This Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) sets a framework for a dialogue on inclusive economic growth and income convergence in Romania. Generous Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and other financial inflows lifted consumer demand, built up key industries, modernized wholesale trade and unleashed...

São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), a small island nation of 215,000 people in the Gulf ofGuinea off the coast of Central Africa, is in many ways a country of great untapped wealth. One of Africa's least known countries, its striking volcanic landscape is hometo virgin rainforests with rich...

As a strong reformer among the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC), Latvia has recorded a dramatic economic improvement recent years, with relatively strong growth, increased investment rates, and clear signs of easing labor market conditions. A stabilization package designed around a...

This is the first Economic Report on Afghanistan by the World Bank in a quarter-century. It is intended to contribute to a better understanding of the core challenges that lie ahead for the country and key strategic priorities for national reconstruction. It focuses on the conceptual frameworks,...

For dozens of developing countries, the financial upheavals of the 1980s have set back economic development by a decade or more. Poverty in those countries has intensified as they struggle under the burden of an enormous external debt. In 1988, more than six years after the onset of the crisis,...

For dozens of developing countries, the financial upheavals of the 1980s have set back economic development by a decade or more. Poverty in those countries has intensified as they struggle under the burden of an enormous external debt. In 1988, more than six years after the onset of the crisis,...

Despite the significant academic interest in the economic cohesion, the various aspects of convergence and the ways they can be measured still remain theoretically unclear. These are issues of extreme political significance, especially for countries aspiring for EU and euro area membership. The...