International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, &, Review Department, and International Monetary Fund. Finance Dept.
The Fund is facing strong demand for financing from low-income countries (LICs). Commodity price shocks and loose fiscal policies have contributed to rising debt levels and financing needs in many countries. Several developing states, especially smaller ones, are also increasingly vulnerable to large natural disasters. At the same time, many LICs less dependent on commodity exports have enjoyed robust growth in recent years, with more contained vulnerabilities.
The Growth and Social Protection Strategy (GSPS) attaches great importance to the promotion of economic growth and job creation, given the nature of poverty in Dominica. The GSPS also stresses that existing health and education programs are essential to foster growth in the medium and long terms, but further efforts are needed. The GSPS contains a macroeconomic framework that is consistent with the proposed objectives of poverty reduction. The growth and fiscal targets envisaged in the macroeconomic framework are also consistent with the objective of maintaining public debt sustainability.
The Growth and Social Protection Strategy (GSPS) provides the framework for Dominica’s economic and social policies over the next five years and sets out the macroeconomic framework; the growth strategy, including the enabling environment for private enterprise and sectoral strategies; and poverty reduction and social protection programs. Economic growth in Dominica was curtailed by a conjuncture of unfavorable developments, particularly with respect to trade, but there were underlying weaknesses in the economy such as a reliance on one or two sectors, with this lack of diversity exacerbating its vulnerability to economic shocks.
This paper discusses the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper—Preparation Status Report for Dominica. The paper discusses that the government of the Commonwealth of Dominica has advanced its sectoral strategy to enhance growth in several dimensions. With technical assistance from the World Bank, the government has been reviewing its Electricity Supply Act to modify it and allow the exploitation of geothermal energy, which potentially can be exported to neighboring islands. The government has also made progress in the area of social protection.
This paper examines the First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for Dominica. The authorities were encouraged by the stronger-than-envisaged performance, but considered it premature to change the macroeconomic framework. The recent encouraging developments on the growth front enhanced the credibility of the macroeconomic framework and increased the chances of success. The authorities embraced the ambitious structural reform agenda as a necessary course of action to address the complex problems faced by Dominica.
This paper provides the joint assessment of the staff of the World Bank and the IMF on the interim poverty reduction strategy paper (I-PRSP) prepared by the government of the Commonwealth of Dominica and submitted to the World Bank and the IMF. The preparation of this I-PRSP—the later full PRSP—is intended to provide a framework for assistance under the poverty reduction and growth facility. The authorities have consented to the publication of both the I-PRSP and the joint staff assessment (JSA).
Poverty in Dominica exhibits the following: poor households tend to be larger than nonpoor households; poor households contain proportionately fewer persons of working age, and there is no significant difference in the gender distribution of poverty in the country. The challenges of this poverty-reduction strategy will be to foster growth and private sector employment, and to achieve fiscal and broader economic stability and a dynamic, accountable, and effective public service to provide a strong basis for the sustainable and integrated political, social, and economic development of Dominica.
In this study, the authorities outlined a two-stage strategy and explained the need for requesting the cancellation of Stand-By Arrangement and the approval of a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF). The objective of the three-year program is to review growth by addressing the debt overhang and structural weaknesses. The underlying concept of fiscal reform is to support the achievement of the medium-term primary surplus target. The authorities will implement a number of initiatives to strengthen the investment climate in the economy.