Publication: Mauritania - Regulatory Reform, Market Performance and Poverty Reduction : The Imperative for Reform
Loading...
Date
2003-06-25
ISSN
Published
2003-06-25
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Regulatory reform in all its aspects--deregulation, re-regulation, simplification, and building new institutional capacities for developing and applying high quality market rules--should be integrated throughout Mauritania's efforts to generate the growth and market development needed to combat poverty, improve standards of living, and lay the foundation for a sustainable development. This report identifies practical reforms to regulatory policies, institutions, and processes that can help accelerate economic growth in Mauritania and bring its regulatory practices closer to good international practices. Recommendations fall into three broad categories: 1) use regulatory reform and coordination to enlarge and deepen Mauritania's internal, regional, and international markets in order to stimulate investment and competition; 2) improve public sector capacities to design and apply market-oriented regulation that is transparent, efficient, and neutral; and 3) as the market develops, promote attention to competition principles by clarifying the role of government intervention and focusing on market abuses.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2003. Mauritania - Regulatory Reform, Market Performance and Poverty Reduction : The Imperative for Reform. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14630 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Mauritania - Policy Options to Enhance Private Sector Development : Country Economic Memorandum(World Bank, 2010-04-01)Mauritania has undergone massive economic and political changes. Mauritania is a West African country located on the western edge of the Sahara desert, with a population of approximately 3 million people that is mostly concentrated in the urban areas. Since independence in the 1960s, Mauritania's economy has been dependent on natural resources, iron ore first then combined with fisheries, and presently oil and other minerals. Natural resources exploitation and more recently oil discovery boosted Mauritania's rate of economic growth, but key challenges remain, in particular the promotion of productive value-adding activities and the creation of a strong, formal class of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Government of Mauritania recognizes the strategic role of the private sector and the urgency of supporting SME development as a catalyst for long-term growth. In the Second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (GPRSP-II), the Mauritanian authorities indicated that accelerating economic growth will be based on: (i) optimizing spinoff effects from developing the oil business and implementing more effective policies for harnessing the growth potential of other promising sectors; (ii) a thorough reform of the financial system; (iii) significant improvement in the business climate and the development of SMEs; and (iv) giving a greater economic and land-use planning dimension to the infrastructure that supports growth (World Bank, 2006). Furthermore, the authorities identified several priorities to improve the business climate and promotion of SMEs, as follows: (i) improving the legal environment for businesses; (ii) fighting anti-competitive practices; (iii) making tax and customs policies more favorable to business; and (iv) institutional support for the development of trade and commerce. This country economic memorandum (CEM) examines the four most constraining factors to private sector development and proposes the formulation of practical solutions to enable the emergence of a strong class of formal private firms. Specifically, to accelerate growth and to attain the four strategic GPRSP II objectives - (i) optimize spinoff effects; (ii) reform financial system; (iii) improve the business climate and the development of SMEs; and (iv) improve business enabling infrastructure), the CEM analyses the role of taxation to promote firm formalization; skills development to enhance labor productivity; competition policy as a way to address anticompetitive market conduct; and the options for establishing special economic zones as instruments to close infrastructure gaps and promote investment climate reforms.Publication Unleashing Russia's Business Potential : Lessons from the Regions for Building Market Institutions(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-03)This analyzes, based on more than seventy company case studies across 13 Russian regions during the spring, summer, and fall of 2000, and the summer of 2001, examines four key issues that Russian firms face in carrying out business transactions in Russia's regional markets: 1) the state of enterprise competition; 2) the regulatory regime governing the delivery of infrastructure services (with a focus on the telecom, and Internet sector); 3) the sources, and use of corporate finance; and, 4) the efficacy of the court system in fostering the settlement of commercial disputes. The study formulates policy recommendations for each of the areas analyzed. In so doing, it sheds light on salient inter-regional differences in existing policy frameworks, and in the structure, and nature of the country's enterprise sector, as well as on how regional governments, and firms both respond to, and shape these differences. The study also highlights the evolution of inter-regional policy, and economic changes over time, assessing the extent to which, two years after the 1998 crisis, enterprise restructuring at the local level, has been affected by the devaluation of the ruble.Publication Republic of Tunisia - Private Sector Assessment Update : Meeting the Challenge of Globalization, Volume 1. Executive Summary and Proposed Reform Agenda(Washington, DC, 2000-12-14)This private sector assessment (PSA) aims at evaluating conditions for private sector development in Tunisia, how they evolved since 1994, and what are the remaining constraints to private investment. It lays out an elaborate framework, placing private sector development in Tunisia, within the context of global economic integration, while facing increased competition from international competitors (particularly those accessing the European market). The analysis of characteristics, and performance of the private sector reveals that although traditionally, Tunisian exports to Europe have been strong, they are now challenged by competition from Asian, and Central/Eastern European countries, a factor exacerbated by the continued anti-export bias of the domestic economy, in light of other countries' rapid investment incentives, which enable private activity to access the opening European market. Thus, improved competitiveness in the country is a major issue. The report proposes reforms in incentives for private sector growth, and in governance; discusses the need, and measures to expand financial access for small/medium enterprises; and proposes options to lay the foundation of a long-term private sector growth strategy. The report contains three volumes, the Executive Summary, and Proposed Reform Agenda; the Main Report; and, Annexes.Publication Services Trade and Growth(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-01)The competitiveness of firms in open economies is increasingly determined by access to