Publication: Kyrgyz Republic Economic Update, Spring 2016: Policy Challenges in a Difficult Environment
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2016-06-01
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2016-06-01
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The Kyrgyz economy has remained resilient in the face of continued significant external head winds in 2015, but sources of vulnerability have increased.While overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP)growth is estimated to have slowed to 3.5 percent in 2015, this deceleration was mostly on accountof lower gold production. Non-gold output growth remained robust at 4.5 percent (essentiallyunchanged from 2014), although with significant shifts in drivers. The policy stance was broadly appropriate.Looking forward to 2016 and beyond, economic activity is expected to slow down,with significant downside risks.With gold production expected to decline in coming years, andagricultural output growth returning to historical averages, overall growth is projected to moderate to 3.4 percent and 3.1 percent in 2016 and 2017 respectively. For public policy, the main challenge will be to reconcile the objective of supporting economic activity with principles of prudent management.Indeed, while the Kyrgyz Republic’s debt path remains sustainable, there are good reasons to be concerned over risks of debt distress. The Special Focus section of this Economic Update analyzes the features of the Kyrgyz Republic’s public debt and explains the factors behindthe recent deterioration of the debt sustainability outlook. It concludes by pointing out some of the policy steps that ought to be taken in response.
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“World Bank Group. 2016. Kyrgyz Republic Economic Update, Spring 2016: Policy Challenges in a Difficult Environment. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24938 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Kyrgyz Republic Economic Update No. 1, Spring 2015(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-05)Growth in the Kyrgyz Republic slowed significantly in 2014, reflecting the deteriorating external environment and supply-side constraints. Economic growth fell to 3.6 percent in 2014 from 10.9 percent in the previous year, partly because exports to Russia and other neighboring countries plunged. Re-export businesses were affected as the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) began to exercise stricter border control on goods imported from third countries. On the supply side, lower production at the Kumtor gold mine and a poor harvest due to adverse weather also depressed growth. The fall of the Russian ruble and the Kazakh tenge led to a significant depreciation of the Kyrgyz sum, which together with increases in energy tariffs drove inflation up from 4 percent in 2013 to 10.5 percent in December 2014. Although export growth was negative (–6.4 percent), imports declined even more (–7.2 percent), which, together with lower income outflows, helped to reduce the current account deficit from 15 percent in 2013 to 13.7 percent of GDP. The current account deficit was financed by borrowing and foreign direct investment (FDI). On the fiscal side, slower growth affected tax revenues, which were essentially flat at 25.3 percent of GDP but non-tax revenues went up by over a percentage point of GDP, to 6.7; together with grants, that brought total revenues to just under 35 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, a significant expansion of public investment spending brought the deficit to an estimated 4.1 percent of GDP in 2014, up from 3.9 percent in 2013, despite less spending on recurrent outlays. Higher spending and the depreciation of the sum translated into a significant increase in public debt, from 46.1 percent of GDP in 2013 to 53 percent for 2014. Job creation was stagnant. Poverty remained high: the most recent (2013) national estimates are absolute poverty 37.0 percent and extreme poverty 2.8 percent.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Biannual Economic Update, Fall 2015(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-10)GDP grew at a rate of 6.8 percent, year-on-year (y/y), between January and August, boosted by frontloaded gold production and a strong performance of the agricultural sector. Gold output grew by 46 percent (y/y), while the non-gold GDP growth rate reached 4.5 percent, up 0.9 percentage points from the same period in the previous year. However, gold production is projected to decelerate markedly during the remainder of 2015, while increasingly adverse external conditions and exchange-rate developments are expected to depress domestic consumption and private investment, as well as foreign demand. As a result, the overall growth rate for 2015 is projected to slow to 2 percent. As of August the headline inflation rate had fallen to 5.8 percent (y/y) from 10.5 percent at end-2014, but the combined effect of higher public spending and exchange-rate pressures are expected to drive up prices during the final months of the year, underscoring the importance of maintaining a tight monetary stance. Looking beyond 2015, the Kyrgyz economy is projected to recover over the medium term, and public finances are expected to stabilize, but this generally positive outlook is subject to significant downside risks. In the baseline scenario, growth is projected to accelerate to 4.2 percent in 2016, driven by higher gold production and an expected acceleration in regional economic activity. Growth in the non-gold sectors should be relatively robust at around 3.7 percent, but a slower-than-anticipated recovery in Russia and Kazakhstan could threaten this projection. Moreover, slower growth in both the domestic and regional economies could complicate the process of fiscal consolidation.