Budget Analysis for Investments in Children in Saint Lucia

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Budget Analysis for Investments in Children in Saint Lucia Budget Analysis for Investments in Children in Saint Lucia BUDGET ANALYSIS FOR INVESTMENTS IN CHILDREN IN SAINT LUCIA Published by UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area First Floor, UN House Marine Gardens, Hastings Christ Church Barbados Tel: (246) 467 6000 Fax: (246) 426 3812 Email: [email protected] Website: www.unicef.org/easterncaribbean This Study was commissioned by the UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area and UN Women Multi-Country Office - Caribbean The contents do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the organizations. Authors: Zina Nimeh, Arthur Van de Meerendonk, Franziska Gassmann, Jouke Wortelboer, Eli Stoykova and Daphne Francoise Nimeh, Z., Van de Meerendonk, A., Gassmann, F., Wortelboer, J. and Stoykova, E., Francoise, D. (2015). Budget Analysis for Investments in Children in Saint Lucia, UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area. All rights reserved. 2015 Budget Analysis for Investments in Children in Saint Lucia CONTENTS Acknowledgments x Executive summary 2 1 Introduction 12 1.1 Structure of the report 13 1.2 Government actors 13 1.3 Data and methodology 13 1.4 Limitations 14 1.5 Process 14 2 Economic and Social Context 16 2.1 Economic and fiscal environment 16 2.2 Fiscal operations and management and the social budget 19 2.3 Demographic trends 21 2.4 Labour market 23 2.5 Poverty and child well-being 25 2.6 Conclusion 30 3 Education 32 3.1 Short overview of the education system in Saint. Lucia 32 3.2 Policies and planning 33 3.2.1 Laws and other basic regulations concerning education 33 3.2.2 Administration and management of the education system 33 3.3 Overview of programmes 33 3.3.1 Early childhood education (ECE) services 33 3.3.2 Primary school services 34 3.3.3 Secondary school services 36 3.4 The education budget 41 3.4.1 Education financing 41 3.4.2 Methodology and data 42 3.4.3 Budget analysis 44 3.4.4 Allocation per programme 47 3.4.5 Spending execution 48 3.5 Education benefit incidence analysis 49 3.6 Discussion 52 4 Social Protection 55 4.1 Introduction 55 4.2 Policies and planning 56 4.2.1 The National Strategic Framework (NSPP) 56 4.3 Overview of the programmes 56 4.3.1 Cash transfer programmes 57 4.3.2 Programmes that combine cash transfers and non-cash transfers 57 4.3.3 Active labour market programmes 59 4.3.4 Education support programmes (non-cash transfers) 62 ii 4.4 The social protection budget 64 4.4.1 Methodology and data 64 4.4.2 The budget of the Ministry of Social Transformation 66 4.4.3 Spending execution 69 4.4.4 The Saint Lucia Social Development Fund (SSDF) budget 70 4.4.5 Financial analysis of the social protection programmes 74 4.4.6 Key Performance Indicators 80 4.5 Assessment of social protection benefits 86 4.6 Discussion 90 5 Child Protection 93 5.1 Short overview of child protection issues in Saint Lucia 93 5.2 Overview of programmes 95 5.2.1 Child protection programmes – Ministry of Health 95 5.2.2 Child protection programmes – Ministry of Social Transformation, Local Government and Community Empowerment 97 5.2.3 Child protection programmes – Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security 97 5.2.4 The National Action Child Protection Committee 98 5.3 The child protection budget 98 5.4 Assessment of child protection initiatives 102 5.5 Discussion 105 6 Health Care 107 6.1 Overview of health conditions 107 6.2 Governance, policies and planning 109 6.3 Overview of programmes 110 6.3.1 Health services and professionals 110 6.3.2 Medicines 112 6.4 The health budget 113 6.4.1 Health care financing 113 6.4.2 Methodology and data 114 6.4.3 Budget