Program-based approaches to providing development assistance, especially sector investment programs (SIPs), are receiving increased attention as donors and recipient countries search for effective instruments to foster sustainable development. A SIP is a long-term national program covering...

Outlines Tunisia' innovative strategy of reducing the budgetary costs of food subsidies in a manner that is politically acceptable and that protects the nutritional status of the poor. The government uses "self-targeted programs," whereby subsidies are shifted to items consumed primarily by...

Global growth is projected to slow significantly in 2023 as continued monetary tightening constrains the credit supply. Tanzania's economy has performed relatively well despite a challenging external environment. The government recognizes that a dynamic private sector fueled both by domestic and...

The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) is facing economic challenges. The country is experiencing a growth slowdown with high levels of public debt. Growing current expenditure and debt service obligations amid sluggish tax revenue led to a widening fiscal deficit in the early 2010s, which...

Bulgaria has traditionally adhered to fiscal discipline and prudent fiscal policy since the introduction of its currency board arrangement in mid-1997. After a gradual decline in the 2000s, public debt has remained among the lowest in the European Union (EU), hovering in a narrow band between 17...

Despite persistent macroeconomic instability, economic growth continued to recover in 2023, underpinned largely by a steady improvement in the service sector. GDP growth is forecast at 3.7 percent in 2023, slightly down from the projection in May 2023, primarily reflecting higher-than-expected...

Mauritius's economy has grown dramatically since the country's independence in 1968, and its rapid development offers a powerful example for developing economies worldwide. However, growth dynamism has waned in recent years. In addition, Mauritius was hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and...