The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II (MGDS-II) is a poverty reduction strategy for the period 2006–11, which is aimed at fulfilling Malawi’s future developmental aspiration—Vision 2020. The strategy identifies broad thematic areas and key priority areas to bring...

Ghana has pursued several programs to accelerate the growth of the economy. In 1995, the government presented “Ghana: Vision 2020,†aimed at making Ghana a middle-income country in 25 years. Vision 2020 focused on human development, economic growth, rural development, urban...

This volume discusses the Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS I) and the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) that addressed the critical poverty issues in Ghana. GPRS I is a comprehensive policy document prepared as a precondition for Ghana under the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC)...

Russia’s large oil and gas reserves play a key role in its economic development. As with many other large oil exporters, Russia’s energy wealth is also posing numerous challenges to macroeconomic management. Although fiscal policy has saved a large part of the oil windfall in the...

This paper reviews economic developments in Barbados during the 1990s. Economic activity declined during 1990-92 but began to recover in 1993. The recovery started slowly in 1993, but picked up in 1994, and real GDP grew by 3.8 percent in that year. Adverse weather in 1994 led to a drop in sugar...

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) on the Republic of Madagascar explain the Madagascar Action Plan (MAP) to accelerate and better coordinate the development process. The National Leadership Institute of Madagascar (NLIM) was created in 2006 to provide cutting-edge training to build...

Statistical data and issues are discussed in this paper. Mauritania reached the completion point under the enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries. In July 2004, a new economic team took actions to tighten fiscal and monetary policies. The authorities intend to adopt sound...

The Growth and Social Protection Strategy (GSPS) attaches great importance to the promotion of economic growth and job creation, given the nature of poverty in Dominica. The GSPS also stresses that existing health and education programs are essential to foster growth in the medium and long...

This Selected Issues paper reviews recent developments in growth and employment in Bulgaria and highlights key constraints to growth suggested by cross-country competitiveness studies. Bulgaria’s GDP has grown substantially since economic and financial stabilization in 1997. The global...

The Welfare Improvement Strategy (WIS) of Uzbekistan has the objective of improving living standards of its people with the help of strong economic policies for all priority areas of development. The report reviews economic and social policies and assesses the living standards of its people. It...