analysis 116 6.4.4 Medical and administrative costs 122 6.4.5 Allocation per programme 122 6.4.6 Spending execution 124 6.5 Assessment of health benefits 125 6.6 Discussion 129 7 Concluding Remarks and Future Outlook 131 7.1 Highlights from the report 131 7.2 General recommendations 138 7.3 Future outlook 139 8 References 141 9 Annex 149 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1: GOSL Public Debt (left) and Debt/GDP (right), 2003–2013 17 Figure 2-2: Population pyramid in 2001 and 2010 22 Figure 2-3: Distribution of population per area (per cent) 23 Figure 2-4: Distribution of individuals by wealth quintiles, different household size, as a percentage 26 Figure 2-5: Distribution of individuals by wealth quintiles, different number of children in the household, as a percentage 26 Figure 2-6: Distribution of individuals by wealth quintiles, households by different age of household head, as a percentage 27 Figure 2-7: Distribution of individuals by wealth quintiles, households by gender of household head, as a percentage 28 Figure 2-8: Distribution of children among wealth quintiles, as a percentage 28 Figure 3-1: Enrolment rates primary education 2000-201 (as a percentage) 35 Figure 3-2: Adjusted net primary enrolment rates in the Caribbean, 2010 (as a percentage) 35 Figure 3-3: Gender Parity Index for the adjusted net primary enrolment rate, 2011 36 Figure 3-4: Primary completion rate, 2010 (as a percentage) 36 Figure 3-5: Net enrolment rates secondary education in Saint Lucia, 2000-2012 39 Figure 3-6: Net enrolment rate secondary, all programmes, 2010 39 Figure 3-7: Public spending on education, 2010, (as a percentage of GDP) 42 Figure 3-8: Allocation of expenditure for the Central Administration, 2013/14 47 Figure 3-9: Allocation of expenditure in Primary Education, 2013/14 48 Figure 3-10: Allocation of expenditure in Secondary Education, 2013/14 48 Figure 3-11: Education expenditures by level of education, 2012/13 50 Figure 3-13: Distribution of students by gender, for each level of education 51 Figure 4-1: Overview of social protection programmes 57 Figure 4-2: Allocation of expenditure for social transformation, 2009/10 and 2013/14 69 Figure 4-3: Allocation of expenditure for local government, 2013/14 69 Figure 4-4: SSDF income, 2009-2014 71 Figure 4-5: Income, programme and administration expenditures SSDF, 2010-2014 73 Figure 4-6: Coverage rates of PAP and average wealth scores by region, 2013 87 Figure 4-7: Distribution of PAP beneficiaries by regions, 2013 88 Figure 5-1: Social protection and child protection programmes in Saint Lucia. 96 Figure 5-2: Charged children by gender 103 Figure 6-1: Birth, death and infant mortality ratios for Saint Lucia , 2001–2012 108 Figure 6-2: Fertility rates in the Caribbean, 2011 (in births per woman) 109 Figure 6-3: Life expectancy at birth, Caribbean Region, 1980 and 2011 (in years) 109 Figure 6-4: Condensed Budget MOH Economic Classification 2009-2014 119 Figure 6-5: Central Health Administration (recurrent only), 2007/08 and 2013/14 123 Figure 6-6: General Hospitals, 2013/14 123 Figure 6-7: Human Services, 2013/14 124 Figure 6-8: Total health expenditures (THE) in the Caribbean region, 2009-12 (average, as a percentage) 125 Figure 6-9: Government health expenditures in the Caribbean region, 2012 (as a percentage) 126 Figure 6-10: Government expenditure on health per capita at PPP (NCU per US$), 2012 126 Figure 6-11: Out-of-pocket expenditures in the ECCU (as a percentage), 2012 127 Figure 6-12: Out-of-pocket expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure by poverty incidence, 2006 (percentage of people living on less than US$2 PPP per day) 127 BUDGET ANALYSIS FOR INVESTMENT IN CHILDREN IN SAINT LUCIA iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1: Overview of activities