Belize Systematic Country Diagnostic

Belize has a rich history that dates back thousands of years. The country was first inhabited by the Mayans with records of their presence dating from 1500 BC. The first recorded European settlement was established circa 1638 by the British who cal...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	World Bank Group
Format:	Report
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2016
Subjects:	LIVING STANDARDS FORECASTS MONETARY POLICY RISKS REGULATORY FRAMEWORK UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ECONOMIC GROWTH PROFIT MARGINS PRODUCTION PRICE INCREASES ADVERSE IMPACTS INCOME INTEREST MACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS TRADE BARRIERS INTEREST RATE REAL GDP PROPERTY RIGHTS DISCOUNT RATE GDP PER CAPITA LIQUIDITY EXPORTS ELASTICITY POLITICAL ECONOMY FISCAL POLICY WELFARE OPTIMIZATION INCENTIVES MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRY DISTRIBUTION CAPACITY BUILDING MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS VARIABLES DAMAGES INPUTS DECISIONS PAYMENTS WEALTH BANKRUPTCY INFLATION TRENDS CENTRAL BANK DEVELOPMENT MACROECONOMIC STABILITY FISCAL POLICIES INFLUENCE TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY SAVINGS PER CAPITA INCOME COSTS AIR POLLUTION DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS EXPORT GROWTH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTIVITY WORKERS’ SKILLS EXTERNALITIES GROSS NATIONAL SAVINGS FAILURES CRITERIA DEBT MARKETS WTO INFLATION RATE OPEN ECONOMY DIRECT VALUE ECONOMIC SIZE INCOME LEVELS TRADE POLICY REAL INTEREST RATE ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS DIVIDENDS UTILITY NATURAL RESOURCES GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT TRADE POLICIES TAXES EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS UNEMPLOYMENT INCOME TAXES CONSUMPTION GROSS FIXED CAPITAL FORMATION HUMAN CAPITAL INDUSTRIAL ECONOMIES VALUE ADDED ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE CAPITAL WAGES UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FINANCIAL CRISIS VALUE BENCHMARKING COMPETITIVENESS CREDIT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES DEMAND NATIONAL INCOME ECONOMIC FLUCTUATIONS ECONOMY AGRICULTURE CONSUMERS TARIFF BARRIERS OPPORTUNITY COSTS ASSETS BENCHMARK INCOME EFFECT ECONOMIC SITUATION NATURAL RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT PRODUCTION FUNCTION DECLINING WAGES ECONOMIC INEQUALITY TAXATION TRADE USE VALUE GDP GOODS THEORY GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS ECONOMIES OF SCALE GROWTH RATE INVESTMENT EXTREME POVERTY COMPLEMENT COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE POSITIVE EXTERNALITIES ADVERSE IMPACT ECONOMIC INFORMATION COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WAGE DIFFERENTIALS GINI COEFFICIENT CONSUMER PRICE INDEX LENDING GROWTH POLICIES GROWTH THEORY MACROECONOMIC POLICIES TOTAL OUTPUT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS CONSUMPTION LEVELS OUTCOMES FINANCIAL SECTOR OPEN ECONOMIES GROWTH POTENTIAL MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES PRICES COMPETITION
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/02/25875161/belize-systematic-country-diagnostic http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23953

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Summary:	Belize has a rich history that dates back thousands of years. The country was first inhabited by the Mayans with records of their presence dating from 1500 BC. The first recorded European settlement was established circa 1638 by the British who called the country the Colony of British Honduras. The official name of the territory was changed from British Honduras to Belize in June 1973, and full independence was granted on September 21, 1981. There were several obstacles in the path toward independence, as illustrated by Guatemala's long-standing claim to the entire territory. It was only in November 1980, after several frustrated negotiations with Guatemala that Belizean diplomacy managed to obtain international support that led to the United Nations passing of a resolution that demanded the independence of Belize, but it was only in 1992 that Guatemala formally recognized Belize’s independence. After independence, Belize successfully implemented a development strategy which emphasized economic diversification and private sector development at a time where the terms of trade were favorable to the country. As a small, open economy, that is also extremely vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters, Belize’s ability to promote faster poverty reduction and greater shared prosperity will depend on how well the country deals with its main sources of vulnerability. In addition to weaknesses in infrastructure and in the skills of the labor force, several studies have pinpointed crime and violence and problems in the financial sector as important deterrents to growth. The analysis in this report confirms the centrality of these two factors. The predicament in the financial sector is largely driven by the small economic size of the country and the lack of competition in the banking sector, a common feature in small state economies that limits the availability of credit to small and medium enterprises. Stability issues in the sector complicate matters as these impose non-negligible risks to the health of the financial sector. On the other hand, the rise in the inflow of migrants from neighboring Central American countries with a history of crime and violence has been raised as a potential cause for high crime rates in Belize, but there is not enough evidence to substantiate that claim at this point. Policy interventions that could help halt the rise in criminality rates include ramping up the quality of education, keeping children at school, promoting education equivalency programs and job training, besides more direct approaches such as investing in safe neighborhood programs.

Belize Systematic Country Diagnostic

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