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Uganda’s progress in reducing poverty from 1993 to 2006 is a remarkable story of success that has been well told. The narrative of Uganda’s continued, albeit it slightly slower, progress in reducing poverty since 2006 is less familiar. This was a period in which growth slowed as the gains from reforms years earlier had been fully realized, and weak infrastructure and increasing corruption increasingly constrained private sector competitiveness (World Bank 2015). This report examines Uganda’s progress in reducing poverty, with a specific focus on the period 2006 to 2013. The report shows that high growth from 2006 to 2010 benefited poverty reduction. Before turning in further detail to the key findings of the report, it is important to note that the analysis undertaken in this report is only possible because the Government of Uganda has invested in a high quality series of household surveys to document progress in wellbeing since 1993. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics has conducted high-quality household surveys that every three to four years that have provided a comparable series of data on poverty and other household characteristics for the last twenty years. Uganda is one of the few countries in the region to have achieved this level of comparable, frequent poverty monitoring over time. Without this, it would not be possible to document the lessons Uganda provides.

This paper uses panel data to analyze factors that contributed to the rapid decline in poverty in India between 2005 and 2012. The analysis employs a nonparametric decomposition method that measures the relative contributions of different components of household livelihoods to observed changes in poverty. The results show that poverty decline is associated with a significant increase in labor earnings, explained in turn by a steep rise in wages for unskilled labor, and diversification from farm to nonfarm sources of income in rural areas. Transfers, in the form of remittances and social programs, have contributed but are not the primary drivers of poverty decline over this period. The pattern of changes is consistent with processes associated with structural transformation, which add up to a highly pro-poor pattern of income growth over the initial distribution of income and consumption. However, certain social groups (Adivasis and Dalits) are found to be more likely to stay in or fall into poverty and less likely to move out of poverty. And even as poverty has reduced dramatically, the share of vulnerable population has not.

In the past decade, Turkey has experienced a notable level of poverty reduction at all levels (extreme poor, poor, and vulnerable). The steady decline in poverty was also resilient to the decline in gross domestic product per capita growth during the crisis. However, although poverty convergence was strong before the financial crisis, there was an absence of regional convergence afterward. This paper analyzes poverty trends, poverty convergence, economic mobility, and the determinants of poverty reduction at the regional level over the period 2006–13. The analysis finds that agricultural growth in the east was an important contributor to Turkey's regional poverty reduction. In additionally, employment growth in the services sectors boosted poverty reduction throughout the entire country. From a fiscal perspective, the amount of per capita central spending is also linked to poverty reduction, although more strongly for regions in the west.

Over the last decade, the Kyrgyz Republic experienced volatile but positive economic growth. Since the early 2000s, the share of working age population has been growing robustly and foreign labor markets have been an important source of employment. The Kyrgyz Republic has achieved large reductions in poverty over the past decade, but in recent years progress has diminished. During 2003-2012, the Kyrgyz Republic saw significant convergence between urban and rural poverty rates. Poverty reduction during 2003-2013 was driven mostly by growth rather than redistribution.

The last poverty assessment for Rwanda was conducted in 1997. Three years after the genocide, the country was characterized by deep and widespread poverty, rock-bottom health indicators, and pervasive hunger and food insecurity. In real terms, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was lower than it had been in 1960. In real terms, the economy quadrupled between 1995 and 2013. Enrolment in primary school is near universal and infant and child mortality are among the lowest in Africa. A large part of the population, including the extreme poor, is covered by public health insurance. This poverty assessment focuses on the evolution of poverty and other social indicators over the past decade (2000-1 and 2010-11). Using data from a variety of sources, mainly the three household living standards surveys (EICV) and the three demographic and health surveys (DHS) conducted during the past decade, the poverty assessment documents trends in monetary and non-monetary dimensions of living standards and examines the drivers of observed trends. The aim of the poverty assessment is to provide policy makers and development partners with information and analysis that can be used to improve the effectiveness of their poverty reduction and social programs.

This article reviews trends in poverty, economic policies, and growth in a sample of African countries during the 1990s, drawing on the better household data now available. Experiences have varied. Some countries have seen sharp drops in income poverty, whereas others have witnessed marked increases. In some countries overall economic growth has been pro-poor and in others not. But the aggregate numbers hide systematic distributional effects. Taking both macro and micro perspectives of growth and poverty in Africa, the article draws four key conclusions. First, economic policy reforms (improving macroeconomic balances and liberalizing markets) appear conducive to reducing poverty. Second, market connectedness is crucial to enable participation in the gains from economic growth. Some regions and households by virtue of their remoteness were left behind when growth picked up. Third, education and access to land emerge as key private endowments to help households benefit from new economic opportunities. Finally, rainfall variations and ill health have profound effects on poverty outcomes, underscoring the significance of social risk management in poverty reduction strategies in Africa.

