up global food and oil prices. The higher commodity prices are disproportionally affecting the poor and exacerbating inequality. Against this challenging backdrop, the seventh edition of the World Bank’s Somalia Economic Update provides a detailed update of recent economic developments and growth outlook and makes a case for investing in Social Protection to help confront the frequent shocks that buffet the country. Overall, the Economic Update series aims to contribute to policymaking process and stimulate national dialogue on topical issues related to economic recovery and development. -
Publication
South Sudan Economic Monitor, February 2022: Towards a Jobs Agenda
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-02-16)South Sudan faced significant headwinds in FY2020/21, with the pandemic, floods, and violence flareups affecting economic activities. Consequently, the economy is estimated to have contracted by 5.4 percent in FY2020/21. Oil production declined by 5.9 percent as floods affected production and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed new investments to replace exhausted wells. In the agriculture sector, flooding precipitated estimated losses of 38,000 tons of cereals (4.3% of 2020 production) and 800,000 livestock according to FAO estimates. The overall cereal deficit was projected to reach 465,610 metric tons in 2021, equivalent to about 35 percent of the overall food requirement for the year, sustaining high levels of food insecurity. Living conditions continue to be impacted by violence, displacement, and inadequate access to basic services. With improving macroeconomic conditions supported by an ongoing macro-fiscal reform program, a modest growth rebound of 1.2 percent is projected in FY2021/22. Nevertheless, poverty levels are expected to remain exceptionally high. As the economy recovers from multiple shocks, a focus on policy options to stimulate the creation of a sufficient number of quality jobs to absorb a young and expanding labor force should take center stage. Economies that create jobs, particularly for the youth, are generally more stable and can elevate public confidence in the Government’s capacity to deliver. In South Sudan, an effective jobs support program would invest in immediate livelihood support, the recovery of modest business activities, and the revival of markets. -
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Rwanda Economic Update, January 2022, Edition No. 18: Boosting Regional Integration in the Post-COVID Era
(World Bank, Kigali, 2022-01)Global economic growth has picked up in 2021 and has now surpassed its pre-pandemic level. The National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) has maintained an accommodative monetary stance and other measures to support the recovery, taking advantage of low inflation. The government’s continued fiscal expansion is also providing support to the economy. Regional integration offers significant benefits for Rwanda, including greater potential for scale economies, opportunities for learning to export and produce higher-quality goods, and cooperation to improve trade facilitation. Regional trade will be enhanced by boosting trade with non- East African Community (EAC) members. The African continental free trade area (AfCFTA) can boost growth and trade integration. The development of Rwanda as a regional logistics hub, serving as an intermediating node between the East and Central Africa regions offers prospects to increase revenues and generate efficiency gains through the concentration of logistics services. The white paper on logistics and distribution services strategy for Rwanda, prepared with the support of the World Bank, laid out a two-phase strategy for the rollout of Rwanda as regional logistic hub. This involved: (i) improving the efficiency of Rwanda’s role as a land-bridge for re-exports to Goma in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and (ii) establishing a regional logistics hub in Rwanda linked to a primary multi-modal hub at Kisangani and a secondary multi-modal hub at Kindu. -
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Uganda Economic Update, 18th Edition, December 2021: Putting Women at the Center of Uganda’s Economic Revival
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-12)Uganda’s economy was recovering well, up until the second wave of COVID-19 infections and subsequent lockdown in mid-2021. Since then, activity has rebounded – much like after the first lockdown – but the country is likely to still face a stop-start recovery until there is wider coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine. Notwithstanding this recovery, there has been a rise in poverty and – with the shift back to agriculture for some workers – an increase in household vulnerabilities. We have also seen a widening of inequalities, which have been most severe in the education sector, where schools have now been fully or partially closed for longer than any other country in the world. As a result, Uganda has a long way to go in its quest to build-back-better. Eighteenth Uganda Economic Update includes the special topic of Putting Women at the Center of Uganda’s Economic Revival. In line with the structure of earlier editions of the Uganda Economic Update series, this report reviews recent economic developments – with particular attention paid to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – provides an outlook for the macro-economy, and then delves into the special topic. -
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Chad 2021 Economic Update: Recovering from Shocks – Improving Macro-Fiscal Sustainability to Rebuild Better
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-20)The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted Chad’s economic recovery, which started in 2018. GDP contracted by 0.9 percent in 2020. Agriculture and the oil sector remained the main drivers of growth, contributing 1.1 percentage points, while services contracted (contributing -2.0 percent). The impact of containment measures on domestic supply chains pushed up prices, and inflation rose from -1.0 percent in 2019 to 3.5 percent in 2020. Both the fiscal and current account balances deteriorated substantially, and difficulties in financing fiscal deficit may have led to further domestic arrears’ buildup. Given the lack of fiscal space and large financing requirements, bold actions are needed. In this regard, the government could first strengthen economic diversification to enlarge the fiscal base, by removing bottlenecks to livestock exports, adopting business-friendly reform to support the private sector, and strengthening fiscal administration and policy for better revenue collection. Second, the government could improve its spending efficiency to deliver quality service under declining resources by enhancing the selection process, the planning and designing of investment projects, and improving public spending efficiency in health and education. Finally, the government should improve debt sustainability by strengthening its management and transparency. -
