Angola Systematic Country Diagnostic : Creating Assets for the Poor

World Bank Group

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: MACROECONOMIC POLICY;    FISCAL TRENDS;    PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT;    POVERTY;    EQUITY;   

RP-ID  :  135196

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Angola is endowed with significantnatural wealth, but it will need to better manage theseresources and reinvest them into other forms of capital toestablish a sustainable development path. Beforeindependence, the country was a relatively advanced economywith diverse exports, although its population suffered underexploitative colonial rule. Decades of conflict, during thefight for independence and the civil war that followed,exacted a heavy toll on the population, infrastructure, andthe economy. The end of the war in 2002 and a booming oilindustry resulted in strong economic growth, but the poorsaw very little benefit from this economic prosperity. Thedependence on oil exports has created macroeconomicinstability, and Angola has suffered periods of fiscalcontraction due to fluctuations in commodity prices.Although the country has enjoyed strong gross domesticproduct (GDP) growth, this has been achieved by depletingnatural capital for consumption, rather than reinvestment inother types of capital to generate sustainable growth. Therecent change in leadership represents a window ofopportunity for political and economic reform that willallow Angola to put itself on a path toward sustainabledevelopment.The Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) forAngola identifies pathways and priorities to eradicatepoverty and boost shared prosperity by 2030. After providingthe historical context of Angola, the SCD applies theconcept of the “Changing Wealth of Nations” and identifiesfour binding constraints for Angola to reach the WorldBank’s twin goals. Oil dependency in conjunction with a lowglobal oil price creates macroeconomic and fiscalimbalances, constraining sustainable growth and povertyreduction in Angola. A weak private sector is unable toprovide a sustained growth momentum, further constraininggrowth and poverty reduction. The poor remain excluded fromgrowth, limiting realized growth, but more importantly,manifesting high poverty levels. Finally, weak governance isa cross-sectoral binding constraint contributing tounsatisfactory policy outcomes. The SCD ranks areas ofintervention for each binding constraint and selects the top10 priorities to overcome the binding constraints. With anew government in place, Angola is at a critical juncture topursue a sustainable development path to reach povertyeradication and shared prosperity.