The Philippines quarterly update provides an update on key economic developments and policies over the past three months. It also presents findings from recent World Bank work on the Philippines. It places them in a longer-term and global context, and assesses the implications of these developments and other changes in policy for the outlook for the Philippines. Its coverage ranges from the macro-economy to financial markets to indicators of human welfare and development. It is intended for a wide audience, including policy makers, business leaders, financial market participants, and the community of analysts and professionals engaged in the Philippines. Though the revised gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimates show small deviation from the old base year and methodology, the revision has resulted in a nominal GDP which is 6 percent larger and hence, lower fiscal statistics as a percentage of GDP (e.g., lower tax effort, but improved debt ratio), but also important sectoral growth changes. Investment is now noticeably higher due to improved coverage and transfer of items previously booked under consumption (e.g., military goods) the investment-to-GDP ratio in 2010 is now 20.5 percent instead of 15.6 percent. The demand side growth continues to post a remarkable uptick in investment. Investment grew by 37 percent year-on-year and contributed 6.8 percentage points to GDP growth, mostly driven by durable equipment and private construction. Private construction grew by 22 percent, albeit at a slower pace than the preceding three quarters, and compensated for the contraction in public construction which shrank by 37.3 percent due to continued fiscal tightening and a high base effect. Investment in durable equipment grew 17 percent with the building up of inventory in industrial machineries and road vehicles.

Benin experienced a long period of political instability and economic challenges after achieving its independence in August 1960. In 1991 a new government initiated far-reaching reforms aimed at the creation of a market-based economy, resulting in significant liberalization of Benin's political and economic system. Growth fluctuated in the range of 4-6 percent until 2000, after which it began to trend downwards, fluctuating largely in response to variation in the exchange rate as well as to movement in the prices of cotton, Benin's main export, and oil, a major import. Benin benefited from support under the Environmental and Social Assessment Framework (ESAF) and Poverty Reduction and Growth (PRGF) facilities, the latter continuously since 1993. According to an independent ex-post review (International Monetary Fund 2004), program implementation during 1993-2003 was broadly successful. Real economic growth averaged 5 percent and fiscal consolidation improved as key initial challenges arising from the Government's low revenue collection and high wage bill were addressed. But overall progress in structural reform was mixed. Initial efforts to liberalize the economy and reduce government intervention were successful, and there was progress in introducing far-reaching reforms in the cotton sector. A new poverty reduction growth facility was approved in August 2005.

The Lao PDR has been a one-party, socialist state since the overthrow of the monarchy by the communist Pathet Lao in 1975, which was preceded by a long period of civil and regional strife. After a decade of relative isolation and close military cooperation with Vietnam, the new economic mechanism, introduced in 1986, ushered in an era of market-based reforms, which has continued to the present day. Lao PDR is one of the poorest countries in East Asia, with a 2006 per capita income of US$ 500. In 2004, 71 percent of its population of 5.7 million lived on less than US$ 2/day and 23 percent on less than US$ 1/day. However Lao PDR has grown rapidly since the inauguration of reforms two decades ago. During the 1990s growth averaged 6 percent per annum despite severe imbalances during the Asian crisis. Following successful stabilization, growth continued to average close to 6 percent during 2001-2004, accelerating in 2005-2007 to over 7 percent. Inflation remained well below 10 percent since 2005. Although Lao PDR qualifies for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, the Government has chosen to maintain normal creditor relations. The latest debt sustainability analysis confirms that, while risk of debt distress is high, medium term debt service is manageable, contingent on continued reform and prudent fiscal management. Foreign direct investment has almost quadrupled between 2004 and 2007, and exceeds US$ 800 million annually, mostly in hydropower and mining. Growth in Lao PDR has been pro-poor. Based on the national poverty line, the poverty headcount has fallen from almost half to one-third of the population during the decade ending in 2002-2003. The country's performance on other elements of poverty reduction as summarized in the millennium development goals is mixed.

Vietnam, a one-party socialist state dominated by the Communist Party of Vietnam, has in recent years moved towards a pragmatic growth-oriented approach to economic policy. Early reform measures in 1986 with the doi moi, or new way, introduced a series of market-oriented reforms in industry and trade, as well as agriculture. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 hastened the pace of reform, as the authorities intensified monetary, banking, and structural reforms and set the stage for substantial trade and investment liberalization, and as Vietnam's arrears with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were settled in 1993. Key lessons that emerge from the Vietnam study include: a) the Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) process is strengthened through rigorous analytic underpinnings (for example, Vietnam development reports, public expenditure reviews, and other analytical and advisory services) that provide a shared vision of the development agenda and a menu of policy actions linked to the thematic pillars of the poverty reduction strategy; b) even in a context of high government commitment, fostering a connection to an external anchor (such as world trade organization accession) can help maintain momentum in the PRSC process and reform generally; c) PRSCs can function as an effective complement to, and catalyst for, sector operations including the development of sector-wide approaches and sector budget support; and d) with large numbers of international and government participants, it becomes increasingly important for both Government and the Bank that responsibilities for coordinating inputs and consultation and maintaining a policy overview be closely linked, defined, and adequately funded.

