Narrow Your Choices

Refine By Topic

Refine By Series

Refine By Language

Refine By Date

—

Refine By IMF Taxonomy

Refine By JEL Taxonomy

Refine by LOC Taxonomy

Refine By THEMA Taxonomy

  • Print
  • Save

Africa > Uganda

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 22 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics x
  • Economic sectors x
Clear All Modify Search
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Kenya: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper examines tax policy and administrative changes in Eastern African Community (EAC) countries with a view to benchmark Kenya’s experience and draw lessons for future tax reforms. Using granular data from a new IMF database on tax measures announced during 1988–2022, it concludes that EAC policymakers frequently changed their tax system and administrations by announcing tax packages that typically consisted of measures to narrow the tax base and strengthen tax administrative practices. Kenya appeared to be one of the EAC countries that most frequently announced and introduced such changes, which might have played a significant role in explaining the reduction in the tax-to-gross domestic product ratio experienced by the country since 2014. The conclusions of this note are subject to caveats, as the frequency of tax measures is not an indicator of the actual revenue impact of such measures. Looking at the frequency of changes, however, can help identify reform episodes providing a sense of their duration and comprehensiveness.
Keywords:
public sector balance sheet methodology; exchange rate shock; public sector balance sheet vulnerability; public sector balance sheet approach; HM Treasury; EAC policymaker; Tax-to-GDP ratio; Financial statements; Exchange rates; Public sector; Fiscal risks; Global; Australia and New Zealand
Cover IMF Working Papers
Improving Crop Yields in Sub-Saharan Africa - What Does the East African Data Say
Mr. Alun H. Thomas
Recent micro level data from East Africa is used to benchmark aggregate data and assess the role of agricultural inputs in explaining variation in crop yields on smallholding plots. Fertilizer, improved seeds, protection against erosion and pesticides improve crop yields in Rwanda and Ethiopia, but not Uganda, possibly associated with lack of use there. With all positive yield determinants in place, wheat and maize yields could increase fourfold. The data hints at the negative effect of climate change on yields and the benefits of accompanying measures to mitigate its adverse impact (access to finance and protection against erosion). The adverse effect of crop damage on yields varies between 12/13 percent (Rwanda, Uganda) to 36 percent (Ethiopia). Protection against erosion and investment financing mitigate these effects considerably.
Keywords:
WP; yield; crop; crop yield; Rwanda; Ethiopia; East Africa; inputs; crop damage; yield determinant; Ethiopia crop; aggregate yield data; Agroindustries; Consumption; Agricultural sector; Agricultural commodities; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa; Climate change
Cover Departmental Papers
Macro-Financial Linkages in Shallow Markets: Experience from the African Department’s Pilot Countries
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper assesses and disseminates experiences and lessons from low-income countries (LICs) in Sub-Saharan Africa that were selected by the Africa Department in 2015-16 as pilots for enhanced analysis of macro-financial linkages in Article IV staff reports. The paper focuses on the common characteristics across the pilot countries and highlights the tools used in the analysis, the challenges encountered, and the solutions deployed in overcoming them.
Keywords:
DPPP; DP; interest rate; credit risk; central bank; banking sector; bank competition; cost of funds; composite index; lending condition; Malawian bank; economic value; bank information cost; financial system assets; banking system assets; bank level; banks in Benin; bank agent; Financial sector development; Financial sector; Stress testing; Credit; Sub-Saharan Africa; East Africa; Middle East; East Asia
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Rwanda: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper analyzes investment strategy to foster structural transformation in Rwanda. Over the past 15 years, Rwanda has transformed its economy by moving workers out of agriculture into mostly services and some industry. This has been accomplished through strong public investment flows and efficient public investment management. Going forward, the challenge is whether the private sector can complement the infrastructure assets put in place by the public sector and maintain economic momentum. It will also require continued effort by the government in raising education standards, better matching qualifications offered to students to those most in demand by employers, and lowering electricity and transportation costs.
Keywords:
EAC gender inequality indicator; banking sector soundness indicator map; UN gender inequality Index; D. gender equality in Rwanda; private sector credit; C. gender inequality; Gender inequality; Women; Financial inclusion; Agricultural sector; Sub-Saharan Africa; Global; Africa
Cover Departmental Papers
Financial Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Promoting Inclusive and Sustainable Growth
Mr. Montfort Mlachila
,
Ahmat Jidoud
,
Ms. Monique Newiak
,
Bozena Radzewicz-Bak
, and
Ms. Misa Takebe
This paper discusses how sub-Saharan Africa’s financial sector developed in the past few decades, compared with other regions. Sub-Saharan African countries have made substantial progress in financial development over the past decade, but there is still considerable scope for further development, especially compared with other regions. Indeed, until a decade or so ago, the level of financial development in a large number of sub-Saharan African countries had actually regressed relative to the early 1980s. With the exception of the region’s middle-income countries, both financial market depth and institutional development are lower than in other developing regions. The region has led the world in innovative financial services based on mobile telephony, but there remains scope to increase financial inclusion further. The development of mobile telephone-based systems has helped to incorporate a large share of the population into the financial system, especially in East Africa. Pan-African banks have been a driver for homegrown financial development, but they also bring a number of challenges.
Keywords:
DPPP; DP; financial system; monetary union; market index; banking sector; return on assets; financial institution index; commodity price; return on equity; Financial sector development; Financial inclusion; Basel II; Financial sector; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa; East Africa; Global; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Role of Productivity, Transportation Costs, and Barriers to Intersectoral Mobility in Structural Transformation
Cem Karayalcin
and
Mihaela Pintea
The process of economic development is characterized by substantial reallocations of resources across sectors. In this paper, we construct a multi-sector model in which there are barriers to the movement of labor from low-productivity traditional agriculture to modern sectors. With the barrier in place, we show that improvements in productivity in modern sectors (including agriculture) or reductions in transportation costs may lead to a rise in agricultural employment and through terms-oftrade effects may harm subsistence farmers if the traditional subsistence sector is larger than a critical level. This suggests that policy advice based on the earlier literature needs to be revised. Reducing barriers to mobility (through reductions in the cost of skill acquisition and institutional changes) and improving the productivity of subsistence farmers needs to precede policies designed to increase the productivity of modern sectors or decrease transportation costs.
Keywords:
WP; subsistence farming; terms of trade; Structural transformation; Subsistence agriculture; multi-sector models; Economic development; Transportation costs; transportation cost; agriculture sector; productivity improvement; modern agriculture; productivity difference; excess demand; improvement result; Agricultural sector; Productivity; Transportation; Manufacturing; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover Regional Economic Outlook, April 2014, Sub-Saharan Africa
Regional Economic Outlook, April 2014, Sub-Saharan Africa
Fostering Durable and Inclusive Growth
International Monetary Fund

