Benin’s program furthers the objectives elaborated in the previous report. It is the result of a broad participative process that engaged all levels of government, the private sector, civil society, and donor partners. Executive Directors commend the program as it provides an adequate...

This Joint Staff Advisory Note focuses on the progress report (PR) of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for Côte d’Ivoire. The PR notes the difficulty of implementing the PRSP in a period of continued political crisis and civil conflict. It emphasizes that economic performance was...

This Joint Staff Advisory Note discusses Afghanistan’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper's annual progress report. Afghanistan has experienced a number of extraordinary challenges that delayed its implementation. The security situation deteriorated markedly and has been dominated by the...

According to the national household survey conducted during the summer and autumn of 2005, poverty in Afghanistan (headcount rate) is about 33 percent. Economic performance since the fall of the Taliban regime has been strong, and macroeconomic stability has been maintained. During...

Lesotho’s National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) serves as an implementation strategy for the national vision. It recognizes the significant challenges Lesotho faces in reducing poverty and making growth more broad-based. Overall, it presents a coherent analysis and offers an...

This paper presents a Joint Staff Advisory Note on Vietnam’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. GDP growth accelerated to 7.7 percent despite several exogenous shocks, including the outbreak of avian influenza and a sharp rise in the price of key imported commodities. However, an adverse...

This paper presents the Joint Staff Assessment of the State Program on Poverty Reduction and Economic Development 2003–2005 (SPPRED)—the first full Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) of Azerbaijan. The SPPRED represents a joint effort between the government and civil society...

Current estimates of global poverty vary substantially across studies. In this paper we undertake a novel sensitivity analysis to highlight the importance of methodological choices in estimating global poverty. We measure global poverty using different data sources, parametric and nonparametric...

The paper presents key findings of the Joint Staff Assessment of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for Sri Lanka. Despite the country’s substantial achievements in human development and the economy’s external openness, several factors have impeded Sri Lanka’s...

This paper reviews the Joint Staff Assessment on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper of Vietnam. It analyzes the progress in achieving the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS) goals and identifies the challenges. It assesses the macroeconomic performance, structural and...