The Philippines regained a modest growth rate of 3.5 percent per annum for 1999-2001, but has not yet managed to reduce the incidence of poverty from its 1996 level. The Medium Term Philippine Development (MTPDP) growth targets of over 5 percent per year are attainable, but only if the key...

Given a steady pace of structural reforms, and sound macroeconomic management, Tunisia experienced a fast, and sustained growth. However, while forward-looking policies helped preserve external and internal balances, challenges remain in the context of a volatile external environment. High and...

Broad-based global economic growth in 2006, and more generally since 2000, provides grounds for optimism about progress in advancing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The 2007 Global Monitoring Report (GMR) takes stock of this progress and assesses the contributions of developing...

New forces are at work in the agricultural sector: the growth of markets and private entrepreneurship, the changing global demand for food and other agricultural products, the rise of multinationals, and the expansion of integrated food chains. To realize the potential benefits, the public...

Following a decade of relatively strong growth, Guinea's economic performance weakened beginning in 2000. During 1992-1999, growth averaged 4.4 percent a year as the Government implemented a program of economic reforms aimed at liberalizing its economy and improving the environment for private...

This study addresses the political economy of sector reforms. Sustainable reform processes which improve equity, efficiency and effectiveness in key economic and social sectors are often important elements of national poverty reduction strategies in low- and middle-income countries. For...

Yemen is the second poorest country in the Middle East and North Africa region, with 42 percent of its population counted as poor in 1998. GDP has stagnated at around US$530 per capita in real terms since 2002. Unemployment, estimated at 11.5 percent in 1999, is expected to have worsened as the...

This report has the following objectives: (i) identify the underlying constraints to strong and sustained growth, in particular, the dynamic circles that lock Niger in a low-growth/high poverty equilibrium; (ii) understand the key determinants of growth and poverty traps and the role increased...

The report provides an assessment of Nepal's progress in development, and discusses the development policy agenda and priorities to accelerate development. The aim of the Development Policy Review (DPR) is to inform both on Government policies and further refinement of the country's poverty...

The country's approach to poverty reduction is outlined in the 2003 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, and draws on a development approach in which growth and poverty reduction are mutually reinforcing. Three areas of focus are identified in the PRSP: (1) restoration of law and improvements in...