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Republic of Congo Economic Update, 8th Editon: Living in Times of COVID-19
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10)The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a relatively modest toll on human lives in the Republic of Congo according to official data but has exacerbated an already fragile Congolese economy. As of September 28, 2021, the Republic of Congo has had 14,244 confirmed cases and 193 deaths, corresponding to a mortality rate of 3.4 per 100,000 population against the global rate of about 60.5. The relative low number of COVID-19 tests performed thus far in the country and findings from seroprevalence studies suggest that the true number of infections may be far higher than the number of confirmed cases. The Congolese economy is estimated to have contracted by 7.9 percent in 2020 compared to a pre-pandemicforecast of a positive growth rate of 4.6 percent, the sixth consecutive year of recession. The Congolese Government took early measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Mobility across the country was restricted to essential goods and services. -
Publication
Niger Spring 2021 Economic Update: Maximizing Public Expenditure Efficiency for Rebuilding Better
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-07-14)The ongoing health and security crisis have partly undermined the benefits from past years of strengthening economic growth. Sustaining an upward trend over the recent years, real growth stood at 5.9 percent in 2019. However, it fell to 3.6 percent in 2020, because of the pandemic and increasingly violent terrorist attacks. Inflation increased to 3.4 percent in 2020, triggered by supply disruptions and speculative behaviors, combined with food shortages. The economy is projected to rebound in 2021, growing at 5.5 percent, with the reopening of the border with Nigeria and the resumption of large investment projects and a normalization of other supply chains. The large import content of these projects will cause the current account deficit to widen further while completion of the main oil pipeline by 2023 should boost revenue and exports over the medium term. However, GDP per capita in 2021 will be only 1 percent higher than in 2019. Addressing inefficient management of a universal fertilizer subsidy program could generate fiscal savings of 0.15 percent of GDP. Until September 2020 fertilizers were sold by Central Agricultural Input and Equipment Supply Agency (CAIMA) and were on average half universally subsidized without targeting specific farmers or crops. The system was characterized by large inefficiencies, including inefficient fertilizer acquisition cost, incapacity to meet the demand and rising operating expenses. After having removed the management of fertilizers from Caima’s mandate, it is important that the Government finalize the ongoing work with development partners for a fertilizers reform that allows a better targeting the subsidies and gives a greater role for the private sector in the fertilizers supply and distribution. -
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Tanzania Economic Update, July 2021: Transforming Tourism - Toward a Sustainable, Resilient, and Inclusive Sector
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-07)The pandemic severely disrupted economic activity in Tanzania, and the World Bank’s latest firm-level data suggest that the situation had only modestly improved by the end of 2020. New data sources show that COVID-19 continues to weigh heavily on employment and income. Data for the first quarter of 2021 suggest that recovery remains fragile and uneven across sectors, but economic activity could accelerate in the second half of 2021. The tourism-dependent economy of Zanzibar has been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Tanzania’s macroeconomic framework remains sound, with low inflation and moderate external and fiscal vulnerabilities. -
Publication
Central African Republic Economic Update, July 2021: Investing in Human Capital to Protect the Future
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-07)The economy of the Central African Republic (CAR) decelerated in 2020 compared to 2019. Despite a relatively contained health impact, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on the country’s economy, with the disruption in global value chains, low external demand, and domestic containment measures that significantly affected trade, transport, and tourism. Nevertheless, CAR’s GDP growth of 0.8 percent has outpaced the average of regional peers (−2.9 percent) and countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence (FCV) (−1.7 percent). On the supply side, the positive dynamic of the agriculture sector prevented the economy from entering a recession, and the forestry and telecommunications sectors were more resilient than expected. On the demand side, private consumption contracted in 2020, reflecting a decline in household income owing to the pandemic. As a result, the extreme poverty rate increased from 70.7 percent in 2019 to 71.4 percent, affecting a total of more than 3.4 million people, in 2020. CAR’s current account balance (CAD) deteriorated in 2020. The current account deficit widened from 4.8 percent of GDP in 2019 to 8.7 percent of GDP in 2020, driven by weak external demand and private transfers as well as an increased deficit of the balance on goods. With the COVID-19 pandemic, goods exports declined while non-oil imports were boosted by donor-funded investments. CAR’s current account deficit is not expected to be as severe as that of comparator FCV, CEMAC, and Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The capital account balance improved significantly in 2020 due to the rise in external grants, while the financial account surplus shifted into a deficit. The improvement in the capital account has helped narrow the balance of payments deficit and increasing foreign reserves, which reached a level equivalent to about 3.5 months imports at end-2020.