Publication: Tanzania Economic Update, April 2017: Money Within Reach - Extending Financial Inclusion in Tanzania
Loading...
Date
2017-04
ISSN
Published
2017-04
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
In 2016, the global economic environment remained subdued, with growth performance in Sub-Saharan Africa the weakest in over 20 years. Economic conditions across most advanced economies remained challenging, while emerging and developing economies as a whole are set to maintain their growth momentum. However, there is a lot of variation between developing countries. Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa slowed down significantly, dropping from an average real GDP growth rate of 4.5 percent in the 2010-15 period to an estimated 1.5 percent in 2016, the lowest rate in more than two decades. The decline in the region's average growth rate is the result of a number of factors, most notably the ongoing adjustments to sluggish commodity prices, the slowdown in export demand, and the tightening of global financial conditions. In the context of these developments, the ninth edition of the Tanzania Economic Update describes the current state of the economy, with the special topic focusing on financial inclusion. The report aims to stimulate policy analysis and debate around the key economic and development challenges that Tanzania faces as it strives to fulfill its aspirations of becoming a middle-income country. In addition to describing key aspects of macroeconomic performance and fiscal management, the report presents a timely analysis of the impact of financial sector deepening on economic activity and on the livelihoods of Tanzanians.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank Group. 2017. Tanzania Economic Update, April 2017: Money Within Reach - Extending Financial Inclusion in Tanzania. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26393 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Rwanda Economic Update, April 2011(Washington, DC, 2011-04)The current edition of the Rwanda economic update is titled seeds for higher growth and specially features the agriculture sector. The importance of agriculture's contribution to growth in Rwanda remains considerable, despite the emergence of other significant growth drivers, such as services. Rwanda's agriculture sector will play an essential role in attaining the country's development vision of sustainable growth and increased poverty reduction, due to its employment weight. The agriculture feature of this update edition outlines key channels through which agriculture contributes to the economy. The second part of the update provides the regular overview of recent macroeconomic developments. While the special feature on agriculture will analyze the evolving role of the sector over the past five years, the second part on recent economic developments will focus on events during 2010.Publication Afghanistan Economic Update, April 2014(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-04)Economic growth slowed considerably to 3.6 percent (estimated) in 2013 despite robust agricultural production, as heightened uncertainty surrounding the political and security transition led to a slump in investor and consumer confidence. Growth is projected to remain weak in 2014, while a smooth political and security transition would help restore confidence in the economy and enable a pickup in growth in 2015. Revenue collection continued to weaken in 2013, while Afghanistan's large security expenditure obligations and high aid dependence pose the risk of crowding out important civilian operating and development spending. Domestic revenues declined to 9.5 percent of GDP in 2013 from 10.3 percent in 2012 and the peak of 11.6 percent in 2011. The decline in revenue collections is a result of the economic slowdown as well as weaknesses in enforcement in both tax and customs administration. In light of tight resources, austerity measures in 2013 disproportionately affected civilian expenditures as security expenditures have continued to grow. A concerted effort will be required going forward to improve revenue mobilization, while at the same time safeguarding important civilian spending. In addition to managing the transition related uncertainty and underperformance, Afghanistan will need to stay focused on its medium term structural reform goals, which include: (i) ensuring fiscal sustainability by mobilizing revenue, securing grant assistance, and safeguarding non-security expenditures; (ii) supporting inclusive and job-creating private-sector led growth by unlocking the potential of the agriculture, services, and natural resource sectors and by tapping the potential of regional integration; (iii) continuing to improve upon the still low levels of human capital and skills; and (iv) continuing to strengthen institutions and governance.Publication Afghanistan Economic Update, April 2013(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-04)One year into the transition process, Afghanistan sustains robust economic growth. An exceptional harvest, supported by the launch of first large-scale mining activities, increased real gross domestic product (GDP) growth from 7.3 percent to an estimated 11.8 percent in 2012. Inflation dropped to 6.4 percent and continuing high levels of aid helped to build up further international reserves. The medium-term outlook is tainted by uncertainty. Political and security uncertainties are expected to limit private-sector growth in the coming years. Increased public spending, however, will continue to fuel demand for services and construction through 2013. The transition process exposes Afghanistan to a number of serious risks, such as rising financing for public service provision. Security considerations aside, promoting sources of inclusive economic growth, especially agriculture, and strengthening domestic revenue mobilization will be important to mitigate some of these risks. In particular, a stronger reform effort in areas such as tax policy and customs is required to safeguard past gains in development. Finally, improvements in the legal and regulatory environment of mining could help to secure planned investment.Publication Tanzania Economic Update : Opening the Gates - How the Port of Dar es Salaam Can Transform Tanzania(Washington, DC, 2013-05)The wide media coverage of the series as well as the interest in the blog show that the debate has been gradually moving from ministerial corridors to the public arena. This latest update foresees that the Tanzanian economy will maintain its resilience by continuing to grow at about 7 percent in the coming years. If some clouds are looming on the external and fiscal horizons, the update argues that the risks they pose should be manageable. The majority of the country s top 100 mid-size enterprises believe that 2013 will be better than 2012; and 2014 better than 2013. Nevertheless, a growing consensus today is that Tanzania needs to rely more than today on private enterprises to achieve faster and more equitable growth, as private enterprises are the ones that can provide jobs, build infrastructure, and bring new technology to the local economy. Many actions are needed on the policy front, especially to improve the business environment. Tanzania has gradually opened its economy since the early 2000s; it is also true that business coming in and going out of the country remains costly. To reduce trade costs, the priority should be to transform the Port of Dar es Salaam. An efficient port is critical because approximately 90 percent of Tanzania s international trade goes through its gates. This