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Social Science > Poverty and Homelessness

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Somalia: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper-Joint Staff Advisory Note
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for Somalia highlights that Somalia continued to face challenges while implementing the Ninth National Development Plan in 2021 and 2022. Since 2020, the country has been struggling with the ongoing impacts of a desert locust infestation, persistent drought, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and global food and fuel price increases due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All of these shocks compounded the hardships of the population, including food insecurity. The number of people facing food insecurity due to the drought rose from 3.2 million in January 2022 to5.6 million by end-2022. Parliamentary and Presidential elections that were supposed to commence by end-2020 were not completed until in May 2022, also affecting the timing of external grant disbursements. The mid-term review report addresses concerns raised in staffs’ previous JSAN on Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Completion Point, climate change, and revenue mobilization. In terms of progress toward the HIPC Completion Point, as of September 2023 the government has completed 13 of 14 Completion Point triggers.
Keywords:
member country's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper; Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper to the executive boards; copyright page; objective of the JSAN; government program; Poverty reduction strategy; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Somalia: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper-Joint Staff Advisory Note
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) reviews the first Annual Progress Report (APR) on Somalia’s Ninth National Development Plan (NDP9). NDP9 is a nationally owned and comprehensive strategy for poverty reduction and inclusive growth. It covers 2020–2024 and is organized around the four pillars: Inclusive Politics, Security and the Rule of Law, Economic Development and Social Development. Somalia began implementing NDP9 at a time of profound challenges posed by the ‘triple crises’ of locust infestations, a global pandemic, and floods. An outbreak of desert locusts started in 2019 that threatened the food supply across the Horn of Africa. In 2020, the world was hit by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The IMF Staff concur with the APR’s assessment that important progress has been made on implementation of the NPD9, despite challenges from the triple shocks faced by Somalia in 2020. Notwithstanding the multiple shocks, the Somali authorities preserved macroeconomic stability and maintained the reform momentum, strengthening domestic revenue mobilization, public financial management, financial sector regulation and supervision, statistics and governance.
Keywords:
objective of the JSAN; copyright page; advisory note; feedback to the country; cash transfer program; Poverty reduction strategy; Budget planning and preparation; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Recoveries After Pandemics: The Role of Policies and Structural Features
Juan Pablo Cuesta Aguirre
and
Mrs. Swarnali A Hannan
To shed light on the possible scarring effects from Covid-19, this paper studies the economic effects of five past pandemics using local projections on a sample of fifty-five countries over 1990-2019. The findings reveal that pandemics have detrimental medium-term effects on output, unemployment, poverty, and inequality. However, policies can go a long way toward alleviating suffering and fostering an inclusive recovery. The adverse output effects are limited for countries that provided relatively greater fiscal support. The increases in unemployment, poverty, and inequality are likewise lower for countries with relatively greater fiscal support and relatively stronger initial conditions (as defined by higher formality, family benefits, and health spending per capita).
Keywords:
pandemics; output; unemployment; poverty; inequality; fiscal support; informality; social expenditure; health expenditure.; increases in unemployment; copyright page; potential GDP; group four; expenditure group; COVID-19; Income inequality; Health care spending; Maternity and childcare benefit spending; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Sudan: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper-Joint Staff Advisory Note
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) reviews the Sudan Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for the period 2021–2023. The PRSP was prepared by the Government of Sudan, drawing on lessons learned from the implementation of the 2012 interim poverty reduction strategy paper (I-PRSP).1 The PRSP was approved by the Council of Ministers on May 11, 2021. The government submitted the PRSP to IDA and the IMF on May 12, 2021 to fulfill the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative’s poverty reduction strategy requirement.
Keywords:
member country's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper; copyright page; objective of the JSAN; advisory note; government ministry; Poverty reduction strategy; Poverty reduction; Poverty reduction and development; Africa; Global
Cover Departmental Papers
Commodity Cycles, Inequality, and Poverty in Latin America
Mr. Ravi Balakrishnan
,
Sandra Lizarazo
,
Marika Santoro
,
Mr. Frederik G Toscani
, and
Mr. Mauricio Vargas
Over the past decades, inequality has risen not just in advanced economies but also in many emerging market and developing economies, becoming one of the key global policy challenges. And throughout the 20th century, Latin America was associated with some of the world’s highest levels of inequality. Yet something interesting happened in the first decade and a half of the 21st century. Latin America was the only region in the World to have experienced significant declines in inequality in that period. Poverty also fell in Latin America, although this was replicated in other regions, and Latin America started from a relatively low base. Starting around 2014, however, and even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, poverty and inequality gains had already slowed in Latin America and, in some cases, gone into reverse. And the COVID-19 shock, which is still playing out, is likely to dramatically worsen short-term poverty and inequality dynamics. Against this background, this departmental paper investigates the link between commodity prices, and poverty and inequality developments in Latin America.