and outputs 15 Table 2-1: Selected economic and social indicators for Saint Lucia, 2008–2013 17 Table 2-2: The Budget Calendar of Saint Lucia 19 Table 2-3: Population structure (as a percentage) 21 Table 2-4: Dependency Ratios (per cent) of working age population 22 Table 2-5: Key Labour Market statistics (as a percentage) 23 Table 2-6: Unemployment rate by age group and sex, 2013 24 Table 2-7: Employed Population by Status of Employment and Sex (per cent), 2013 25 Table 2-8: Overall well-being rates, by age group, as a percentage of all children in the age group 30 Table 3-1: Monitoring Indicators Early Childhood Education (MOE) 2008/09-2012/13 34 Table 3-2: Key performance indicators primary education, Ministry of Education, 2008/09-2012/13 36 Table 3-3: Key performance indicators secondary education, Ministry of Education, 2008/09-2012/13 41 Table 3-4: Conversion Table MOE 43 Table 3-5: Condensed Budget MOE, Administrative classification, 2009-2014 44 Table 3-6: Recurrent, capital and total expenditure of MOE, 2009-2014 45 Table 3-7: Condensed Budget MOE Economic classification, 2009-2014 46 Table 3-8: Salary expenditures MOH, 2009-2014 46 Table 3-9: Expenditure per student, 2009-2014 47 Table 3-10: Deviation of expenditure from revised budget (recurrent), 2008/09-2011/12 49 Table 3-11: Expenditures per student for pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary education, 2012/13 50 Table 3-12: Distribution of students by wealth quintiles, as a percentage of all students attending a particular level of education 51 Table 3-13: Total expenditures for schooling by education level and wealth quintile 51 Table 3-14: Total spending for education for boys and girls, MICS 52 Table 3-15: Total spending for education in urban and rural areas, MICS 52 Table 4-1: Number of cash transfer programmes’ beneficiaries 58 Table 4-2: Female share among cash transfer programmes’ beneficiaries 58 Table 4-3: Cash transfers and services’ beneficiaries share (15-65) age group 59 Table 4-4: Summary of ALMPs in Saint Lucia 60 Table 4-5: Number of reported ALMPs beneficiaries 61 Table 4-6: Female share among ALMPs beneficiaries 61 Table 4-7: ALMPs’ beneficiaries share (15-65) age group 62 Table 4-8: Summary of child related social protection
Recommended publications
  • Convention on the Rights of the Child (Herein Referred Thereafter As the Convention)
    UNITED CRC NATIONS Convention on the Distr. Rights of the Child GENERAL CRC/C/28/Add.23 13 October 2004 Original: ENGLISH COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION Initial reports of States parties due in 1995 SAINT LUCIA* [2 June 2004] * In accordance with the information transmitted to States parties regarding the processing of their reports, the present document was not formally edited before being sent to the United Nations translation services. GE.04-43927 (E) 101204 CRC/C/28/Add.23 page 2 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page List of tables ..................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 - 5 7 I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION ............... 6 - 19 8 A. Measures taken to implement the provisions of the Convention (Article 4) ...................................................... 6 - 12 8 B. Measures taken to promote public awareness of the principles and provisions of the Convention (Article 42) ....................................................................... 13 - 14 10 C. Measures taken or to be taken to circulate the report (Articles 44-46) ................................................................ 15 - 16 10 D. Summary ........................................................................... 17 - 19 11 II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (Article 1) .............................
