This Selected Issues paper analyzes fiscal devolution in Belgium. It examines long-term fiscal strategies for meeting the fiscal burden of population aging. The paper presents estimates of the fiscal costs of population aging in Belgium, and discusses their sensitivity to underlying assumptions....

This paper reports on the economic and financial reforms in Guinea-Bissau. After a long period of recession since the beginning of 2000 followed by a slight recovery in 2007, the economy of Guinea-Bissau has entered a new growth spurt in 2008. The budget deficit, which averaged 10 percent of GDP...

An influential theoretical literature has observed that economic diversification can reduce risk and increase financial development. But causality operates in both directions, as a well functioning financial system can enable a society to invest in more productive but risky projects, thereby...

Economists interested in location choices usually focus their attention on investments abroad. This neglects the fact that multinational enterprises continue to invest domestically while undertaking foreign expansion. This paper compares investments at home and abroad. Our firm-level dataset...

This strategic paper discusses Ethiopia’s growth and transformation plan (GTP) for the periods 2010/2011 and 2014/2015. The Ethiopian government’s main development agenda has been poverty eradication. The government has designed, and is implementing, strategies, policies, and plans...

The paper reports the progress of the Honduran poverty reduction strategy program, projects, and policy measures. The report provides details on the organization and results of the consultation process, and analyzes the macroeconomic framework for the poverty reduction strategy. An overview of...

This paper assesses the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper of Vietnam, known as the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS). It is an action program to achieve economic growth and poverty reduction objectives. This paper reviews the objectives and tasks of socio-economic...

Regional integration has been seen in Africa as a means of encouraging trade and securing economies of scale. This paper examines in detail the prospects and challenges for trade expansion in the two most prominent arrangements in eastern and southern Africa: the Common Market for Eastern and...

Bhutan has evolved from a closed economy to a trading nation that exhibits a high degree of dependence on trade. Exports have grown rapidly but overall the country’s trade deficit continues to widen owing to an even faster growth in the value of imports. The manufacturing and industry...