This strategic paper discusses Ethiopia’s growth and transformation plan (GTP) for the periods 2010/2011 and 2014/2015. The basis for the GTP has been the policy matrix, which is the benchmark placed in the government's existing Welfare Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) System since 1996. The...

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 to guide...

This Selected Issues paper reviews public service reform in Ghana. The paper highlights that a range of public service reform initiatives have been undertaken in Ghana since the early 1980s. The public service in Ghana is composed of centrally managed agencies, ministries, subvented agencies,...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix examines some aspects of the civil service reform in Benin. It describes the main features of the promotion and compensation system currently in place; assesses the early efforts at reforming the civil service; and examines the main measures...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the factors behind the relatively strong performance of the Philippines in recent years (1990s) as well as the remaining reform agenda. The paper highlights that the Philippines has received considerable attention in recent years as it “emerged” in the...

This Selected Issues paper on Sri Lanka provides background information on economic developments during 1995 and the first half of 1996 and on key policy issues in the current setting. The paper notes that the economic situation has deteriorated on a number of fronts—inflation has risen;...

Strong fundamentals and a policy track record helped Mexico to withstand the fallout from the global crisis and aided recovery. The policy challenges have to take due account of significant global uncertainty, employment generation, and long-term fiscal reforms. The economy will benefit from...

This Selected Issues paper reviews the economic development in the Philippines during the 1990s. Growth, which virtually came to a halt in the early 1990s, picked up in 1993 and accelerated steadily to almost 7 percent by end-1996, fueled by an expansion in exports and investment. At the same...

This paper reviews trends in GDP and other macroeconomic variables since independence. It assesses the performance of the different sectors of the economy and expenditure categories. The paper identifies a number of products that could contribute to maintaining the high growth rate that...

The current slowdown in the Norwegian economy has followed an exceptionally prolonged phase of expansion. The current slowdown in economic growth is expected to continue. Over the longer term, the public finances face challenges as oil revenues begin to run out and pension liabilities escalate....