Friday, July 01, 2005
Republic of the Marshall Islands Private Sector Assessment. Promoting Growth Through Reform
By: The Enterprise Research Institute
For: The Asian Development Bank Under: RETA 6037: Private Sector Development Strategy For The Pacific, 2003
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) economy has registered many years of low or negative growth and per capita income is now 20 percent below what it was at independence. The government has announced that future growth depends on a thriving private sector and is interested in promoting private sector friendly policies within a sustainable development framework. This private sector assessment (PSA) examines the environment for doing business in RMI. Based on numerous interviews with private sector business people, it concludes that although the government has taken the important first step of committing to improving the private sector environment, several important steps are necessary to improve the prospects for higher private sector growth. The PSA suggests policy initiatives to promote private sector growth by making it more competitive, changing some aspects of the role of the state in the economy and undertaking institutional reform that will promote private contracting and encourage financial market growth. The report concludes that the time is ripe for a national debate regarding the role of the state, the role of business and how reform should proceed.
For: The Asian Development Bank Under: RETA 6037: Private Sector Development Strategy For The Pacific, 2003
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) economy has registered many years of low or negative growth and per capita income is now 20 percent below what it was at independence. The government has announced that future growth depends on a thriving private sector and is interested in promoting private sector friendly policies within a sustainable development framework. This private sector assessment (PSA) examines the environment for doing business in RMI. Based on numerous interviews with private sector business people, it concludes that although the government has taken the important first step of committing to improving the private sector environment, several important steps are necessary to improve the prospects for higher private sector growth. The PSA suggests policy initiatives to promote private sector growth by making it more competitive, changing some aspects of the role of the state in the economy and undertaking institutional reform that will promote private contracting and encourage financial market growth. The report concludes that the time is ripe for a national debate regarding the role of the state, the role of business and how reform should proceed.