Nicaragua's state domination of productive capacity from the late 1970s to 1990, coupled with the civil war of the 1980s, left the economy with hyperinflation, large fiscal and current account deficits, and an external debt that was six times gross domestic product. As a result, economic activity declined at a sharp rate. By 1993, per capita income had fallen by a full 60 percent from the 1977 level. By the early 1990s the country was receiving aid equivalent to more than 70 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Subsequent administrations tried to address the country's economic problems through fiscal and monetary discipline and market-oriented reforms to redefine the role of the state. There were some successes, for example, decisive government action reduced inflation to around 10 percent by 1995, but many reforms failed due to their slow pace and to continued political volatility. The Bank supported the reform agenda with two economic recovery credit operations in the early 1990s. The results were less positive than expected, as the government's capacity to privatize state-owned enterprises and otherwise reform the public sector wavered in the face of political instability. The lack of political consensus prompted the Bank to withdraw from structural adjustment lending for several years. An opening for re-engagement was provided in 2002 when, after several failed attempts, Nicaragua successfully implemented the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). This allowed the Bank to respond to the government's request for assistance to close a financing gap through fast disbursing budget support in the form of a programmatic structural adjustment credit. While technically a structural adjustment loan, the credit supported objectives based on budget-based goals already attained in implementing a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), which had been prepared by the government in 2001. In this sense, the credit was the last structural adjustment loan and the precursor to the Poverty Reduction Support Credits (PRSCs).

Mozambique acquired independence from Portugal in 1975. The new government adopted a policy of radical social change, with a command and control approach to economic management and a vast nationalization program. By the mid-1980s, the country was bankrupt, and the government turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to help transform it into a market economy. Since the early 1990s, Mozambique's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate has been above 7 percent in all but two years and has averaged 7.8 percent. Over the same period, inflation has trended broadly downwards from 63 percent in 1994 to 8 percent in 2007. On the savings and investment front, gross investment has averaged 26.4 percent, while domestic savings has been 8.2 percent, the difference being made up for with foreign savings. Fiscal policy has generally been well managed, with deficits financed by external assistance. The government managed to protect the 65 percent of primary expenditures going to priority sectors. Public investment declined as a percentage of GDP, as did private investment. Revenue collection improved. Exports grew from 10.2 percent of GDP in 1991 to 38 percent in 2006. Over this period, a flexible exchange rate policy has been followed. The national poverty rate was 69.4 percent in 1996-1997 and 54.1 percent in 2003. Mozambique obtained considerable fast disbursing assistance from the World Bank in the period 1984-2002.

The Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) instrument was put to use at an opportune juncture in 2003 when, after a period of economic crisis, macroeconomic stability had been restored to Ghana and a reform process had been mapped out. The Bank used this instrument to signal strong support to the Government for the reform process, which was at risk of being derailed in the run up to the 2004 elections. The PRSC was perceived as a clear departure from previous adjustment lending, which was characterized by acrimonious negotiation of conditions. Following independence from Britain some 50 years ago, Ghana experienced rapid economic growth, spurred by commodity exports and industrialization linked to import-substitution policies. But by the early 1980s, standards of living had declined sharply, and Ghana had joined the ranks of other low-income African countries. Ghana's economic reform program, launched in 1983, marked a notable change in policy direction and a shift from a state-controlled economy to a more market-driven system. Ghana made progress in regaining macroeconomic stability and achieved its Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative completion point by 2004. Even so, progress was uneven, and the economy remained vulnerable. Ghana was among Africa's top 10 performers in the 2008 doing business report, and its ranking on corruption indicators is the best of low-income African countries. A recent national survey found that 75 percent of households regard corruption as a serious national problem, and 80 believe it has worsened in recent years.

Armenia gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and inherited a traditional Soviet- style command economy. After a period of hyperinflation and economic contractions, progress on basic reforms led to greater macroeconomic stability. The reform effort strengthened after 2000, aided by return flows of investment from the diaspora. Recognized for its prudent fiscal management and improved business environment, Armenia received a Rehabilitation Credit (RC) from the World Bank in 1995 and a series of five Structural Adjustment Credits(SACs) from 1996-2003 to maintain stability, accelerate growth, and sustain reform. The PRSC program in Armenia centered on four main themes that supported Armenia's poverty- reduction objectives: i) consolidating macroeconomic discipline and strengthening governance;ii) sharpening competition and entrenching property rights; iii) mitigating social and environmental risks; and iv) modernizing the rural economy. The PRSC also identified good governance and reduction of corruption as essential to achieving pro-poor growth. Furthermore, reforms implemented under the PRSC were intended to make the social sectors more efficient, raise the quality of services, and increase access for the poor.