    [Show full text]
  • United Arab Emirates (Uae)
    Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile: United Arab Emirates, July 2007 COUNTRY PROFILE: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) July 2007 COUNTRY اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴّﺔ اﻟﻤﺘّﺤﺪة (Formal Name: United Arab Emirates (Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah Dubai , أﺑﻮ ﻇﺒﻲ (The seven emirates, in order of size, are: Abu Dhabi (Abu Zaby .اﻹﻣﺎرات Al ,ﻋﺠﻤﺎن Ajman , أ مّ اﻟﻘﻴﻮﻳﻦ Umm al Qaywayn , اﻟﺸﺎرﻗﺔ (Sharjah (Ash Shariqah ,دﺑﻲّ (Dubayy) .رأس اﻟﺨﻴﻤﺔ and Ras al Khaymah ,اﻟﻔﺠﻴﺮة Fajayrah Short Form: UAE. اﻣﺮاﺗﻰ .(Term for Citizen(s): Emirati(s أﺑﻮ ﻇﺒﻲ .Capital: Abu Dhabi City Major Cities: Al Ayn, capital of the Eastern Region, and Madinat Zayid, capital of the Western Region, are located in Abu Dhabi Emirate, the largest and most populous emirate. Dubai City is located in Dubai Emirate, the second largest emirate. Sharjah City and Khawr Fakkan are the major cities of the third largest emirate—Sharjah. Independence: The United Kingdom announced in 1968 and reaffirmed in 1971 that it would end its treaty relationships with the seven Trucial Coast states, which had been under British protection since 1892. Following the termination of all existing treaties with Britain, on December 2, 1971, six of the seven sheikhdoms formed the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The seventh sheikhdom, Ras al Khaymah, joined the UAE in 1972. Public holidays: Public holidays other than New Year’s Day and UAE National Day are dependent on the Islamic calendar and vary from year to year. For 2007, the holidays are: New Year’s Day (January 1); Muharram, Islamic New Year (January 20); Mouloud, Birth of Muhammad (March 31); Accession of the Ruler of Abu Dhabi—observed only in Abu Dhabi (August 6); Leilat al Meiraj, Ascension of Muhammad (August 10); first day of Ramadan (September 13); Eid al Fitr, end of Ramadan (October 13); UAE National Day (December 2); Eid al Adha, Feast of the Sacrifice (December 20); and Christmas Day (December 25).
    [Show full text]
  • Djibouti Health Expenditure Profile
    Djibouti Health expenditure profile HEALTH SPENDING IN BRIEF WHO PAYS FOR HEALTH? 0.6% Health spending (% of GDP) 3.5 27.8% Health expenditure per capita (US$) 70 Public Out-of-pocket 45.8% Public spending on health per capita (US$) 32 Voluntary prepayment External Other GDP per capita (US$) 2,004 25.8% Life expectancy, both sexes (years) 62 RICHER COUNTRIES SPEND MORE ON HEALTH… …BUT NOT NECESSARILY AS A SHARE OF GDP 10,000 25 20 1,000 15 10 100 Health spending % of GDP 5 Health spending per capita (US$, log scale) 10 0 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 GDP per capita (US$, log scale) GDP per capita (US$, log scale) MORE GOVERNMENT SPENDING ON HEALTH IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER OUT-OF-POCKET SPENDING DOES GOVERNMENT SPEND ENOUGH ON HEALTH? 100 100 10 80 80 8 60 60 6 % US$ 40 40 4 20 20 2 Out-of-pocket spending % of health 0 0 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Public spending on health % of GDP Health spending per capita (US$, bars) Government health spending % of total government spending (line) Djibouti PRIORITY OF HEALTH IN BUDGET ALLOCATION IS A POLITICAL CHOICE 25 20 15 10 5 Government health spending % of total government spending 0 India Egypt Kenya Congo Nigeria Angola Kiribati Ghana Bhutan SudanBoliviaJordan Tunisia Djibouti Vanuatu Armenia Ukraine Zambia Morocco Georgia Eswatini Lao PDRPakistan Myanmar TajikistanMongolia IndonesiaSri LankaViet Nam Honduras Cameroon MauritaniaMicronesia Cambodia Philippines Uzbekistan GuatemalaNicaraguaEl Salvador Timor-LesteBangladesh Côte d'Ivoire Cabo Verde Solomon
