Mauritius is often cited as one of the few African success stories, and with good reason. In the aftermath of independence (1968), this small island nation in the Indian Ocean seemed to be bound for economic failure because of its high poverty rate and numerous vulnerabilities, including high population growth, ethnic tensions, substantial unemployment, and an economy greatly dependent on the production of sugar for international markets.
... See More + However, Mauritius was successful in diversifying the economy and accomplishing an unprecedented structural transformation.The Inclusiveness of Growth and Shared Prosperity report (World Bank 2015a) turned the spotlight on the expanding gap of inequality in household incomes that occurred between 2007 and 2012 and on the negative impact on poverty. The report estimates that the incidence of absolute poverty between 2007 and 2012 would have declined twice as quickly had growth been shared more widely and inequality not worsened. Building on these earlier findings, this study investigates the driving forces behind the growing income inequality and identifies policy levers that could mitigate and, in the long run, possibly reverse the upward trend.This study takes a comprehensive approach to the determinants of inequality by including the role of the choices of households and individuals, markets, and institutions. The report is structured as follows. Chapter one sets the stage by presenting stylized facts on the trends in household income inequality between 2001 and 2015, comparing these trends with trends in consumption inequality, and identifying the main culprit behind the rapidly rising inequality in household incomes, that is, household labor income. Chapter two supplies a set of descriptive trends of the two groups of factors, namely, household demographics and labor market forces, that contribute to changes in household laborincome and follows up with a decomposition exercise on changes in household labor income between 2001 and 2015.Because the analysis indicates that an unequal increase in female labor force participation and rising inequality in individual earnings are among the main contributors to the expanding inequality in household labor income, Chapter three takes a deep dive into the issue of gender inequality in the labor market. The chapter illustrates the gender gap in labor market participation, describes the differences in the activities of working women in the labor market relative to men, and concludes with a detailed analysis of gender gaps in wages separately in the public and private sectors. Chapter four resumes the main analysis of the drivers of increasing inequality in individual earnings. The chapter first presents stylized facts about overall inequality in wages and then separates out changes in inequality between and within groups defined by demographic characteristics. The chapter distinguishes the role of changes in prices (or wages) and the role of changes in the composition of the workforce in rising earnings inequality. The second part of the chapter is devoted to the analysis of the role of the main potential drivers of expanding earnings inequality. The possible candidates include the interaction of changes in labor supply and labor demand, giving rise to skills shortages or surpluses, and changes in labor market institutions, namely, remuneration orders (ROs). The chapter concludes with an analysis of an additional source of skills mismatches among the employed population, namely, education mismatches, and advances potential explanations for the coexistence of a substantial skills shortage, over education, particularly among youth, and a large share of highly educated youth among the unemployed.
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Doing Business 2018 is the 15th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.
... See More + This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Mauritius. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies; for 2018 Mauritius ranks 25. Doing Business measures aspects of regulation affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in this year's ranking. Data in Doing Business 2018 are current as of June 1, 2017. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why.
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Doing Business 2018 is the 15th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.
... See More + This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Mauritius. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies; for 2018 Mauritius ranks 25. Doing Business measures aspects of regulation affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in this year’s ranking. Data in Doing Business 2018 are current as of June 1, 2017. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why.
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The book aims at assessing the overall potential of the Ocean Economy (OE) to contribute to Mauritius' development, at identifying key sectoral and cross-cutting challenges to be overcome in order to seize that potential; and at evaluating ways to ensure the OE's longer-term sustainability, addressing in particular environmental and climate change concerns.
... See More + While the book discusses specific projects in selected sectors, this is intended only to illustrate opportunities and challenges (including in terms of resource mobilization); an appraisal of the technicaland financial feasibility of individual projects would go beyond the scope of this work and would have to be conducted as part of separate follow-on activities. This book reflects data and information available as of March 31, 2017.
