Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized 2 © 2017 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. Mauritius Country Economic Memorandum: Through the Eye of a Perfect Storm.” 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; e-mail: [email protected]. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Country Economic Memorandum was produced by a team of World Bank staff and external experts led by Erik von Uexkull (Senior Economist) under the guidance of Mathew Verghis (Practice Manager), Mark Lundell (Country Director for Mauritius until July 2020) and Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough (current Country Director). The report was edited by Erik von Uexkull and Richard Newfarmer (Consultant), except for chapter 4 which was edited by Jana Kunicova (Senior Public Sector Specialist), based on the contributions of the following team members (in order of their appearance in the report): • Skills Development: Lianqin Wang (Lead Education Specialist), Vania Salgado (Consultant) and Tanya Savrimootoo (Economist) • Migration: Soonhwa Yi (Senior Economist) • Competition: Sara Nyman (Senior Economist), Ana Margarida Fernandes (Senior Economist), Tristan Reed (Economist) and Sha’ista Goga (Acacia Consulting) • Solid Waste Management: Julien Million (Senior Fisheries Expert), Benjamin Garnaud (Consultant), Ljupka Arsova (IFC Investment Officer) and Zanele Hlatshwayo (IFC Investment Officer) • Port Management: Richard Martin Humphreys (Senior Transport Economist) • Fisheries: Julien Million (Senior Fisheries Expert) and Benjamin Garnaud • Disaster Risk Management: Brenden Jongman (Disaster Risk Management Specialist) • State Support: Victor Steenbergen (Economist) and Caroline Schimanski (Consultant) • Innovation: John Gabriel Goddard (Lead Economist) and Iwona Borowik (Consultant) • Tourism: Louise Twining-Ward (Senior Private Sector Specialist) • Air Transport: Charles Schlumberger (Lead Air Transportation Specialist) and Heinrich Bofinger (Consultant) • Trade: Pierre Sauve (Senior Private Sector Specialist), Alberto Portugal (Senior Economist), Sumit Manchanda (Senior Operations Office), Jose Carlos Marzluf (Consultant) and Amery Rocard Kouwoaye (Consultant) • Foreign Direct Investment: Priyanka Kher (Private Sector Specialist), Maria Andersen (Consultant) and Sumit Manchanda • Exchange Rate Management: Eduardo Levy-Yeyati (Consultant) and Federico Filippini (Consultant) • Social Protection: Anita Schwarz (Lead Economist) and Marco Ranzani (Economist) • Labor Market Inclusion: Isis Gaddis (Senior Economist) and Marco Ranzani • Inclusive Education: Lianqin Wang, Vania Salgado, Jee-Peng Tan (Consultant) and Alisa Currimjee (Consultant) • Governance: Jana Kunicova, Kirstin Konti (Public Sector Specialist) and Kathrin Plangemann (Lead Public Sector Specialist) 4 Comments and suggestions from Paulo Correa (Program Leader, EFI), Carolin Geginat (former Program Leader, EFI), Emre Ozaltin (Program Leader, HD) Thomas Buckley (Country Program Coordinator), Vishnu Bassant (Senior Advisor, EDS13), and Natsuko Toba (Economist, IFC) are gratefully acknowledged. Anna Twum (Consultant) and Gaston Nievas (Consultant) provided excellent research assistance, and Nani Makonnen (Senior Program Assistant) and Mariella Beugue (Program Assistant) administrative support. This work benefitted from the support of the Umbrella Facility for Trade trust fund which is financed by the governments of the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom The authors are very grateful to the many counterparts in Mauritius who graciously gave their time, knowledge, and support in many ways. These include Dr. The Honorable Renganaden Padayachy (Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development) and the many staff members of his Ministry who contributed ideas and information, most notably Dr. Sen Narrainen (Senior Economist Advisor), Azeem Salehmohamed (Senior Advisor to the Minister) and Ram Hittoo (Lead Analyst). The authors would also like to express their gratitude to Ken Poonoosamy (Acting CEO) and his team at the Economic Development Board, including Sanroy Seechurn (Manager) and Zakir Caunhye (Head of Department). Many in the private sector, including Kevin Ramkaloan (CEO) and Daden Venkatasawmy (Head, Collaborative Economic Development) of Business Mauritius, Lilowtee Rajmun-Joseery (Director) of the Mauritian Exporters’ Association, Jocelyn Kwok (CEO) of the Mauritius Hotel and Restaurant Association, and Daniel Esso (CEO) of the Mauritius Bankers’ Association, Kem Mohee (President) of Mauritius Industry Information & Technology Association (MITIA) and Binesh Mangar (CEO) of AfricaPay Ltd. repeatedly provided their insights, and many other private sector representatives, as well as education and training institutions, participated in workshops, interviews, or focus group discussions. Prof. Taruna Ramessur and Prof. Verena Tandrayen-Ragoobur of the University of Mauritius provided valuable insights, and Li Fa Cheung Kai Suet (Director of Statistics) and her team at Statistics Mauritius, including Set Fong Cheung Tung Shing (Principal Statistician), repeatedly went out of their way to provide data and address related question. Similarly, under the leadership of Sudhamo Lal (Director General), staff of the Mauritius Revenue Authority including Roshan Oree (Assistant Director) and Jean Claude Pandoo (Team Leader) were very generous with their time to provide data and information, as was Jitendra Bissessur (Director of Research and Economic Analysis) at the Bank of Mauritius. Dr. Harris Neeliah (Manager, Research and Projects) of the Human Resource Development Council, and Deshmuk Kowlessur (Executive Director) and his team and the Mauritius Competition Commission also provided valuable insights and comments. This is an interactive document in which, rather than reading it cover to cover, the reader is encouraged to navigate according to preference. For easy navigation, two types of symbols are used: The forward arrow (→) leads to a section that further develops a topic. A check mark (√) takes the reader directly to the policy recommendations to address an issue. The document is therefore best read in electronic format. 5 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................. 3 LIST OF ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................................... 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 10 A historical year, for better or worse ...................................................................................................... 10 Challenge #1: Unlocking productive private investment ........................................................................ 13 Challenge #2: Restoring external competitiveness ................................................................................. 16 Challenge #3: Maintaining inclusiveness ................................................................................................ 18 Challenge #4: Doing more with less ........................................................................................................ 21 The road ahead ....................................................................................................................................... 23 1. UNLOCKING PRODUCTIVE PRIVATE INESTMENT ................................................................................ 29 1.1. A shift in industrial policy paradigm ........................................................................................... 29 1.2. Closing the skills gap ................................................................................................................... 32 1.3. Promoting competition ............................................................................................................... 39 1.4. Opening space for Public Private Partnerships ........................................................................... 45 1.5. Sustainable management of natural resources (and threats) .................................................... 47 1.6. Redirecting state support towards innovation ..........................................................................