Publication: Repuplic of Liberia From Growth to Development: Priorities for Sustainably Reducing Poverty and Achieving Middle-Income Status by 2030
Loading...
Date
2018-04
ISSN
Published
2018-04
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Liberia’s status as a fragile state is deeply rooted in the political and economic exclusion practiced by the country’s founders. Although they constituted just 5 percent of the population, freed American slaves and their descendants dominated the country’s intellectual and ruling class from 1847 to 1990. While Liberia’s sixteen indigenous ethnic groups4 comprise over 90 percent of the population, the country’s political system was created to protect the small minority of settlers rather than to promote inclusive development or advance the public interest. Property rights were extremely limited, and administrative power was both centralized in Monrovia and concentrated in the executive branch. Political accountability was minimal, the country’s resources were exclusively controlled by its political and economic elite, and infrastructure and basic social services were largely unavailable outside of a few major cities. This unbalanced development pattern gave rise to vast disparities in power and wealth between rural and urban areas. Wealth inequality exacerbated ethnic and class rivalries, leading to a coup d’état in 1980 followed by two devastating civil wars. These conflicts claimed over 300,000 lives and caused the complete collapse of both the state and the economy, derailing Liberia’s development and compounding its already severe institutional and governance challenges.In 2012, the government of Liberia published its national strategic vision, Liberia Rising 2030. This plan is designed to enable Liberia to achieve middle-income country (MIC) status1 by 2030 through peaceful and inclusive politics, stable institutions, economic diversification, and accelerated human capital formation. The Agenda for Transformation, a medium-term development plan for 2013–17, attempted to advance the government’s vision by focusing on Liberia’s primary development challenges of consolidating peace and security, developing the manufacturing and service sectors, investing in human capital, improving the quality of governance, and strengthening public institutions. In line with the government’s objectives, this Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) explores the various challenges facing Liberia as it strives to achieve MIC status by 2030.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank Group. 2018. Repuplic of Liberia From Growth to Development: Priorities for Sustainably Reducing Poverty and Achieving Middle-Income Status by 2030. Systematic Country Diagnostic;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29880 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 Democratic Republic of Congo Systematic Country Diagnostic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03)The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a classic example of the paradox of plenty, since the country is extremely rich in natural resources while its population is extremely poor. It is the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with a total surface area of about 234 million hectares (equivalent to the size of Western Europe). Poverty in the DRC remains pervasive, and greater than the SSA average. About two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line. Chapter 2 of the systematic country diagnostic (SCD) shows that between 2005 and 2012 the proportion of people living below the poverty line declined from 69.3 percent to 64 percent, respectively. Demographic trends, reinforced by gender discrimination and lack of social policies, contributed to maintaining poverty at relatively high levels. The poor state of infrastructure is a major constraint on sustainable and inclusive growth in the country. The country’s weak institutions failed to build the foundations of a resilient economy and absorb external shocks, hence exposing the society to cycles of violence and impoverishment. The report identifies five major emerging opportunities and priority areas where policy actions can provide quick wins and build cumulative and virtuous cycles to sustain inclusive growth and foster resilience and shared prosperity over the next decade: (1) building the resilience of the macroeconomic framework; (2) building inclusive institutions and strengthening governance; (3) leveraging natural resources, infrastructure, and agriculture; (4) building human capital; and (5) leveraging the private sector by effectively implementing investment climate reforms, and strengthening institutions that support markets.Publication Globalization and Growth - Implications for a Post-Crisis World : Commission on Growth and Development(World Bank, 2010)The commission on growth and development was established in April 2006 as a response to two observations. While the author felt that the benefits of growth were not fully appreciated, the author recognized that the causes of growth were not fully understood. Growth is often overlooked and underrated as an instrument for tackling the world's most pressing problems, such as poverty, illiteracy, income inequality, unemployment, and pollution. At the same time, understanding of economic growth is less definitive than commonly thought, even though advice sometimes has been given to developing countries with greater confidence than perhaps the state of our knowledge will justify. Consequently, the commission's mandate was to 'take stock of the state of theoretical and empirical knowledge on economic growth with a view to drawing implications for policy for the current and next generation of policy makers.' This mandate has even more significance in the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis of 2008. As developing countries seek to repair the damage to their economies and to re-launch themselves on a sustained high-growth path, there has never been a greater need for fresh new ideas and approaches to achieving sustained high growth. There has been no dearth of commentary about what the crisis may mean, but in reality, until the bottom has been reached and the path to recovery is clear, it will be difficult to draw general lessons for the future. This collection of essays encompasses a variety of viewpoints and