The Slovak Republic's external current account and fiscal deficits (net of privatization receipts) are unsustainably high (at about 8 percent of GDP in 2002), despite some recent declines. With a capital account surplus of perhaps 20 percent of GDP this year, the Slovak Republic may not find it...

International experience suggests that the effect of globalization on economic growth, poverty and income distribution can vary significantly among countries, and that its impact depends crucially on national policies. This report assesses the possible patterns of inequality in China in the...

This public expenditure review (PER) is an important exercise for Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), because the new government is under a tremendous pressure from the population to show that it can provide a better life. The perception and anecdotal evidence that the wealth in DRC is not...

The human development sector (essentially, education, health, and social protection) plays an important role in promoting economic development and social equity, and improvement in these areas can have a salutary impact on peace and stability. This report is a compilation of three separate...

This report is based on the work carried out during the second half of 2002 in close collaboration with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government. It is part of a full range of efforts undertaken since July 2001 by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the goal of which is...

Mauritania is a West African country located on the western edge of the Sahara desert, with a population of approximately 3 million people that is mostly concentrated in the urban areas. The country is in part desert (3/4 of the 1,030,700 square kilometers of the territory). Since independence...

Since independence in 1966, Guyana's economy has gone through a state control of major productive sectors, and financial institutions - including controls of prices, credit, and foreign exchange - to a combination of political/social unrest, with terms of trade deterioration, and slow economic...

This Public Expenditure Review (PER) presents a critical view of Guinea-Bissau's nascent democratic structure, one that does not ensure a clear separation of powers, which results in the need for the judiciary to exercise its lacking independence. Restoring budgetary discipline requires a series...

This Public Expenditure Review is to assist the Government of Sierra Leone in repositioning itself for sustained growth and poverty reduction in the long-run as opposed to the short-term expediencies needed during the present post-conflict phase. The report focuses on the period 2001-2003 for...

Liberia's post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation has been successful. Peace, stability and security gradually returned and provided an enabling environment for the rebuilding of this war-torn country. Over the next five years (2013-2017), the Bank will focus on building infrastructure...