Keywords:
latin America; Commodity Cycles; Inequality; Poverty; Equilibrium Models; commodity exporter; commodity cycle; IMF staff calculation; commodity price boom; natural resource; commodity endowment; Headcount ratio; poverty in Latin America; Income inequality; Income; Income distribution; South America; Central America; Western Hemisphere; Caribbean
Cover IMF Working Papers
Designing Fiscal Redistribution: The Role of Universal and Targeted Transfers
Mr. David Coady
and
Nghia-Piotr Le
There is a growing debate on the relative merits of universal and targeted social assistance transfers in achieving income redistribution objectives. While the benefits of targeting are clear, i.e., a larger poverty impact for a given transfer budget or lower fiscal cost for a given poverty impact, in practice targeting also comes with various costs, including incentive, administrative, social and political costs. The appropriate balance between targeted and universal transfers will therefore depend on how countries decide to trade-off these costs and benefits as well as on the potential for redistribution through taxes. This paper discusses the trade-offs that arise in different country contexts and the potential for strengthening fiscal redistribution in advanced and developing countries, including through expanding transfer coverage and progressive tax financing.
Keywords:
WP; income; cost; earned income; taxation framework; consumption taxation; transfer program; income tax schedule; efficiency cost; poverty impact; redistribution objective; means testing; income share; public spending; income redistribution objective; progressive tax; poverty line; Personal income; Income tax systems; Fiscal redistribution; Income inequality; Middle East; North Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Global; East Africa; transfers; taxes; targeted; universal; income transfer
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Somalia: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper-Joint Staff Advisory Note
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Joint Staff Advisory Note on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper discusses that Somalia has made noteworthy progress since 2012 to recover from decades of conflict and state fragmentation. The country has succeeded in rebuilding core state capabilities and organized two democratic national elections in 2012 and 2017. Somalia has now reached the stage where it seeks to fully reengage the international community and is requesting debt relief through the heavily indebted poor countries initiative. The authorities developed the Ninth National Development Plan (NPD9) through a highly consultative, participatory process that ensured full country ownership. The macroeconomic policy objectives of NDP9 are to promote economic growth in an environment of low inflation, sustainable fiscal and current account balances, and healthy foreign exchange reserves. The IMF staff recommends updating framework to incorporate greater support for poverty reduction and additional financing from development partners during the interim period. The IMF staff supports the authorities’ commitment to issuing new Somali shilling banknotes, while maintaining de facto dollarization.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; NDP9; government; NDP topic; connections to the RRF; Somali government; debt management; core government function; government structure; private sector; Budget planning and preparation; Poverty reduction strategy; Fiscal governance; Africa; East Africa; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Economic Development Documents
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Economic Development Document summarizes Mauritania’s Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity (SCAPP) for 2016–30. The first five-year phase of the SCAPP will complete projects underway and lay the foundation for a new, politically more peaceful Mauritania, with infrastructure to support growth and encourage development of the country’s natural resources. Steps will be taken to complete the reforms needed to improve the business climate and promote the private sector. In the second five-year period, the economy will be more diversified and competitive, with the real rate of growth averaging about 10 percent a year. The third five-year phase will consolidate Mauritania’s “new look,” and economic growth will exceed 12 percent a year.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; border
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Economic Development Documents
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Economic Development Document summarizes Mauritania’s Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity (SCAPP) for 2016–30. The first five-year phase of the SCAPP will complete projects under way and lay the foundations for a new, politically more peaceful Mauritania, with infrastructure put in place to support growth and encourage development of the country's natural resources. Steps will be taken to complete the reforms needed to improve the business climate and promote the private sector. In the second five-year period, the economy will be more diversified and competitive, with the real rate of growth averaging at about 10 percent a year. The third five-year phase will consolidate Mauritania's “new look” and the economic growth will exceed 12 percent a year.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; border; private sector development strategy; public finance; Islamic Republic of Mauritania honor; natural resources; poverty rate; shared prosperity; Inclusive growth; Public investment and public-private partnerships (PPP); Human capital; Business environment; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Armenia: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This paper describes that with the global downturn in 2007–2009, some of these achievements were partially reversed due to severe negative shocks to growth and changes in the composition of growth. While compared to peer countries, inequality in Armenia remains low; it has increased somewhat since 2009. Poverty has marginally declined after the global crisis, but unemployment remains high. Creating jobs, reducing poverty, and higher inclusiveness would require sustained high growth and implementing pro-poor policies. Better-targeted social policies and more attention to the regional distribution of spending would also help reduce poverty and improve inclusiveness. Poverty declined during the 2000s, supported by high growth. Poverty rate decreased by one third and the extreme poverty declined by half during 2004–2008. In addition to strong growth which created many job opportunities, higher social expenditures played a key role in lowering poverty. Regional disparities of poverty levels remain very high. These disparities, however, are geographical and not across the urban/rural divide. Indeed, contrary to the common perception, poverty rates in urban and rural areas are almost the same.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; government; poverty rate; employment prospect; promotion program; poverty severity; youth unemployment; expenditure policy; State employment agencies; employment contribution; Employment; Unemployment; Labor force participation; Labor force; Global