Publication

Tonga faces many of the challenges typical in small island economies, including geographic isolation, limited human and financial resources, and high costs of doing business and providing basic services. The economy has a narrow base, dependent on inflows of remittances and external assistance and is vulnerable to external shocks. Tonga’s economy had a 2.4% averaged growth rate during fiscal years 2015–2019 ending in June. The gross domestic product contracted by 0.8% in fiscal year 2020 and 5.3% in fiscal year 2021 are, due to the impacts of disasters and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Regulation as a tool for pursuing equitable national development and the provision of adequate goods and services is an often enigmatic and inadequately understood subject. This book unravels the subject from theory to practice. It explains the rationale for, and objectives of, regulation in several economic sectors and addresses the policy, legal and institutional arrangements and mechanisms normally employed as well as the advantages and pitfalls of alternative approaches. The examples given elucidate these aspects not only on Tanzania and other African countries but also include cases from across the globe.

The region is expected to grow at a slower pace of 4.7% in 2022—due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, which is already putting pressure on energy and food prices—before recovering to 5.5% in 2023. The projected strong growth is not homogenous across the region, with four countries (Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, and South Sudan) expected to grow above 5% in both 2022 and 2023. Growth will likely be subdued in Comoros, Somalia, and Sudan below 3% in 2022, while all the East African countries (except Comoros and Eritrea) should experience a growth rate of more than 4% in 2023.

Today's African political class is much more diverse in character and aspiration than the one that overcame colonial rule and inaugurated independent governments. Sons of early liberation leaders now jostle for power in a few countries (Chad, Kenya), descendants of successful autocrats perpetuate family rule in others (Gabon), several long-serving hegemons remain in control after decades in office (as in Cameroon, Djibouti, Rwanda and Uganda), a clutch of kleptocrats continue to defraud citizens (as in Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe), upstart soldiers oust elected placeholders (Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali), and here and there democratic stalwarts (Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia) are delivering authentic, uplifting, leadership to their followers.

The Asia-Pacific region continues to be the largest contributor to the worldwide build-up of preferential trade agreements (PTAs), accounting for about half of PTAs worldwide. PTAs have become bigger, deeper, more digital and increasingly supportive of sustainable development, with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) exemplifying these trends.

This working paper outlines how to scale up the private sector's involvement in climate adaptation and harness its financial clout, technical know-how, and ingenuity to help build climate resilient economies in the Asia and Pacific region. It assesses the role businesses currently play and looks at the technical, financial, and institutional hurdles they face. It explores financing options and underscores the importance of companies becoming “solution providers”.

Despite some pre-pandemic gains in poverty reduction, literacy, and lifespans, many economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have struggled to ensure that the benefits of economic development and diversification accrue equitably to all segments of their populations. Among the main issues that remain unresolved are the high share of inactive youth (who are not engaged in employment, education, or training); large gaps in economic opportunities for women; fragmented social protection systems; and underdeveloped private sectors with tight regulation, absence of a level playing field, and limited access to credit that stifle the creation of new firms and growth, employment, and incomes.

In a worsening global environment, economies in the Middle East and Central Asia are being buffeted by a confluence of shocks: a global slowdown, high and volatile food and energy prices, faster and stronger than expected tightening of financial conditions, and the risk of fragmentation. The region’s emerging market and middle-income economies and low-income countries are hit hard, with many facing curtailed access to market financing, while oil-exporting countries are being buffered by still-high energy prices.

Across Africa, rising mobile phone penetration, improving broadband Internet, and growing use of mobile money are creating new opportunities for governments, businesses, and individuals. While Africa’s digital revolution has been impressive, the continent has further to go to close gender digital divide. Four hundred million women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain unconnected. Digital technologies can and have played a key role in mitigating the economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis

A sharp global growth slowdown and concerns about an impending global recession are weighing on commodity prices. In many economies, however, prices in domestic-currency terms remain elevated because of currency depreciations. This could deepen the food and energy crises already underway in a number of countries. As the global growth slowdown intensifies, commodity prices are expected to ease in the next two years, but they will remain considerably above their average over the past five years. Energy prices are expected to fall by 11% in 2023 and 12% in 2024. Agricultural and metal prices are projected to decline 5% and 15%, respectively, in 2023 before stabilizing in 2024. This outlook, however, is subject to numerous risks both in the short- and medium-term.

