World Bank2012-06-142012-06-142008-12https://hdl.handle.net/10986/8028Liberia is a rich country, badly managed. This is a favorite comment of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and an accurate one. The bad management is well-known, though perhaps not its duration and depth. Created in 1847, the country is far older than almost all others in sub- Saharan Africa. But for most of this time, it was ruled by an elite descended from African-American settlers who ignored or exploited the indigenous people. The result was growth without development, stark inequality, social tension and the seeds of unrest. The political order was turned upside down in a bloody coup in 1980, but bad management continued. Within ten years the country descended into civil war from which it only emerged in 2003. The 90 percent decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is possibly the most extreme economic collapse ever experienced in the world. This study lays out a comprehensive pro poor trade strategy in support of the medium-term growth agenda of Liberia. The new Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) for Liberia recognizes all this. Indeed, this Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) and the PRS were developed in parallel and with considerable cross-fertilization. A joint workshop was held on the productive sectors in February 2008. The role of this study is therefore to reinforce the message contained in the PRS, deepen the analysis, and offer some practical next steps.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO CAPITALACCOUNTINGAGRICULTUREARREARSAUCTIONAUCTION SYSTEMAUCTIONSBALANCE OF PAYMENTBALANCE OF PAYMENTSBANK LENDINGBANKING SECTORBARRIERS TO ENTRYBIDSBROAD MONEYCASH PAYMENTSCDSCENTRAL BANKCIVIL WARCOLLATERALCOLLECTIVE ACTIONCOMMERCIAL BANKSCOMMODITIESCOMMODITYCOMMODITY PRICECOMMODITY PRICESCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPETITIVE MARKETCOMPREHENSIVE STRATEGYCONSUMER GOODSCONSUMERSCREDIT UNIONSCREDITWORTHINESSCROP VALUECURRENCYCURRENCY MARKETCUSTODYDEBT RELIEFDEMAND FOR MONEYDEPOSITDEPOSITSDEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCEDEVELOPMENT FINANCEDEVELOPMENT PATHDEVELOPMENT PROJECTSDEVELOPMENT STRATEGYDOMESTIC DEBTDOMESTIC MARKETDONOR AGENCIESDUE DILIGENCEECONOMIC SECTORSECONOMIES OF SCALEENTERPRISE ASSISTANCEENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESEQUITY CAPITALEXCHANGE RATESEXCISE TAXESEXPENDITURESEXPORT COMPETITIVENESSEXPORT SECTORSEXPORTEREXPORTERSEXPORTSEXTERNAL DEBTFINANCE COMPANYFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL MANAGEMENTFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENTFINANCIAL SERVICESFISCAL DEFICITSFISCAL DISCIPLINEFISCAL POLICYFOOD PRICEFORECASTSFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFOREIGN EXCHANGEFOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKETFOREIGN INVESTMENTFOREIGN INVESTORSFOREIGN TRADEFREE TRADEFREE TRADE AGREEMENTGDPGDP PER CAPITAGLOBAL ECONOMYGLOBAL MARKETGLOBAL MARKETSGOVERNMENT BUDGETGOVERNMENT CAPACITYGOVERNMENT EXPENDITURESGOVERNMENT FINANCESGOVERNMENT REVENUEGOVERNMENT REVENUESGROWTH RATEGROWTH WITHOUT DEVELOPMENTHOLDINGHOLDINGSHUMAN CAPITALINCOME TAXINDUSTRIALIZATIONINFLATIONINFORMATION SERVICESINFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTINSTITUTIONAL CAPACITYINSTRUMENTINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL TRADEINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONSINVESTINGINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT FINANCINGISSUANCEISSUANCE OF GOVERNMENT SECURITIESITCLAND OWNERSHIPLAND OWNERSHIPSLDCSLENDERLENDER OF LAST RESORTLEVYLIBERALIZATIONLIQUID ASSETSLIQUIDITYLIVING STANDARDSLOANLOAN RATELOAN RECOVERYLOCAL BANKSLOCAL CURRENCYLOCAL INVESTORSLOCAL MARKETMACROECONOMIC CONDITIONSMACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENTMACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENTMACROECONOMIC POLICIESMACROECONOMIC POLICYMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMACROECONOMICSMARKET ACCESSMARKET FOR GOVERNMENT SECURITIESMARKET INFORMATIONMARKET PRICESMEDIUM OF EXCHANGEMICRO-FINANCEMICRO-FINANCE INSTITUTIONMICROFINANCEMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONSMONETARY AUTHORITIESMONETARY FUNDMONETARY POLICYMONEY SUPPLYMORTGAGENATIONAL INVESTMENTNATIONAL OUTPUTNATURAL RESOURCENATURAL RESOURCESOPEN MARKETOUTSOURCINGOVERSEAS BANKSOVERVALUATIONPER CAPITA INCOMEPERSONAL INCOMEPERSONAL LOANPOLICY CREDIBILITYPOSITIVE EFFECTSPOVERTY ALLEVIATIONPRICE CONTROLSPRICE STABILITYPRIVATE INVESTORSPRIVATIZATIONPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC BORROWINGPUBLIC DEBTPUBLIC DEBT MANAGEMENTPUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPRATES OF INFLATIONRATES OF INTERESTREAL EXCHANGE RATEREAL GDPREGIONAL INTEGRATIONREGULATORY AGENCYREGULATORY FRAMEWORKREGULATORY STRUCTUREREMITTANCESRENEGOTIATIONRESERVESRETAIL BANKINGRETURNRETURNSRISK MANAGEMENTSAVINGSSAVINGS RATESECURITY ARRANGEMENTSSETTLEMENTSMALL ENTREPRENEURSSMALL LOANSSUPERVISORY AUTHORITYSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTTAXTAX EXEMPTIONSTAX INCENTIVESTAX OBLIGATIONTAX RATETAX REVENUESTAXATIONTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETIME DEPOSITTRADE DEFICITTRADE POLICYTRADE REGIMETRADINGTRANSACTIONTRANSACTION COSTSTRANSPARENCYTRANSPARENCY INITIATIVEUNEMPLOYMENTUNFAIR COMPETITIONVALUE ADDEDWAREHOUSEWEALTHWORLD MARKETWORLD TRADEWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATIONWTOWorld Bank10.1596/8028