Western Hemisphere > Belize

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Johanna Tiedemann
,
Veronica Piatkov
,
Dinar Prihardini
,
Juan Carlos Benitez
, and
Ms. Aleksandra Zdzienicka
Small Developing States (SDS) face substantial challenges in achieving sustainable development. Many of these challenges relate to the small size and limited diversification of their economies. SDS are also among the most vulnerable countries to the impact of climate change and natural disasters. Meeting SDS sustainable development goals goes hand-in-hand with building their climate resilience. But the additional costs to meet development and resilience objectives are substantial and difficult to finance. This work adapts the IMF SDG Costing methodology to capture the unique characteristics and challenges of climate-vulnerable SDS. It also zooms into financing options, estimating domestic tax potential and discussing the possibility of accessing ‘climate funds.’
Mr. Julian T Chow
Belize’s tourism sector has witnessed impressive growth in recent years with overnight tourist arrivals registering double digit annual growth rates since 2016. To guide the development of the tourism sector from 2012 to 2030, the government endorsed a National Sustainable Tourism Master Plan in 2011, setting various initiatives and targets for the immediate and medium terms. Using a panel regression analysis on twelve Caribbean countries, this paper finds that accelerating structural reforms, fortifying governance frameworks, reducing crime, and mitigating the impact of natural disasters will help sustain tourism growth in Belize and contribute to economic well-being. This is in addition to tackling infrastructure bottlenecks and mitigating concerns relating to the “shared economy”.
Dmitry Vasilyev
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Belize grew faster than its regional peers. By the mid-2000s, however, economic growth had slowed down to the regional average. A vicious circle of low growth and increasing public debt has been clouding Belize’s outlook. This paper applies a growth diagnostic approach based on the Hausmann-Rodrik-Velasco framework to investigate the main growth constraints and opportunities for higher growth in Belize. Improvements in access to finance and in the business climate could unlock Belize’s strengths.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This paper discusses key issues of the Belize economy. The economic condition of Belize is characterized by sluggish growth and a weak fiscal stance, which have put public debt on an unsustainable path. Social and poverty challenges remain significant. The unemployment rate remains high compared with its 2008 level of 8 percent, despite a reduction to 12.1 percent in September 2014 from 14.2 percent in September 2013. Per capita GDP remains far below its regional peers. This paper also focuses on measures that would signal credible commitment to fiscal consolidation, strengthen the financial system, and boost economic, growth taking into account constraints on human and financial resources.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This IMF staff report on Belize’s 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights economic developments and macroeconomic outlook. Macroeconomic developments in 2012 were underpinned by robust output growth but clouded by uncertainties surrounding the debt restructuring and growth prospects of major trading partners. New provisioning, and loan classification standards implemented by the central bank at end-2011 have resulted in declining nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the banking system and improving provisioning. NPLs remain high at 20 percent of total loans at end-2012, with heavy concentration in one domestic and some international banks. In compliance with the new prudential measures, banks have been required to write off bad loans within 3–5 years.