World Bank2012-06-192012-06-192005-10https://hdl.handle.net/10986/8399Bolivia is today at a crossroads. Several years of growth were achieved in the early and mid 1990s resulting from structural reforms which encouraged an upswing in private investment and productivity gains. However, more recently a series of economic shocks have hit Bolivia. These shocks not only had a negative impact in and of themselves, but they also led to growing political and social instability and public disenchantment with the reform program, which has lost momentum in the past five years. This, in turn, reinforced an economic downturn, to the point where the gains in poverty reduction and employment creation of the 1990s have been lost. This report recommends that once a degree of political consensus and social stability is achieved, Bolivia should retake the reform agenda to promote private investment and productivity gains, tackling micro-level obstacles such as contract security, legal enforcement, legal and regulatory burden, and trade policy, among others. The report outlines policies that would allow Bolivia to achieve faster growth. Development and poverty have many dimensions, and growth is necessary-but not sufficient-for development and poverty reduction. This report is focused narrowly on growth. Drawing on long term trends, it diagnoses current problems in light of the country's growth objectives that are being supported by the Bank's overall program as articulated in the Country Assistance Strategy.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCORDSAGRICULTURAL SECTORANNUAL GROWTHBANKRUPTCYCAPITAL FLOWSCAPITAL INFLOWCAPITAL INVESTMENTCENTRAL BANKCOMPETITIVENESSCOMPREHENSIVE STRATEGYCONTRACT ENFORCEMENTCUSTOMSCUSTOMS ADMINISTRATIONCUSTOMS DUTIESDEBTDEBT BURDENDEBT RELIEFDECENTRALIZATIONDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDOMESTIC INVESTORSDOMESTIC MARKETDOMESTIC MARKETSECONOMETRIC ANALYSISECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC EXPANSIONECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC MODELSECONOMIC REFORMSEXPLAINING CHANGESEXPORT EARNINGSEXPORT GROWTHEXPORT MARKETSEXPORT PERFORMANCEEXPORT PROMOTIONEXPORTSEXTERNAL FACTORSEXTERNAL SHOCKSFOREIGN INVESTMENTFOREIGN INVESTORSFREE TRADEFREE TRADE AGREEMENTFREE TRADE AREAGDPGDP PER CAPITAGLOBAL COMPETITIVENESSGLOBAL ECONOMYGROWTH RATEGROWTH RATESGROWTH REGRESSIONSHIGH POVERTYHIGH TAXESINCOME POVERTYINCREASED INVESTMENTINCREASING INVESTMENTINTELLECTUAL PROPERTYINTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTSINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL INVESTORSINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT CLIMATE ASSESSMENTINVESTMENT DISPUTESINVESTMENT LEVELSINVESTMENT RATEINVESTMENT RATESLABOR MARKETLABOR PRODUCTIVITYLATIN AMERICANLEGAL FRAMEWORKLIQUIDITYLIVING STANDARDSLONG-TERM GROWTHMACROECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENTMACROECONOMIC POLICIESMACROECONOMIC POLICYMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMACROECONOMICSMARKET ACCESSNATURAL RESOURCESNEGATIVE IMPACTNON-TARIFF BARRIERSNON-TRADITIONAL EXPORTSPATENTSPER CAPITA GROWTHPERSISTENT POVERTYPOLICY CHANGESPOLICY INTERVENTIONSPOLICY MAKERSPOLITICAL INSTABILITYPOVERTY LEVELSPOVERTY RATEPOVERTY RATESPOVERTY REDUCTIONPREFERENTIAL AGREEMENTSPREFERENTIAL TRADEPREFERENTIAL TRADINGPRIVATE INVESTMENTPRIVATE INVESTORSPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENTPRIVATIZATION PROGRAMPRODUCTIVITYPRODUCTIVITY INCREASESPROFESSIONAL STAFFPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC EMPLOYMENTPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC EXPENDITURESPUBLIC INVESTMENTPUBLIC OPINIONPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC REVENUESPUBLIC SECTORREAL EXCHANGE RATEREAL EXCHANGE RATESREAL GDPREAL INCOMEREAL INCOMESREDUCING UNCERTAINTYREFORM PROGRAMREGIONAL STANDARDSREGULATORY BURDENRISKY INVESTMENTSECTOR ACTIVITYSOCIAL STABILITYSOUTH AMERICASTABILIZATION REFORMSSTRUCTURAL REFORMSSUSTAINABLE GROWTHTARIFF BARRIERSTARIFF STRUCTURETAX BASETAX SYSTEMTECHNICAL REGULATIONSTOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITYTRADE AGREEMENTSTRADE FACILITATIONTRADE NEGOTIATIONSTRADE NEGOTIATORSTRADE PATTERNSTRADE POLICIESTRADE POLICYTRADE PREFERENCESTRADE REGIMETRADE RELATIONSTRADE SYSTEMTRADING PARTNERSUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT RATEURBAN POVERTYVALUE-ADDED TAXWEAK ENFORCEMENTWORLD PRICESWorld Bank10.1596/8399