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Economic Update, No.9, Fall 2019(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12)Gold production increased substantially in 2019, providing a strong boost to economic growth. Output from the country's largest gold mine, Kumtor, rose by 33 percent year on year in January-October, a reversal from the 8 percent contraction in the same period of 2018. As a result, real GDP grew by 5.7 percent in January-October, up from 3.5 percent in 2018 as a whole. Gold exports, which increased by almost 55 percent year on year, contributed to strong export earnings and a narrower current account deficit. Monetary policy easing and continued remittance inflows also supported GDP growth. Real GDP is projected to grow by 4.2 percent in full-year 2019, as gold production growth is slowing in the last three months of the year. Economic activity is likely to keep the same pace in the medium term as gold production volume will stay at the current level. The current account deficit is expected to remain wide despite rising remittances. The fiscal deficit widened slightly in January-September 2019 owing to lower tax revenues as a percentage of GDP (mainly due to reduced receipts from import taxes). As investment spending accelerates in the second half of the year—and a 30-percent wage increase for teachers took effect in October— the budget deficit is likely to widen to 3.2 percent of GDP in 2019 from 1.6 percent of GDP in 2018. The government plans to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3 percent of GDP in 2020 in line with the fiscal rule; the latter is currently pending parliamentary approval. Improving expenditure management has been a key challenge in the Kyrgyz Republic, especially in the context of the need to create the much-needed fiscal space for investment in infrastructure and human capital. The special focus section explores the main issues related to public investment management and discusses how to enhance the selection, assessment, and evaluation processes of public investment projects.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Economic Update No. 7, Spring/Summer 2018(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-07)Economic growth was robust in 2017, above expectations. This was thanks to favorable external developments in the region, continued expansionary fiscal policy, and growth in the gold sector. Real GDP growth reached 4.6 percent in 2017, up from 4.3 percent in 2016, and the fastest rate since 2013. During the first 4 months of 2018, growth slowed to 1.3 percent, from a year earlier, as a result of the contraction in gold production; excluding gold, output grew at 2.5 percent, up from 2.3 percent over the same period in 2017. In short, the economy appears to have fully recovered from the recent shock brought about by the fall in oil prices. Investment and consumption drove output growth last year. Sources of growth appear to have been balanced. Growth was mainly driven by consumption and investment, with: private consumption growth returning to positive territory, after two consecutive years of contraction and high rates of public and private investment. Net exports also made a positive contribution, thanks to robust export growth. With the regional downturn now over, it is time the authorities should seize the opportunity for fiscal reform. First and foremost, action is required on the fiscal side to increase discipline and policy quality, transparency and consistency. In the past years, the authorities have deliberately delayed planned fiscal consolidation to accommodate the external shocks. As a result, public debt has remained elevated and fiscal buffers have been depleted. Moreover, fiscal discipline (in the context of relaxed targets) has been achieved at the cost of ad hoc measures, which entail reduced spending efficiency. It is now time to reverse this trend through implementing the recently adopted fiscal rule, tax administration reform and concrete measures to contain recurrent spending (to preserve room for investment). Additional steps to improve spending quality, include ensuring that planned amendments to the Public Procurement Law safeguard best international practice and that steps are taken to improve public investment management. In the long run the core challenge is to increase overall productivity in the economy. Creating and preserving fiscal space for investment in infrastructure is key, including via reforming energy tariffs. Significant long-term payoffs can also be expected from implementing the ambitious digital agenda under the Taza Koom flagship program. The Special Focus section of this report highlights the main challenges the country will face in this regard.Publication Kenya Economic Update, December 2014, No. 11(World Bank, Nairobi, 2014-12)This is the eleventh edition of the Kenya Economic Update. The special focus of this update examines the structural factors underpinning the poor performance of the manufacturing sector. Drawing on recent firm-level data from the 2010 Industrial Census and the 2013 Enterprise Survey. It investigates the extent to which the sector's lack of dynamism reflects problems in Kenya's business environment, which compares poorly to regional neighbors' on several manufacturing-relevant dimensions. The report has four main messages: First, Kenya begins 2015 in a sound economic position. After growing an estimated 5.4 percent in 2014, its economy is poised to be among the fastest growing in the region, with growth projected at 6.0 percent in 2015, 6.6 percent in 2016, and 7.0 percent in 2017. Second, the external sector remains weak and vulnerable, as import growth continue to outpace export growth and short-term flows finance the current account deficit. The large deficit points to underlying structural weaknesses in Kenya's economy, which need to be addressed. Third, Kenya needs to increase the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector so that it can grow, export, and create much-needed jobs. As a share of GDP, Kenya's manufacturing sector has been stagnant in recent years, and it has lost international market share; lastly, the weak business environmentis a key constraint for the manufacturing sector. Obstacles to doing business affect this sector more than many others because manufacturing needs access to capital for investments, infrastructure to import inputs and export and distribute finished products, affordable and reliable electricity to produce, labor to man operations, and fair and streamlined regulations and trade policies that allow firms to compete.
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