Abstract

The five Regional Economic Outlooks published biannually by the IMF cover Asia and Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. In each volume, recent economic developments and prospects for the region are discussed as a whole, as well as for specific countries. The reports include key data for countries in the region. Each report focuses on policy developments that have affected economic performance in the region, and discusses key challenges faced by policymakers. The near-term outlook, key risks, and their related policy challenges are analyzed throughout the reports, and current issues are explored, such as when and how to withdraw public interventions in financial systems globally while maintaining a still-fragile economic recovery.These indispensable surveys are the product of comprehensive intradepartmental reviews of economic developments that draw primarily on information the IMF staff gathers through consultation with member countries.

Keywords:
REO; exchange rate; fragile state; monetary policy; MDRI country; Zimbabwe dollar; fragile country; oil-exporting country; country group composite; Exchange rates; Monetary policy frameworks; Inflation; Agricultural sector; Financial inclusion; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa; Global; Southern Africa; West Africa; sub-Saharan Africa dummy; purchasing power parity; Sub-Saharan Africa dummy level; policy rate; poverty-reducing potential; household enterprise; Central bank policy rate
Cover IMF Working Papers
The East African Community: Prospects for Sustained Growth
Ms. Catherine McAuliffe
,
Ms. Sweta Chaman Saxena
, and
Mr. Masafumi Yabara
The East African Community (EAC) has been among the fastest growing regions in sub-Saharan Africa in the past decade or so. Nonetheless, the recent growth path will not be enough to achieve middle-income status and substantial poverty reduction by the end of the decade—the ambition of most countries in the region. This paper builds on methodologies established in the growth literature to identify a group of countries that achieved growth accelerations and sustained growth to use as benchmarks to evaluate the prospects, and potential constraints, for EAC countries to translate their recent growth upturn into sustained high growth. We find that EAC countries compare favorably to the group of sustained growth countries—macroeconomic and government stability, favorable business climate, and strong institutions—but important differences remain. EAC countries have a smaller share of exports, lower degree of financial deepening, lower levels of domestic savings, higher reliance on donor aid, and limited physical infrastructure and human capital. Policy choices to address some of these shortcomings could make a difference in whether the EAC follows the path of sustained growth or follows other countries where growth upturns later fizzled out. 
Keywords:
WP; EAC country; EAC member; growth acceleration; EAC economy; EAC growth; Accelerated growth; sustained growth; benchmarking; East African Community; sub-Saharan Africa; EAC integration; exchange rate; private sector; common market; Exports; Financial sector; Government debt management; Productivity; Real exchange rates; Africa; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Uganda: Fourth Review Under the Policy Support Instrument and Request for Modification of Assessment Criteria: Staff Report; Staff Supplement; Press Release
International Monetary Fund
The Fourth Review Under the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) for Uganda highlights that the PSI-supported program is on track. All end-December 2011 quantitative assessment criteria were met, as were most of the structural benchmarks. The stance of macroeconomic policy remains appropriate. Monetary tightening, initiated in July 2011 in response to rising inflation, has been effective in reducing demand and price pressures in the economy. High interest rates supported by tighter fiscal policy have strengthened the currency and raised reserve levels.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; debt; exchange rate; credit growth; growth; price pressure; IMF's executive board; monetary policy; foreign currency; Debt sustainability analysis; Public and publicly-guaranteed external debt; Oil sector; Global
Cover Policy Papers
Enhancing Financial Sector Surveillance in Low-Income Countries - Financial Deepening and Macro-Stability
International Monetary Fund
This paper aims to widen the lens through which surveillance is conducted in LICs, to better account for the interplay between financial deepening and macro-financial stability as called for in the 2011 Triennial Surveillance Review. Reflecting the inherent risk-return tradeoffs associated with financial deepening, the paper seeks to shed light on the policy and institutional impediments in LICs that have a bearing on the effectiveness of macroeconomic policies, macro-financial stability, and growth. The paper focuses attention on the role of enabling policies in facilitating sustainable financial deepening. In framing the discussion, the paper draws on a range of conceptual and analytical tools, empirical analyses, and case studies.
Keywords:
PP; LIC bank; LIC financial systems; LIC government; financial activity; government securities market; underdeveloped financial systems; market friction; debt management; market player; market stability; price discovery; interest rate; market development; Financial sector; Credit; Securities markets; Global