World Bank2012-03-192012-03-192010-05-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/2970Guinea-Bissau is highly dependent on international trade even when compared to other nations of its size and income level. However, it is equally clear that the country could derive far more benefit from its international trade opportunities than it does at the present time. This study examines how to do this, looking not only at trade policy, the investment climate, and infrastructure, but also five key sectors where specific opportunities exist. There are three recommendations which stand out as having a particularly important and pervasive effect on trade and its potential role in raising incomes and reducing poverty. Indeed, they can be regarded as preconditions for significant progress. Eliminating the bureaucratic obstacles to doing business is a prerequisite for any growth in private investment in the country. Guinea-Bissau ranks near the bottom of the World Bank's annual Survey of Doing Business, reflecting the extremely difficult bureaucratic and legal maze that must be dealt with by any entrepreneur seeking to operate a business in the country. This situation not only militates against private investment in any but resource extraction industries, but also makes even the simplest import/export operation an exercise in bureaucratic navigation. It is of primary importance that the job of formulating and implementing economic policy be put on a more stable and long term basis The extreme instability in Guinea-Bissau's government has meant that cabinet ministers and lower officials change on an annual or even more frequent basis. This situation makes long term planning and sustained implementation virtually impossible and the formulation of coherent policy equally difficult.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTINGAGGREGATE DEMANDAGRICULTURAL PRACTICESAGRICULTUREAMORTIZATIONARREARSASSETSBALANCE OF PAYMENTBALANCE OF PAYMENTSBALANCE SHEETSBANK FINANCINGBANK OFFICEBANKING SECTORBROAD MONEYBUSINESS DEVELOPMENTBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS LAWCAPACITY BUILDINGCAPITAL ACCOUNTCAPITAL FORMATIONCENTRAL BANKCIVIL WARCOLLATERALCOMMERCIAL BANKCOMMODITIESCOMMODITY PRICESCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPETITIVENESSCONSUMERSCOST STRUCTURECREDIT GUARANTEECREDIT MARKETSCROWDING OUTCURRENCYDEBTDEBT OVERHANGDEBT RELIEFDEBT SERVICEDEBT-SERVICEDEPOSITDEPOSITSDEVELOPED COUNTRIESDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCEDEVELOPMENT BANKDEVELOPMENT POLICYDEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESDEVELOPMENT STRATEGYDIRECT ACCESSDISBURSEMENTSDOMESTIC BANKDOMESTIC MARKETDOMESTIC PRICEDOMESTIC PRICESECONOMIC COOPERATIONECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMIC POLICIESECONOMIC PROBLEMSELECTRICITY GENERATIONEMISSIONSENDANGERED SPECIESENVIRONMENTALENVIRONMENTAL COSTSENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENTEQUIPMENTEXCHANGE RATEEXCHANGE RATE MOVEMENTSEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESEXPLOITATIONEXPORT PERFORMANCEEXPORT SHAREEXPORTERSEXPORTSEXTERNAL DEBTEXTERNAL TRADEFERTILITY RATEFINANCE COMPANYFINANCE CORPORATIONFINANCIAL CONSTRAINTSFINANCIAL DEVELOPMENTFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL RESOURCESFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SYSTEMSFISHFISHERIESFISHERY MANAGEMENTFISHINGFOOD PRICEFOOD PRICESFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFOREIGN EXCHANGEFOREIGN INVESTMENTGDPGDP DEFLATORGLOBAL BUSINESSGLOBAL ECONOMYGLOBAL MARKETSGNPGOOD GOVERNANCEGOVERNMENT FINANCESGOVERNMENT REVENUEGOVERNMENT REVENUESGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROSS NATIONAL PRODUCTGUARANTEE FUNDHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN RESOURCESIMMUNIZATIONINCOME LEVELINCOME TAXINCOMESINFLATIONINSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENTINSTRUMENTINSURANCEINSURANCE COMPANYINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL BUSINESSESINTERNATIONAL DEBTINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERNATIONAL MARKETINTERNATIONAL MARKETSINTERNATIONAL TRADEINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONSINVESTINGINVESTMENT CLIMATEITCJUSTICE SYSTEMLIFE EXPECTANCYLIVING CONDITIONSLONG-TERM DEBTMACRO-ECONOMIC POLICYMACROECONOMIC CONTEXTMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMACROECONOMIC VARIABLEMACROECONOMICSMARKET PRICESMETALSMICRO FINANCEMICRO FINANCE INSTITUTIONMICRO-FINANCEMICRO-FINANCE INSTITUTIONSMICRO-FINANCE SECTORMICROFINANCEMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONSMOBILE PHONEMONETARY FUNDMONEY GROWTHNATIONAL INCOMENATURAL RESOURCENATURAL RESOURCE BASENATURAL RESOURCESOILOIL PRICESOPECOPEN ECONOMIESOPEN ECONOMYORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTUREOUTPUTPARTIAL CREDITPARTIAL CREDIT GUARANTEEPER CAPITA INCOMEPHYSICAL ACCESSPOLICY ENVIRONMENTPOLICY MAKERSPOLICY RESPONSESPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOPULATION GROWTHPRESENT VALUEPRIVATE INVESTMENTPRIVATE INVESTMENTSPRIVATIZATIONPRODUCERSPUBLIC FINANCEPUBLIC POLICYRAPID GROWTHREAL EXCHANGE RATEREAL EXCHANGE RATESREAL GDPREGIONAL INTEGRATIONREGISTRATION REQUIREMENTSREGULATORY AGENCYREGULATORY ENVIRONMENTREMITTANCESREPAYMENTSRESERVERESERVESRURAL INFRASTRUCTURESAVINGSSETTLEMENTSMALL COUNTRYSTARTUPSTOCKSSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTTARIFF REVENUESTAXTAX COLLECTIONTAX REVENUETECHNICAL ASSISTANCETELECOMMUNICATIONSTERMS OF TRADETOTAL DEBTTOTAL REVENUETRADE BALANCETRADE DEFICITTRADE POLICYTRADE RELATIONSTRADESTRADINGTRANSPARENCYTRANSPARENCY INITIATIVETREASURYTREASURY BILLSTURNOVERTURNOVERSVALUE ADDEDVOLATILITYWILLINGNESS TO PAYWORLD MARKETWORLD TRADEWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATIONWTOWorld Bank10.1596/2970