low-cost and high-quality producer services - telecommunications, transport and distribution services, financial intermediation, etc. This paper discusses the role of services in economic growth, focusing in particular on channels through which openness to trade in services may increase productivity at the level of the economy as a whole, industries and the firm. The authors explore what recent empirical work suggests could be done to enhance comparative advantage in the production and export of services and how to design policy reforms to open services markets to greater foreign participation in a way that ensures not just greater efficiency but also greater equity in terms of access to services.Publication China's Information Revolution : Managing the Economic and Social Transformation(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2007)This report presents a comprehensive overview of the information, communication and technological sector in China, and the role it has played during economic and social transformation in the past decade. It provides guidance on the kind of reforms policy makers in China may wish to consider in pursuing the country's quest for continued ICT development. It also combines local perspectives with international experiences on how issues in areas such as legal and regulatory environment, telecommunications infrastructures, and IT industry have been addressed by other countries.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.Publication Economic Recovery(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-06)World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the world facing major challenges, including COVID, climate change, rising poverty and inequality and growing fragility and violence in many countries. He highlighted vaccines, working closely with Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF, the World Bank has conducted over one hundred capacity assessments, many even more before vaccines were available. The World Bank Group worked to achieve a debt service suspension initiative and increased transparency in debt contracts at developing countries. The World Bank Group is finalizing a new climate change action plan, which includes a big step up in financing, building on their record climate financing over the past two years. He noted big challenges to bring all together to achieve GRID: green, resilient, and inclusive development. Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned focusing on vulnerable people during the pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on giving everyone a fair shot during a sustainable recovery. All three commented on the importance of tackling climate change.Publication Media and Messages for Nutrition and Health(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06)The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the past decade. However, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of childhood undernutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Media have the potential to play an important role in shaping health and nutrition–related behaviors and practices as well as in promoting sociocultural and economic development that might contribute to improved nutritional outcomes. This report presents the results of a media audit (MA) that was conducted to inform the development and production of mass media advocacy and communication strategies and materials with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition that would reach the most people from the poorest communities in northern Lao PDR. Making more people aware of useful information, essential services and products and influencing them to use these effectively is the ultimate goal of mass media campaigns, and the MA measures the potential effectiveness of media efforts to reach this goal. The effectiveness of communication channels to deliver health and nutrition messages to target beneficiaries to ensure maximum reach and uptake can be viewed in terms of preferences, satisfaction, and trust. Overall, the four most accessed media channels for receiving information among communities in the study areas were village announcements, mobile phones, television, and out-of-home (OOH) media. Of the accessed media channels, the top three most preferred channels were village announcements (40 percent), television (26 percent), and mobile phones (19 percent). In terms of trust, village announcements were the most trusted source of information (64 percent), followed by mobile phones (14 percent) and television (11 percent). Hence of all the media channels, village announcements are the most preferred, have the most satisfied users, and are the most trusted source of information in study communities from four provinces in Lao PDR with some of the highest burden of childhood undernutrition.Publication Remarks at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-12)World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed biodiversity and climate change being closely interlinked, with terrestrial and marine ecosystems serving as critically important carbon sinks. At the same time climate change acts as a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. The World Bank has financed biodiversity conservation around the world, including over 116 million hectares of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 10 million hectares of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and over 300 protected habitats, biological buffer zones and reserves. The COVID pandemic, biodiversity loss, climate change are all reminders of how connected we are. The recovery from this pandemic is an opportunity to put in place more effective policies, institutions, and resources to address biodiversity loss.Publication South Asia Development Update, April 2024: Jobs for Resilience(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-02)South Asia is expected to continue to be the fastest-growing emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) region over the next two years. This is largely thanks to robust growth in India, but growth is also expected to pick up in most other South Asian economies. However, growth in the near-term is more reliant on the public sector than elsewhere, whereas private investment, in particular, continues to be weak. Efforts to rein in elevated debt, borrowing costs, and fiscal deficits may eventually weigh on growth and limit governments' ability to respond to increasingly frequent climate shocks. Yet, the provision of public goods is among the most effective strategies for climate adaptation. This is especially the case for households and farms, which tend to rely on shifting their efforts to non-agricultural jobs. These strategies are less effective forms of climate adaptation, in part because opportunities to move out of agriculture are limited by the region’s below-average employment ratios in the non-agricultural sector and for women. Because employment growth is falling short of working-age population growth, the region fails to fully capitalize on its demographic dividend. Vibrant, competitive firms are key to unlocking the demographic dividend, robust private investment, and workers’ ability to move out of agriculture. A range of policies could spur firm growth, including improved business climates and institutions, the removal of financial sector restrictions, and greater openness to trade and capital flows.