Reforms in recent decades have sharply reduced the distortions affecting agriculture in developing countries, particularly by cuts to agricultural export taxes and by some reductions in government assistance to agriculture in high-income countries, but international trade in farm products continues to be far more distorted than trade in nonfarm goods. This paper summarizes a series of empirical studies that focus on the effects of the remaining distortions to world merchandise trade for poverty and inequality, especially in developing countries. To obtain different insights into the various impacts, two global studies are undertaken using the World Bank's Linkage model, one multi-country study uses the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model, and ten country case studies are also included, each using a national economy-wide model. The Linkage model results suggest that liberalization will reduce international inequality, largely by boosting farm incomes and raising real wages for unskilled workers in developing countries, and will reduce the number of poor people worldwide by 3 percent. The analysis based on the GTAP model for a sample of 15 countries, and the ten stand-alone national case studies, all point to larger reductions in poverty, especially if only the non-poor are subjected to increased income taxation to compensate for the loss of trade tax revenue.

A general equilibrium modeling approach is used to estimate the effects within Indonesia of unilateral and global trade liberalization, including effects on poverty incidence. It is concluded that global reform of trade policy in all commodities is a significant potential source of poverty reduction for Indonesia. The poor rural and urban have a strong interest in global trade policy reform. If Indonesia were to liberalize unilaterally, poverty incidence also will decline but the effect is small. If liberalization is confined to agricultural products, the effects are similar but the declines in poverty incidence within Indonesia are much smaller.

This paper examines the poverty impacts of global merchandise trade reform by looking at a wide range of developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Overall, the authors find that trade reform tends to reduce poverty primarily through the inclusion of agricultural components. The majority of developing country sample experiences small poverty increases from non-agricultural reforms. The authors explore the relative poverty-friendliness of agricultural trade reforms in detail, examining the differential impacts on real after-tax factor returns of agricultural versus non-agricultural reforms. This analysis is extended to the distribution of households by looking at stratum-specific poverty changes. The author's findings indicate that the more favorable impacts of agricultural reforms are driven by increased returns to peasant farm households' labor as well as higher returns for unskilled wage labor. Finally, the authors examine the commodity-specific poverty impacts of trade reform for this sample of countries. The authors find that liberalization of food grains and other processed foods represent the largest contributions to poverty reduction. More specifically, it is tariff reform in these commodity markets that dominates the poverty increasing impacts of wealthy country subsidy removal.

A general equilibrium modeling approach is used to estimate the effects within Thailand of unilateral and global trade liberalization, including effects on poverty incidence. It is concluded that across the board trade liberalization is poverty-reducing within Thailand, whether other countries participate in the liberalization or not. This poverty reduction occurs among both farm and non-farm households and this qualitative outcome is not dependent on the particular poverty line used in the analysis. Liberalization in agricultural products alone raises poverty incidence among farm households, while reducing it slightly among non-farm households.

The public expenditure and institutional assessment (PEIA) were motivated by a number of factors. First, both the Government of Iraq (GoI) and its international development partners have recognized the critical importance of sound management of Iraq's substantial public financial resources. Both parties support the reform and modernization of public financial management (PFM), as articulated in the International Compact for Iraq (ICI). Secondly, international experience demonstrates the importance of establishing a baseline against which progress in PFM over time can be measured. This implies the need for an assessment which provides the information necessary to measure the performance of a country's PFM system. Thirdly, the devastating circumstances in Iraq during the past 5 years have made the institutional arrangements for PFM the subject of considerable uncertainty. The PEIA can help to shape and prioritize the necessary development program. The report is organized in two main parts. Volume one contains a summary of the main issues to emerge from the public expenditure and financial accountability (PEFA) assessment and a discussion of a number of specific PFM issues of current importance to Iraq, including: capital investment budgeting (CIB), oil revenue management, the Iraq financial management information system (IFMIS), public accounting and accountability, and payroll management. Volume two contains a detailed technical analysis behind the PEFA assessment.

Ghana has done increasingly well in recent years. This report has analyzed these issues in considerable depth, making it a prime reference on Ghana's growth and poverty experience and current policy challenges. The Ghana Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) report presented in these three volumes brings together detailed, relevant analyses of Ghana's growth and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), poverty reduction, infrastructure, agriculture, investment climate, export competitiveness, social inclusion and political economy.