The objective of this public expenditure review (PER) is to provide the government with options for fiscal consolidation and support macroeconomic stability in the medium-term. This PER addresses the broad topic of expenditure efficiency and examines options for expenditure rationalization to...

The national economy of Vietnam was affected by the April 2020 lockdown meant to contain the domestic spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) virus and subsequent outbreaks in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Nevertheless, the economy showed exceptional resilience. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by...

Before the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, Somalia's economy was on an upward trajectory, recovering from the 2016/17 drought. The economy grew at an estimated rate of 2.9 percent in 2019, on par with population growth, and was projected to grow at 3.2 percent in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has...

This report presents an overview of Algeria's recent macroeconomic developments and of its short-term economic outlook. The report is divided into two chapters. Chapter one presents the country's macroeconomic developments in 2019, which establishes the context for the unprecedented developments...

More than three years after the first COVID-19 case was discovered in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, it is time to take stock of the lasting effects-and opportunities-of the pandemic and identify which policies may have helped stem the economic losses suffered by households and firms....

The outbreak was declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11 and the epicenter of the crisis has moved from China and Korea to the US and Western Europe. Infections are also increasing at a rapid pace in WBG client countries, with large uncertainty about the extent to which many countries are...

This note will examine the distributional and efficiency issues associated with the fiscal response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis in Da Nang city and nationally in Vietnam. More specifically, we look at the social assistance (cash transfer) programs. Did these programs efficiently reach...

This note analyzes the short-term effects of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) shock during the first year of the crisis and presents alternative medium-term recovery scenarios. It asks a set of questions, and in answering those questions, provides policy suggestions for the Vietnamese...