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Benin: Selected Issues
Author:
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
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Series:
IMF Staff Country Reports
Volume/Issue:
Volume 2024: Issue 339
Language:
English
Publication Date:
13 Dec 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400295522.002
ISBN:
9798400295522
ISSN:
1934-7685
Pages:
53
Keywords:
demographics dividend; B. addressing Internet accessibility; infrastructure investment; Beninese government; completion rate; Digitalization; Exports; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa; West Africa
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This Selected Issues paper presents stylized facts on Benin’s ongoing economic transformation, and analyzes the country’s new eco-system. A recent IMF paper explores conditions under which the country’s industrial policy could meet its intended goals while avoiding unintended economic distortions down the road. While economic diversification is found to be associated with higher economic growth, evidence on the causal impact of industrial policies is hard to establish. While empirical evidence suggests that Benin’s reliance on traditional sectors, notably the Port of Cotonou, is moderating, economic diversification remains limited. The government embarked on industrial policy with the transformation of local commodities as main engine, including via the launching of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 2020. It is recommending that the authorities should pursue efforts to ensure transparency in the selection of SEZ-related incentives. Intra-regional trade integration holds significant potential for Benin and could support economic diversification. Ongoing post-electoral policy shifts in Nigeria and formalization underway of economic ties between both nations, if permanent, would curb rent-seeking in Benin.
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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
IMF Staff Country Reports
ISSN:
1934-7685
Publisher:
International Monetary Fund