    [Show full text]
  • Trends Gross and Net Spending Non-Cash Benefits
    8. PUBLIC EXPENDITURE ON PENSIONS Key Results Public spending on cash old-age pensions and survivors’ benefits in the OECD increased from an average of 6.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 8.0% between 2000 and 2015. Public pensions are often the largest single item of social expenditure, accounting for 18.4% of total government spending on average in 2015. Greece spent the largest proportion of national income Trends on public pensions among OECD countries in 2015: 16.9% of Public pension spending was fairly stable as a GDP. Other countries with high gross public pension proportion of GDP over the period 1990-2015 in spending are in continental Europe, with Italy at 16.2% and ten countries: Australia, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Lithuania, Austria, France and Portugal at between 13% and 14% of New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland. GDP. Public pensions generally account for between one- fourth and one-third of total public expenditure in these Public pension expenditure increased by more than 4 countries. points of GDP between 2000 and 2015 in Finland, Greece, Portugal and Turkey, and between 2 and 3 percentage points Iceland and Mexico spent 2.1% and 2.2% of GDP on in France, Italy, Japan and Spain. public pensions, respectively. Korea is also a low spender at 2.9% of GDP. Mexico has a relative young population, which Gross and net spending is also the case but to a lesser extent in Iceland, where much of retirement income is provided by compulsory The penultimate column of the table shows public occupational schemes (see the next indicator of “Pension- spending in net terms: after taxes and contributions paid on benefit expenditures: Public and private”), leaving a lesser benefits.
    [Show full text]
  • THE DEVELOPMENT of NURSING EDUCATION in the ENGLISH-SPEAKING CARIBBEAN ISLANDS by PEARL I
    THE DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING EDUCATION IN THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING CARIBBEAN ISLANDS by PEARL I. GARDNER, B.S.N., M.S.N., M.Ed. A DISSERTATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Approved Accepted Dean of the Graduate School August, 1993 ft 6 l^yrr^7^7 801 J ,... /;. -^o ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS C?^ /c-j/^/ C^ ;^o.^^ I would like to thank Dr. Clyde Kelsey, Jr., for his C'lp '^ ^unflagging support, his advice and his constant vigil and encouragement in the writing of this dissertation. I would also like to thank Dr. Patricia Yoder-Wise who acted as co-chairperson of my committee. Her advice was invaluable. Drs. Mezack, Willingham, and Ewalt deserve much praise for the many times they critically read the manuscript and gave their input. I would also like to thank Ms. Janey Parris, Senior Program Officer of Health, Guyana, the government officials of the Caribbean Embassies, representatives from the Caribbean Nursing Organizations, educators from the various nursing schools and librarians from the archival institutions and libraries in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. These individuals agreed to face-to-face interviews, answered telephone questions and mailed or faxed information on a regular basis. Much thanks goes to Victor Williams for his computer assistance and to Hannelore Nave for her patience in typing the many versions of this manuscript. On a personal level I would like to thank my niece Eloise Walters for researching information in the nursing libraries in London, England and my husband Clifford for his belief that I could accomplish this task.
