Fiji is a small island nation in theSouth Pacific Ocean with population of 870,000.Nevertheless,Fiji has one of the most sophisticated economies among thePacific Islands. The economy is the second largest in thePacific after Papua New Guinea, and it is the mostindustrially advanced, with substantial services andmanufacturing sectors.Fiji has not, however, realized itsfull economic potential.The 2014 election was a turningpoint for Fiji in many respects. First, the currentgovernment was elected with an outright majority and strongcross-ethnic support. Second, the election saw a genuinepolitical debate, with citizens offered a choice betweendifferent visions for the future (Frankel 2014). Third, theelection, which was declared free and fair by internationalobservers, paved the way for Fiji’s re-engagement withdevelopment partners and created a better environment forprivate investment.Fiji can build on its relatively stronginstitutions to deliver faster growth and sharedprosperity.The government plans to build on its achievementsin poverty reduction and shared prosperity. The nationaldevelopment plan is to double real per capita income by2035.The World Bank’s report Pacific Possible sets outseveral ideas for accelerating growth in Fiji by 2040. Areasof opportunities include tourism, migration, fisheries, deepsea mining, and the knowledge economy.This Strategic CountryDiagnostic (SCD) identifies three pathways, as well ascross-cutting issues. (i) Stronger growth; (ii) Betteraccess to services by all; (iii) Building resilience. Thesethree pathways should be supported by cross-cutting effortsto improve governance, that is, to improve policy and theinstitutional capacity of the public sector to accelerateprogress toward the twin goals.However, it continues to facea number of cross-cutting governance challenges.This reporthas identified many constraints and many possible policysolutions. But not everything can be done at once:priorities need to be selected. In selecting the priorities,this SCD uses three main criteria. The first is whether apolicy is a precondition for making progress in pursuingothers. The second is whether a policy is expected to havepositive spillovers across different domains (e.g., growth,equity, resilience). The third is whether a policy isfeasible, that is, it can be implemented in the medium termgiven cost, capacity, and political feasibility for action.
PDF
download
878987797
028-85220240
