With this first Zambia economic brief,the World Bank is launching a series of short economicupdates that will be produced twice a year. Each brief willinclude two sections: the Bank's assessment of recenteconomic developments and outlook in the short to mediumterm; and its analysis on a specific development topic ortheme. The authors expect these briefs to supportevidence-based policy debate in the country, strengthenpublic demand for good policies and outcomes, and informgovernment policies and programs. In this brief, firstsection reports on Zambia's continued robust growth,fiscal outcomes, and capital inflows at the end of 2012against the backdrop of performance of other Sub- Saharanand global economies. It stresses the need for thegovernment to spend borrowed and own resources moreprudently. While acknowledging continuing strong prospectsfor growth, the analysis highlights considerable downsiderisks emanating from global uncertainties. Second sectioncovers basic human opportunities for children in Zambia. Theopportunities approach is premised on the notion thatpredetermined circumstances such as gender, ethnicity, placeof birth, and family origins should not determinepeople's economic, social, and political success. Aperson should not have fewer opportunities in life justbecause she is a girl or born in a rural area. This is thecore principle behind the concept of equality of opportunityand it is also the framework adopted in this report forZambia. The analysis shows the extent to which basicopportunities for education, health, and infrastructureservices in Zambia are influenced by circumstances in whichchildren find themselves.
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