The countries that were once British colonies in the Caribbean share a common language and a colonial history of slavery, dominance of a plantation-based sugar industry, and broadly similar government and administrative traditions. Following independence in the late-1960s economic strategies and...

Using a sample of 97 countries spanning the period 1980?2008, we estimate that financial crises have a large negative impact on unemployment in the short term, but that this effect rapidly disappears in the medium term in countries with flexible labor market institutions, whereas the impact of...

This paper analyzes the role of the tax and benefit system in spurring the impressive increase in Canadian female labor participation in the last decade. Using annual panel data for 10 large industrial countries over the period 1980-2001, I find that reforms in the Canadian tax and benefit...

This paper reviews the literature on the informal economy, focusing first on empirical findings and then on existing approaches to modeling informality within both partial and general equilibrium environments. We concentrate on labour and credit markets, since these tend to be most affected by...

From its early post-war catch-up phase, Germany’s formidable export engine has been its consistent driver of growth. But Germany has almost equally consistently run current account surpluses. Exports have powered the dynamic phases and helped emerge from stagnation. Volatile external...

The modern economy of the Republic of Djibouti is based on rents directly or indirectly originating from the international port of Djibouti and from the country’s strategic position. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper discusses that the growth recorded over the last five years is...

This Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for the Kingdom of Lesotho presents a determined plan in pursuance of high and sustainable equity-based economic growth. It contains medium-term objectives and strategies to address the major challenges facing the country. These challenges include employment...

This paper presents key findings of the Annual Progress Report (APR) on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for Guinea. Conditions for implementing the Poverty Reduction Strategy were particularly difficult in 2004, and were marked by: persistent insecurity in the subregion; low levels...

In October 2006, the Chadian government prepared a second National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS2). NPRS2 analyzed poverty in Chad, reviewed the results of the first NPRS and progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), defined the strategic pillars of the second strategy,...

This paper discusses key findings of the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS) Monitoring and Implementation Report 2005 for Chad. The strategy is based on the attainment of five core objectives: good governance, robust and sustained growth, the development of human capital, improved living...