    [Show full text]
  • Mauritius Budget Highlights 2020-2021
    Mauritius Budget Highlights 2020/21 June 4, 2020 KPMG.com/mu Contents 03 KPMG View 08 Budget Financials 10 Economic Outlook Global Business & 14 Regulatory 19 Corporate Tax 23 Personal Tax 26 Indirect Taxes 31 Tax Administration 34 Appendices © 2020 KPMG,KPMG Taxa Mauritian Services partnership Ltd, a Mauritian and a limited member liability firm of company the KPMG and network a member of independent firm of the KPMG member network firms ofaffiliated independent with KPMG memb Inteer firmsrnational affiliated Cooperative, with KPMG a Swiss International entity. All Cooperative, rights reserved.. a Swiss 2 entity. All rights reserved.. Document Classification: KPMG Confidential FOREWORD KPMG View An array of social measures for economic revival The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and economy, building of a pharmaceutical industry and Development, presented on 4 June 2020 the 2020- promotion of regional partnerships. 2021 budget speech entitled “Our new normal: the The tourism industry received a number of incentives economy of life”. such as the possibility to convert hotels into service The Government has embarked into the post COVID- apartments which can be sold individually, a two year 19 era with measures presented under a “Plan de no-licence fee period for Tourism and Beach Authority Relance de L’Investissement et de L’Economie”, operators, a waiver of rental of State land for one year, “Major Structural Reforms” and “Securing and the increase in the rebate scheme for renovation Sustainable and Inclusive Development”. and restructuring to 100% until 2022. As the country navigates its way out of the COVID-19 Reducing concentration and promoting local pandemic with a projected contraction of 11% this manufacturing year, we also face an ageing population and a high Local manufacturers will benefit with supermarkets gross public sector debt ratio of 83.4% (net 72.7%).
    [Show full text]
  • The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Analysis of Economic Studies
    The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Analysis of Economic Studies James K. Jackson Specialist in International Trade and Finance June 30, 2016 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R44551 The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Analysis of Economic Studies Summary Congress plays a major role in formulating and implementing U.S. trade policy through its legislative and oversight responsibilities. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the authority to regulate foreign commerce, while the President has the authority to conduct foreign relations. In 2015, Congress reauthorized Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) that( 1) sets trade policy objectives for the President to negotiate in trade agreements; (2) requires the President to engage with and keep Congress informed of negotiations; and (3) provides for Congressional consideration of legislation to implement trade agreements on an expedited basis, based on certain criteria. The United States is considering the recently-concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) among the United States and 11 other countries. The 12 TPP countries signed the agreement in February 2016, but the agreement must be ratified by each country before it can enter into force. In the United States this requires implementing legislation by Congress. The agreement is viewed by the participants as a “comprehensive and high standard” mega- regional free trade agreement that may hold the promise of greater economic opportunities and closer economic and strategic ties among the negotiating parties. For Members of Congress and others, international trade and trade agreements may offer the prospect of improved national economic welfare. Such agreements, however, have mixed effects on U.S. domestic and foreign interests, both economic and political.
    [Show full text]
  • Fiscal and Structural Reforms in Saint Lucia: Towards a Comprehensive
    FISCAL AND STRUCTURAL REFORMS IN SAINT LUCIA: TOWARDS A COMPREHENSIVE AGENDA NOVEMBER 2016 FISCAL AND STRUCTURAL REFORMS IN SAINT LUCIA: TOWARDS A MORE COMPREHENSIVE AGENDA vi Disclaimer Copyright © Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The opinions, findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the staff of CDB and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent. This work may be reproduced, with attribution to CDB, for any non-commercial purpose. The use of CDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of CDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written licence agreement between CDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this licence. No derivative work is allowed. CDB does not necessarily own each component of the content contained within this document and therefore does not warrant that the use of any third-party owned individual component or part contained in this work will not infringe on the rights of those third parties. Any risks of claims resulting from such infringement rest solely with the user. CDB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. Any dispute related to the use of the works of CDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. Nothing herein shall constitute or be deemed to constitute a waiver of the privileges and immunities of CDB, all of which are specifically reserved. FISCAL AND STRUCTURAL REFORMS IN SAINT LUCIA: TOWARDS A MORE COMPREHENSIVE AGENDA ii Acknowledgements The Caribbean Development Bank expresses appreciation to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank for its contribution to the Report, as well as to the Staff of the Ministry of Finance, especially the Research and Policy Unit, who provided invaluable assistance on this project.