covers both medium- and long-term policy issues. It is said that more textbooks have become obsolete in 2009 than in any year since the great depression. As a corollary, much has been written that is worth reviewing in a volume on globalization. The papers look at the issue of globalization from diverse points of view and add insights and perspective to the recommendations of the growth report.Publication Learning from Developing Country Experience : Growth and Economic Thought Before and After the 2008–09 Crisis(2011-08-01)The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it documents the changing global landscape before and after the crisis, emphasizing the shift towards multipolarity. In particular, it emphasizes the ascent of developing countries in the global economy before, during, and after the crisis. Second, it explores what these global economic changes and the recent crisis imply for shifts in the direction of research in development economics. The paper places a particular emphasis on the lessons that developed countries can learn from the developing world.Publication Future Armenia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-11)Since its independence in 1991 and until prior to the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2008-09, Armenia was considered an important success story among the transition economies. Indeed, over several years, the country displayed a record of sustained macroeconomic achievements, reflected in high growth, economic stability, low inflation, and modest deficits and external debt, as well as falling poverty rates and shrinking income disparities. This Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) identifies four challenges for Armenia to reinvigorate inclusive growth and resilience. First, with far less supportive external circumstances, reigniting economic growth calls for asearch for new drivers and the rebalancing of growth toward the tradable sectors. Against this backdrop, the country’s low export performance and limited global multi-connectivity caused by high trade and transport facilitation costs are the first challenges to be addressed. Second, insufficient private sector productivity stands in the way of both higher growth and job creation. Firms, as the productive engines of the economy, appear constrained in their ability to lift productivity reforms, limited competition, and the need to deepen further financial development. Third, poverty reduction and shared prosperity, that is, the transmission of aggregate growth to individual wellbeing and poverty reduction, also seems constrained by labor market challenges: labor resources are shrinking, labor-force participation is low, and the country has one of the lowest employment and highest unemployment rates in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, whileworkers’ productivity has fallen. Learning outcomes seem to lag demand, both in terms of the level and type of skills that are sought by the market. Declining labor resources are compounded by low women participation in the labor market. Fourth, key vulnerabilities at the macroeconomic, environmental, and microeconomic levels are faced by Armenia in its quest for poverty reduction and shared prosperity. Armenia’s aging population will have a significant impact on health spending and on the pension system, and could, if not addressed, have major implications in terms of fiscal sustainability and poverty.Publication From the International Financial Crisis towards Inclusive Growth in the Dominican Republic(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2010-01-01)During the second half of the year 2008, the world experienced the worst worldwide economic crisis in over 70 years. The effects deriving from this crisis can still be felt over most of the planet. Low or negative economic growth in developed nations and emerging economies, high levels of unemployment and millions of persons below the poverty line, are some of the starkest examples. In the Dominican Republic, the effects of this international crisis are manifested in the reduction in international trade, the drop in tourism and in remittances, and an economic growth rate lower than expected. In this regard, the Dominican Republic asked the World Bank to prepare nine policy notes which are presented in this volume. These notes focus on the following topics: 1) long run economic growth in the Dominican Republic; 2) ease of doing business; 3) logistics for competitiveness; 4) access to financial services with emphasis on financing for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); 5) the electricity sector; 6) climate change and the Dominican Republic, 7) the health sector, 8) territorial development, and 9) accountability and performance system. The policy notes presented here argue that an inclusive development is possible in the Dominican Republic. However, great challenges must be faced to meet this goal. From the analysis presented in this volume four challenges emerge which must be faced head-on in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive development.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
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 Supporting Youth at Risk(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008)The World Bank has produced this policy Toolkit in response to a growing demand from our government clients and partners for advice on how to create and implement effective policies for at-risk youth. The author has highlighted 22 policies (six core policies, nine promising policies, and seven general policies) that have been effective in addressing the following five key risk areas for young people around the world: (i) youth unemployment, underemployment, and lack of formal sector employment; (ii) early school leaving; (iii) risky sexual behavior leading to early childbearing and HIV/AIDS; (iv) crime and violence; and (v) substance abuse. The objective of this Toolkit is to serve as a practical guide for policy makers in middle-income countries as well as professionals working within the area of youth development on how to develop and implement an effective policy portfolio to foster healthy and positive youth development.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 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 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.