This Selected Issues paper discusses reforming the state-owned enterprises (SOE) sector in Botswana. The authorities are committed to diversifying the economy and growing the relative size of the private sector but, until now, progress has been limited. Compared to other emerging markets, SOEs...

Tourism is an important driver of Dominica's economy. The damage of the pandemic on Dominica's tourism sector was severer than in most regional peers, and the recovery has also been much slower, mostly due to the timing of lockdown restrictions. This paper reviews the tourism sector landscape in...

This Selected Issues paper focuses on decomposing the public-private sector wage differential in Lesotho. Lesotho's public wage bill is significantly higher than in other countries in the region. This paper takes a closer look at the civil service wage bill and examines public sector wage...

Low-income economies face negative shocks whose frequency and disproportionate impact overcome growth trajectories, producing a negative drift. COVID-19 was the latest such episode. To escape this negative drift, and build a durable recovery, there is a need for a counter-balancing force: to...

This paper proposes to postpone the next review of the PRGT interest rate structure to end-July 2025, given the desirability to consider all policies regarding low-income country facilities-including those related to PRGT interest rates-at once in the context of 2024/25 Review of the Fund's...

This chapter investigates the link between informality and growth in Madagascar and aims for a better understanding of the informal sector. It provides an analysis of the characteristics of informal production units and informal employment. Findings suggest that informality is a key feature of...

Stagnant income growth has limited Japan's growth potential and reflation efforts. This paper dissects the wage dynamics of different labor groups and identifies the structural barriers to income growth. Although average income growth has been weak due to the rise of part-time workers and their...

Despite recent improvements in female labor force participation, women remain underrepresented in STEM fields in Japan. Given the close link between STEM workers and innovation, encouraging women to pursue STEM careers could boost growth potential. Using a calibrated endogenous growth model with...

This paper provides an integrated perspective across the Trusts of the Fund. It is the first annual review that combines discussion of the adequacy of the resources of the Fund's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and debt relief trusts, including the Catastrophe Containment and Relief...

What is the impact of climate change on inflation and growth dynamics? This is not a simple question to answer as climate shocks tend to be ubiquitous, but with opposing effects simultaneously on demand and supply. The extent of which climate-related shocks affect inflation and economic growth...