On 20 September 2022, the Ugandan health authorities declared an Ebola outbreak after the confirmation of one case in Madudu subcounty of Mubende district (the central region of Uganda) on 19 September. As at 7 November, there were 135 confirmed cases and 53 associated deaths. More than 1,000 doctors, pharmacists, and nurses protested on 6 November over delayed payments and wage conditions. They also denounced the inadequate supply of personal protective equipment. And there is a high risk of the death toll increasing. The Government has projected 500 fatalities by April 2023.

A specific ‘Asian view’ that is not open to regional initiatives has been mentioned, but this is challenged as digitalisation raises similar issues in all countries and a lack of harmonisation of rights protection can hinder trade. The nature of rights in the digital environment, with standards and less ‘political’ rights may speak in favour of greater possibilities for a regional approach in Asia.

Russian and Russian-controlled forces have committed war crimes and likely crimes against humanity by unlawfully transferring or deporting civilians from certain occupied parts of Ukraine. Russian and Russian-controlled authorities also forced civilians through an abusive screening process known as ‘filtration,’ where some were arbitrarily detained, subject to torture or other ill-treatment, and separated from their children.

The 59-page report, ‘“Those Who Returned Are Suffering’: Impact of Camp Shutdowns on People Displaced by the Boko Haram Conflict in Nigeria” documents the effect of the shutdowns, which have disrupted food support for internally displaced people and compelled them to leave the camps.

While many of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge regime during the Cambodian genocide have been well documented, forced marriage remains poorly understood. This article documents the perspectives of women and men who experienced forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge, using primary data from interviews with 28 women and 30 men. The interviews reveal the profound violence, coercion and threats that surrounded the experience of forced marriage, with similarities and differences in the experiences of men and women.

In the changing dynamics of today’s world, globalisation and sovereignty remain centrally important. Simultaneously, international commerce in the form of global value chains is playing an increasingly significant role in linking and mediating the overlap of globalisation and sovereignty. Nation-state governments use law to manage this overlap. By examining the intersection of laws regarding foreign investment and human rights, it becomes possible to gain insight into the constraints that national governments face in regard to protecting local interests while catering to the demands of global commerce. Human rights protections, after all, benefit local welfare but inhibit investment because they impose costs on companies.

This report shows how Puma Energy, majority-owned by global commodity giant Trafigura, has played a key role in supplying the Myanmar military since 2015 through its Myanmar entities. It also shows how global and regional oil companies, as well as maritime insurers, vessel owners, shipping agents and truck distributors, also play a part in this supply chain. Without the provision of aviation fuel, the Myanmar military would have no means to power the aircraft responsible for air strikes amounting to crimes.

Governments can use artificial intelligence to design better policies and make better and more targeted decisions, enhance communication and engagement with citizens, and improve the speed and quality of public services. The Latin America and the Caribbean region is seeking to leverage the immense potential of AI to promote the digital transformation of the public sector.

Mainstreaming the gender perspective in national statistical systems makes it possible to produce information that reflects the circumstances of women and men in all their diversity, and thus to shed light on inequalities in different aspects of life. This document presents the current situation of statistical production with a gender perspective in Latin America and the Caribbean, the factors that have been key to making progress in this area and the remaining challenges.

Written by experts across three continents, contributions to this edited volume explore the bilateral relations that China has developed with almost all Latin American and Caribbean countries, charting both the benefits they have brought and the problems that these relations have created for local actors. The book analyses the emergence of new forms of "dependence", considers issues such as the existence of a deindustrialization phenomenon throughout Latin America and ultimately questions whether China and the United States are engaged in a zero-sum game in the region.