Growth in Low-Income Countries : Evolution, Prospects, and Policies
There are currently 31 countries classified as low income, less than half the number in 2001. Rapid growth in low-income countries from 2001 to 2018 allowed many to progress to middle-income status, supported by the commodity price boom of 2001-11,...
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Format: | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/578111564491745775/Growth-in-Low-Income-Countries-Evolution-Prospects-and-Policies http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32151 |
Summary: | There are currently 31 countries
classified as low income, less than half the number in 2001.
Rapid growth in low-income countries from 2001 to 2018
allowed many to progress to middle-income status, supported
by the commodity price boom of 2001-11, debt relief under
the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative and
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, increased investment in
human and physical capital, improved economic policy
frameworks, and recoveries from the deep recessions in
transition economies during the 1990s. However, the
prospects for current low-income countries appear much more
challenging. Compared to the low-income countries in 2001
that became middle-income countries, today's low-income
countries are further below the middle-income country
threshold and more often fragile; their heavy reliance on
agriculture makes them vulnerable to climate change and
extreme weather events; and their scope to boost external
trade is limited by geography. Coordinated and multi-pronged
policy efforts are required to address these challenges. |
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