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Working Paper 120633 OCT 01, 2017
Howells,Mark Idwal; Strzepek, Kenneth M.; Emanuel,Kerry Andrew; Kelleher,Kieran; Willwerth, Jacqueline; Kelly Ph.D, Tim; Neumann, James E.; Alfstad, Thomas; Farrell,Sheila; Beejadhur,Yuvan A.; Smith, JoannaDisclosed
Mauritius is a small country of about 1.3 million people which evolved from a poor sugar economy at the time of independence in 1968 into a successful upper middle-income country today largely through trade-led development.
... See More + Good economic management has helped the country successfully weather several adverse external developments, but could not prevent a decline in GDP growth rates in recent years. Because good economic growth and rapid progress in human development went hand in hand in the past, both the government plans and the WBG's Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) agreed that the lowered growth rate was the country's main challenge. Hence, the main theme of the World Bank Group (WBG) strategy was to increase the competitiveness of the economy while protecting the vulnerable. The Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) was organized around the government's four focus areas (or pillars) of reform: (1) fiscal consolidation and improved public sector efficiency; (2) improving trade competitiveness; (3) improving the investment climate; and (4) democratizing the economy through participation, social inclusion and sustainability. Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) adds two lessons from this review. First, the absence of clearly specified and verifiable indicators with baselines and targets in the results matrix makes it very difficult to assess or validate achievement of objectives such as in the case of Mauritius. Second, in Mauritius, while the failure of the two large Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Advisory Service Projects may trigger exit from a particular PPP transaction, the Bank’s comparative advantage in this area suggests that it should continue to leverage its knowledge services to pursue an active dialogue on PPP.
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The Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Mauritius covers FY17-21. The previous Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) was originally intended to cover FY07-13 but was extended through FY15 at the time of the CPS Progress Report.
... See More + The CPF is informed by the Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) that was circulated to the Board in July 2015. Elections in December 2014 led to the formation of a new Government and this CPF is aligned strategically with the Government Programme 2015-2019, Achieving Meaningful Change, that was presented to Parliament on January 27, 2015. The CPF seeks to maximize over a five-year period the comparative advantages of the World Bank Group (WBG), through packages of innovative public and private financing options based on cutting edge global knowledge and experience. The CPS provided strategic support around the Government of Mauritius’ (GoM) four pillars of reform : (i) fiscal consolidation and improving public sector efficiency; (ii) improving trade competitiveness; (iii) improving the business climate; and (iv) democratizing the economy through participation, inclusion and sustainability. The report evaluates the achievements of CPS program outcomes as laid out in the results matrix; assesses the WBG’s performance in designing and implementing the CPS program, and draws lessons for the preparation of the forthcoming Country Partnership Framework (CPF). The CPS pillars were relevant and well aligned in addressing Government priorities and country needs. Flexibility in the design of the strategy facilitated rapid response to changing needs and the Bank was able to respond promptly and effectively to unexpected events such as the triple trade shocks, global financial crisis and political transition.
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Country Assistance Strategy Document 112232 APR 20, 2017
The book aims at assessing the overall potential of the Ocean Economy (OE) to contribute to Mauritius' development, at identifying key sectoral and cross-cutting challenges to be overcome in order to seize that potential; and at evaluating ways to ensure the OE's longer-term sustainability, addressing in particular environmental and climate change concerns.
... See More + While the book discusses specific projects in selected sectors, this is intended only to illustrate opportunities and challenges (including in terms of resource mobilization); an appraisal of the technicaland financial feasibility of individual projects would go beyond the scope of this work and would have to be conducted as part of separate follow-on activities. This book reflects data and information available as of March 31, 2017.
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Working Paper 120633 MAR 31, 2017
Beejadhur,Yuvan A.; Kelleher,Kieran; Kelly Ph.D, Tim; Howells,Mark Idwal; Alfstad, Thomas; Farrell,Sheila; Smith, Joanna; Neumann, James E.; Strzepek, Kenneth M.; Emanuel,Kerry Andrew; Willwerth, JacquelineDisclosed
