Publication: Zambia : The Challenge of Competitiveness and Diversification
Loading...
Published
2003-01-10
ISSN
Date
2013-08-07
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This study was designed to go below the radar of Zambia's macroeconomic developments to examine trends, constraints, and opportunities in specific economic subsectors. It sought to build upon existing and planned analyses within the country in order to better understand: 1) the underlying bases for competitive advantage and disadvantage in the evolving Zambian economy; 2) the likely sustainability of those patterns of economic diversification which have already taken place; 3) what linkages have and have not been formed within the agricultural and mining sectors which might still be a basis for future growth; 4) the specific effects of certain macroeconomic developments and "external" events on different stakeholders and the types of responses they have made to these; and 5) what measures could be taken to improve competitiveness within the Zambian economy and accelerate future growth. The work was designed to complement on-going analytical work, especially by the Export Board of Zambia and the Zambia National Farmers Union, ans also complement on-going work to assess the constraints and opportunities facing Zambia's tourism sector. The present study draws upon available data, an updated analysis of agricultural production costs and profitability, and surveys of private agribusiness, non-traditional export, and mining (and mining-related companies. A parallel analysis was undertaken on the food and agricultural import demand into South Africa, a potential trade destination.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2003. Zambia : The Challenge of Competitiveness and Diversification. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14883 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Not Yet Up to Standard(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-07)The relative prosperity enjoyed by Uganda during the 1960s, based largely on the traditional exports of coffee, tea, cotton, and tobacco, was eroded by a devastating civil war over the period 1971 to 1985. The paper is based upon interviews with selected respondents, including government authorities, exporting companies, donors, and practitioner organizations, carried out in 2007 and 2008. The paper is divided into four sections. Section one provides a brief historical perspective on the emergence of the Ugandan fruit and vegetable export industry and examines the role played by different government and donor initiatives in the initial shaping of the sector, between the late 1980s and late 1990s. Section two highlights the strategic commercial approaches adopted by Ugandan exporting companies and farmers during the 2000s in response to past performance and in the face of evolving regulatory and market requirements, especially in the European Union. Section three examines the rationale for, means of support of, and apparent efficacy of a range of recent programs seeking to improve or sustain the competitiveness of Uganda's fruit and vegetable exports via improved compliance with regulatory or private standards. Lessons are drawn from this experience. Section four provides a brief set of general conclusions.Publication Methodology for Measuring Distortions to Agricultural Incentives(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-01)This paper outlines the methodological issues associated with the task of measuring that actual delivered direct protection or taxation to individual agricultural industries, as well as the direct protection or anti-protection to non-agricultural sectors. It begins with a guide to what elements in principle could be measured. There are two key purposes of the distortion estimates being generated by this project are: 1) to provide a long annual time series of indicators showing the extent to which price incentives faced by farmers and food consumers have been distorted directly and indirectly by own-government policies in all major developing, transition and high-income countries, and hence for the world as a whole; and 2) to attribute the price distortion estimates for each farm product to specific border or domestic policy measures, so they can serve as inputs into various types of partial and general equilibrium economic models for estimating the effects of those various policies on such things as national and international agricultural markets, farm value added, income inequality, poverty, and national, regional and global welfare.Publication Belarus - Industrial Performance Before and During the Global Crisis : Belarus Economic Policy Notes : Note No. 2(World Bank, 2010-06-25)This note attempts to analyze and tentatively answer these questions by focusing on the drivers of growth and productivity, labor markets and enterprise restructuring, as well as the state system of enterprise support, which is key to understanding the interplay between the state and the economy in Belarus. The period of analysis covers 2004-08 with appropriate references to the previous periods and comparisons with Russia and/or other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. The final section explores the Belarus's industrial performance in the period of the global crisis (late 2008-09) and reviews the government's policies that have been largely responsible for a relatively mild effect of the crisis on economic dynamics in the country. The analysis is based on the official statistics provided to the team by the National Statistics Committee (Belstat), National Bank, and various ministries, as well as statistics from other national and international statistical sources. In addition, the analysis benefited from the data provided by various enterprise surveys undertaken by the Research Institute by the Ministry of Economy (RIME) and from two sector case studies (in machinery and dairy sub-sectors). Belarus has weathered the crisis so far better than most of its neighbors, in part due to the government policies to boost domestic demand in a predominantly state-owned and controlled economy. This was achieved at a considerable macroeconomic cost. The country's ability to sustain possible future shocks declined, and macroeconomic risks increased. The crisis has further exposed risks associated with the Government of Belarus (GOB) practice of heavy reliance on administratively set targets for large and medium-size enterprises, especially targets for output and average wage growth.Publication Nigeria - An Economic Analysis of Natural Resources Sustainability for the Mining Sector Component(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-05)This report firstly presents an analysis of the Nigerian economy as the environment within which the solid minerals sector is situated. It discusses the economy in terms of its distinguishing characteristics, structure and related issues, such that the place of the sold minerals sector can be appreciated. An examination of policy issues and economic reforms to aid the development process is also presented. This study, carried out between February and April 2007, specifically addresses the prospects of developing an industrial mining sector in Nigeria. The current mining sector is dominated by small-scale operations, working below their full potential and literally scratching the surface. Preliminary investigations indicated a lack of up to date information on deposits and lack of microeconomic information on the feasibility of extraction. The study is considered to be important from two different perspectives. First, solid mineral resources are economically, socially and environmentally crucial for Nigeria. There are key knowledge gaps in the sector. In addition the utilization of solid mineral resources is well aligned with the Bank's country partnership strategy, which is placing a strong focus on nonoil growth sectors of the economy. The other perspective comes from the environmental sector; the Bank has just completed the CEA (Country Environmental Analysis) and the idea is to continue the policy dialogue with the mining sector, and to help strengthen its links to the economic sectors where the environment is important. This study provides a major opportunity to carry this out. The primary objective of the study is to assess the prospects of an industrial mining sector emerging in Nigeria given what is known about the country's geology and mineral endowment as well as economic, institutional and other factors.Publication Botswana Development Policy Review(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-09)Botswana has been one of the most successful countries in the developing world over the last 40 years by many measures. Incomes have grown at a sustained pace, poverty has fallen, and the citizenry has become more educated. To be sure, poverty and income inequalities remain a problem, but rising standards of living have meant a better life for this generation of Batswana than any before it. The question facing the country leadership is whether this commendable performance can be sustained into the next generation. There are clouds on the horizon that cannot be ignored. Diamond earnings, the life blood of decades of prosperity, have flattened out. In per capita terms they are falling. Moreover, because revenues from diamonds going to the public sector have been falling for more than a decade, a growth model predicated upon an ever expanding state presence is not viable. Diamond earnings accruing to the state for subsequent redistribution have peaked. Employment and wages in the public sector have reached their natural limits as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); recycling revenues from mining into the private sector, either directly or through the financial sector, has been inefficient with low social returns; and redistributive mechanisms to support social safety nets are also likely be approaching their limits. The country confronts the challenge of looking for new sources of growth outside of government.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.