    [Show full text]
  • A) the Economic Rationale for Trade Net Effect on the Terms-Of-Trade, but Lead to a Agreements Contraction of Trade Volumes Which Reduces Overall Welfare (See Box 1
    II – B FLEXIBILITY IN TRADE AGREEMENTS B FLEXIBILITY IN TRADE AGREEMENTS The aim of this section is to: (a) clarify what Economists have identified several rationales for justifies the inclusion of contingency measures in the existence of trade agreements, such as those trade agreements; (b) provide an account of all embodied in the WTO, and its antecedent, the circumstances when a suspension of commitments General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). may make economic sense; and (c) identify the Two main approaches can be distinguished.1 The flexibility measures built into WTO agreements. first states that in the absence of a trade agreement, The section provides a framework for the discussion a country may be tempted to manipulate the of specific contingency measures in the subsequent terms-of-trade (i.e. the price of its exports relative sections of the Report. to its imports) in order to increase its national income at the expense of its trading partners. The 1. ECONOMIC THEORIES OF second approach stresses the economic and political TRADE AGREEMENTS AND THE difficulties that governments face in setting trade policy. As discussed below, trade agreements allow ROLE OF FLEXIBILITIES governments to escape terms-of-trade conflicts and/ or to resist pressures from the private sector and Trade agreements aim to strike a balance between special-interest groups urging the government to flexibility and commitments. If there is too deviate from a liberal trade policy. much flexibility, the value of the commitment is undermined. If there is too little flexibility, countries i) The traditional approach to trade agreements may refuse to make deep commitments or may easily renege on such commitments.
    [Show full text]
  • Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogeneous Growth
    Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogeneous Growth The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Barro, Robert J. 1990. Government spending in a simple model of endogeneous growth. Journal of Political Economy 98(S5): 103-125. Published Version doi:10.1086/261726 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3451296 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogenous Growth Robert J. Barro Harvard Universityand National Bureau of Economic Research One strand of endogenous-growth models assumes constant returns to a broad concept of capital. I extend these models to include tax- financed government services that affect production or utility. Growth and saving rates fall with an increase in utility-type expendi- tures; the two rates rise initially with productive government expen- ditures but subsequently decline. With an income tax, the decen- tralized choices of growth and saving are "too low," but if the production function is Cobb-Douglas, the optimizing government still satisfies a natural condition for productive efficiency. Empirical evidence across countries supports some of the hypotheses about government and growth. Recent models of economic growth can generate long-term growth without relying on exogenous changes in technology or population. Some of the models amount to theories of technological progress (Romer 1986; this issue) and others to theories of population change (Becker and Barro 1988).
    [Show full text]
  • English.Pdf Purchasing Power Parity [PPP])—Much Lower Than 2 World Bank
    CENTRAL Public Disclosure Authorized AFRICAN REPUBLIC ECONOMIC Public Disclosure Authorized UPDATE FOURTH EDITION Investing in Public Disclosure Authorized Human Capital to Protect the Future JULY 2021 Public Disclosure Authorized © 2021 The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Attribution—Please cite the work as follows: “World Bank. 2021. Central African Republic Economic Update: Investing in Human Capital to Protect the Future. © World Bank.” All queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625;
    [Show full text]
  • Government of Saint Lucia Review of the Economy 2016
    GOVERNMENT OF SAINT LUCIA REVIEW OF THE ECONOMY 2016 Review of the Economy 2016 NOTE /ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The data contained in this Review have been arranged and classified to facilitate economic analysis, and may therefore not coincide exactly with the accounting systems from which they may have been derived. In addition, the figures for the year under review, and in some cases for previous years, are preliminary. The Government of Saint Lucia wishes to thank, for their kind cooperation, all the individuals and institutions in both the public and private sectors (whether in Saint Lucia or abroad), who have supplied data or other information for this Review. i Review of the Economy 2016 Contents International Economic Developments ....................................................................... 1 Regional Economic Developments .............................................................................. 3 TOURISM ................................................................................................................ 11 Hotel Performance and Visitor Expenditure ........................................................... 13 CONSTRUCTION ..................................................................................................... 17 Imports of Construction Materials ......................................................................... 17 Private Sector Construction .................................................................................. 18 Public Sector Construction ..................................................................................
    [Show full text]