Uganda’s Recipe for Growth
By IMFBlog
July 21, 2017
Construction worker in Uganda (photo: James Akena/Reuters/Newscom)
After two decades of steady growth, Uganda’s economy has slowed, and life for Ugandans is not improving fast enough.
Drought in the Horn of Africa, regional conflict, and slow credit growth have contributed to this decline, with per capita growth falling to ½ percent from an average of 5 percent for the past 20 years.
In this podcast, the IMF’s Mission Chief for Uganda, Axel Schimmelpfennig, says that some strategic infrastructure investment, better debt management, and tapping into Uganda's new-found oil reserves could help turn the economy around.
“In our estimates the revenues could range on an annual basis from about ½ percent GDP initially to about 4 percent at peak production, he says. “The challenge that many oil producers face is to manage this well.”
Schimmelpfennig says the government is planning to start oil production in 2020, and reap the benefits for almost 30 years.
Schimmelpfennig adds that the Ugandan government is focused on the efficiency of its public investment. “By picking the right projects, making sure they are prepared the right way and executed properly, at the end of the day, infrastructure investment can give Uganda high growth,” he says.
In the meantime, Schimmelpfennig says, the government has plans to increase revenue collection. The IMF has been helping the country improve its tax collection including that of international companies doing business in Uganda.
“It’s a global phenomenon, actually—companies can choose the way they structure their businesses—if they want to pay taxes in Uganda or somewhere else. So, you want to make sure that companies pay taxes for the activities in your country.”
Listen to the full podcast and read the IMF staff report on the latest economic health check of Uganda.
IMF Support for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals
By Stefania Fabrizio, Roland Kpodar, and Chris Lane
July 19, 2017
Versions in عربي (Arabic), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)
Schoolchildren in line in Mali: Reducing the large gap between men’s and women’s education in some low-income states is one of the 2030 goals which IMF advice can address (photo: Stringer/Reuters/Newscom)
Since the adoption of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, we at the IMF have supported countries to reach their goals through policy advice, training, and financial support. Results will accrue over time, and we already see some notable progress. Continue reading “IMF Support for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals” »
Chart of the Week: A Golden Aging for Vietnam?
By IMFBlog
July 17, 2017
A worker in a silk factory in Dalat, Vietnam. Encouraging more women to join the workforce and shifting to higher productivity occupations will help the country overcome the impact of an aging population (photo: Gerhard Zwerger-Schoner/imageBroker/Newscom)
Vietnam’s demographic dividend is fast turning into a handicap.
For decades, working-age Vietnamese made up an expanding share of the population, boosting economic growth and helping to keep retirement and health spending in check. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: A Golden Aging for Vietnam?” »
Corrosive and Costly Corruption
By IMFblog
July 14, 2017
Corruption can hurt growth and ruin people’s economic chances (photo: Eugene Keebler/iStock)
Corruption can lead to pervasive distrust in government, generating violence, civil strife, and conflict. And the results are devastating for people.
Another problem is that corruption is costly—particularly for those who are already worse off. IMF research shows that in countries with greater levels of corruption, infant mortality and dropout rates are especially high, partly due to less spending on health and education. Reduced investment in these areas tends to hurt poor people the most, and contributes to higher inequality. Continue reading “Corrosive and Costly Corruption” »
What We Have Seen and Learned 20 Years After the Asian Financial Crisis
July 13, 2017
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French),
日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian)
A trader in Seoul, South Korea: Asia is the largest contributor to global growth (photo: Ryu Seung-il/Polaris/Newscom)
Asia today is the fastest-growing region in the world, and the largest contributor to global growth. It has six members of the Group of Twenty advanced and emerging economies, and its economic and social achievements are well recognized.
But 20 years ago, July 1997 marked the beginning of the Asian Financial Crisis, when a combination of economic, financial and corporate problems triggered a sharp loss of confidence and capital outflows from the region’s emerging market economies. The crisis began in Thailand on July 2, when the baht’s peg to the dollar was dropped, and eventually spread to Korea, Indonesia and other countries. Continue reading “What We Have Seen and Learned 20 Years After the Asian Financial Crisis” »
Peer Pressure: Tax Competition and Developing Economies
By Michael Keen and Jim Brumby
July 11, 2017
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)
A salesman checks an iphone in New Delhi, India: governments compete to attract investors with low corporate tax rates (photo: Adnan Abidi/Reuters/Newscom)
Economists tend to agree on the importance of competition for a sound market economy. So, what’s the problem when it comes to governments competing to attract investors through the tax treatment they provide? The trouble is that by competing with one another and eroding each other’s revenues, countries end up having to rely on other—typically more distortive—sources of financing or reduce much-needed public spending, or both. Continue reading “Peer Pressure: Tax Competition and Developing Economies” »
Chart of the Week: Norway’s Home-Price Boom
By IMFBlog
July 10, 2017
A crane looms over the city of Oslo, Norway: Constraints on new construction limit the supply of housing, driving up prices (photo: Ingram Publishing/Newscom)
Think Londoners and New Yorkers have it bad when it comes to sky-high house prices? Residents of Oslo have reason to gripe, too.
House prices in the Norwegian capital are among the world’s highest, as measured by the average cost of a home relative to household median income. Prices in Oslo are perhaps the most visible symptom of a real estate boom across the oil-rich, Nordic nation of 5.2 million people.
Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Norway’s Home-Price Boom” »
Transparency Pays: Emerging Markets Share More Data
By Sangyup Choi and Stephanie Medina Cas
July 7, 2017
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), 日本語, Français (French), (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), and Русский (Russian)
On the move in Mexico City, Mexico: emerging market economies that are transparent with their data can lower their borrowing costs (photo: Edgard Garrido/Reuters/Newscom)
If sunlight is the best disinfectant, as US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once famously said, can it also be a money maker? We have tried to quantify the financial gains from greater transparency that emerging market countries can achieve.
Continue reading “Transparency Pays: Emerging Markets Share More Data” »
No Time to Stand Still: Strengthening Global Growth and Building Inclusive Economies
July 5, 2017
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), Deutsch (German), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)
The port of Hamburg, Germany: G20 leaders meet to discuss policies to strengthen the global economic recovery (photo: Markus Lange/robertharding/Newscom)
Nearly sixty years ago, a little-known band called the Beatles arrived in Hamburg, got a haircut, recorded their first song, and found their sound.
Taking a cue from the Fab Four, world leaders gathering for the Group of Twenty Summit this week can make the most of their time in Hamburg—and leave Germany with a sound plan to strengthen global growth.
Chart of the Week: Ireland’s Fight Against Income Inequality
By IMFBlog
June 30, 2017
Shoppers in Dublin, Ireland: the country has high income inequality, before taxes and transfers (photo: Caro Rupert Oberhaeuser/Newscom)
Ireland’s economy continues to recover after a housing market crash in 2008 plunged the country into a deep and severe crisis. The strong social welfare system provided an important cushion against the worst effects of the crisis.
Ireland’s tax-benefit system is one of the most effective in the European Union in redistributing income. The tax system is relatively progressive and funds a robust system of social benefits, a significant share of which is means-tested. Income inequality before taxes and transfers in Ireland is high—37 percent of income is held by the top 10 percent of income earners. Social transfers make up about 70 percent of income for the bottom 20 percent of earners.
Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Ireland’s Fight Against Income Inequality” »