is a welcome development for local and regional consumers and firms that heavily depend on the performance of the port in their daily endeavors.Publication Senegal Economic Update, December 2014 : Learning from the Past for a Better Future(Washington, DC, 2014-12)Gross domestic product (GDP) growth was a disappointing 3.5 percent in 2013. It remained largely unchanged compared to 2012, reflecting a decline in cereal production and stagnation in the industrial sector. Services continue to drive the economy. The economic outlook for 2014 was more positive, but poor rainfall and the Ebola outbreak have forced downward revisions in GDP growth projections, now expected to reach 4.5 percent. The plan Senegal emergent aims to break with this trend, with a welcome focus on higher economic growth. However, its ambitions may exceed available resources and will likely depend on accelerated reforms and a strong private sector response. This first economic update begins with an overview of the macroeconomic situation in Senegal, starting with a review of 2013 before examining the initial results of 2014. After a brief look at the challenges posed by unemployment and poverty, the report turns to an assessment of the growth strategy. It presents analysis of past performance since 1990 in order to understand better what needs to be done differently. The report concludes with a few recommendations.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Africa's Future, Africa's Challenge : Early Childhood Care and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)This book seeks to achieve a balance, describing challenges that are being faced as well as developments that are underway. It seeks a balance in terms of the voices heard, including not just voices of the North commenting on the South, but voices from the South, and in concert with the North. It seeks to provide the voices of specialists and generalists, of those from international and local organizations, from academia and the field. It seeks a diversity of views and values. Such diversity and complexity are the reality of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) today. The major focus of this book is on SSA from the Sahel south. Approximately 130 million children between birth and age 6 live in SSA. Every year 27 million children are born, and every year 4.7 million children under age 5 die. Rates of birth and of child deaths are consistently higher in SSA than in any other part of the world; the under-5 mortality rate of 163 per 1,000 is twice that of the rest of the developing world and 30 times that of industrialized countries (UNICEF 2006). Of the children who are born, 65 percent will experience poverty, 14 million will be orphans affected by HIV/AIDS directly and within their families and one-third will experience exclusion because of their gender or ethnicity.Publication World Development Report 1984(New York: Oxford University Press, 1984)Long-term needs and sustained effort are underlying themes in this year's report. As with most of its predecessors, it is divided into two parts. The first looks at economic performance, past and prospective. The second part is this year devoted to population - the causes and consequences of rapid population growth, its link to development, why it has slowed down in some developing countries. The two parts mirror each other: economic policy and performance in the next decade will matter for population growth in the developing countries for several decades beyond. Population policy and change in the rest of this century will set the terms for the whole of development strategy in the next. In both cases, policy changes will not yield immediate benefits, but delay will reduce the room for maneuver that policy makers will have in years to come.Publication Ten Steps to a Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation System : A Handbook for Development Practitioners(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004)An effective state is essential to achieving socio-economic and sustainable development. With the advent of globalization, there are growing pressures on governments and organizations around the world to be more responsive to the demands of internal and external stakeholders for good governance, accountability and transparency, greater development effectiveness, and delivery of tangible results. Governments, parliaments, citizens, the private sector, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society, international organizations, and donors are among the stakeholders interested in better performance. As demands for greater accountability and real results have increased, there is an attendant need for enhanced results-based monitoring and evaluation of policies, programs, and projects. This handbook provides a comprehensive ten-step model that will help guide development practitioners through the process of designing and building a results-based monitoring and evaluation system. These steps begin with a 'readiness assessment' and take the practitioner through the design, management, and importantly, the sustainability of such systems. The handbook describes each step in detail, the tasks needed to complete each one, and the tools available to help along the way.Publication World Development Report 2017(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017-01-30)Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? This book addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform.Publication Tanzania(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06)This study aims to achieve a better understanding of the agricultural risk and risk management situation in Tanzania with a view to identifying key solutions to reduce current gross domestic product (GDP) growth volatility. For the purpose of this assessment, risk is defined as the probability that an uncertain event will occur that can potentially produce losses to participants along the supply chain. Persistence of unmanaged risks in agriculture is a cause of great economic losses for farmers and other actors along the supply chains (for example, traders, processors, and exporters), affecting export earnings and food security. The agricultural sector risk assessment is a straightforward methodology based on a three-phase sequential process. Phase analyzes the chronological occurrence of inter-seasonal agricultural risks with a view to identify and prioritize the risks that are the drivers of agricultural GDP volatility. This report contains the findings and recommendations of the first phase and includes the identification, analysis, and prioritization of major risks facing the agricultural sector in Tanzania, as well as recommendations regarding key solutions. Chapter one gives introduction and context. Chapter two contains an overview of the agricultural sector and its performance, as well as a discussion of key agro-climatic, weather, and policy restrictions and opportunities. Chapter three includes an assessment of major risks (that is, production, market, and enabling environment risks) facing key export and food crops. Chapter four presents an estimate of historical losses due to realized production risks and a correlation of such losses with production volatility. Chapter five provides insights into the exposure to risks by different stakeholders and their actual capacities, vulnerabilities, and potential to manage agricultural risks. Chapter six presents a risk prioritization by different supply chains and discusses the possible solutions, as well as specific recommendations for the agricultural sector development program (ASDP).