In this study we develop an evidence-based tool to help to guide policy and investment choices, to maximize developmental returns from tourism. Specifically, we develop a tourism-extended social accounting matrix and computable general equilibrium and microsimulation models customized for...

In this study we develop an evidence-based tool to help to guide policy and investment choices, to maximize developmental returns from tourism. Specifically, we develop a tourism-extended social accounting matrix and computable general equilibrium and microsimulation models customized for...

Ex-ante economic impact analyses are required to demonstrate the development impact and economic viability of loans and grants extended by multi-lateral development banks. These assessments are performed under tight time constraints and often in data poor environments. This paper develops a...

KEY ISSUES Outlook and risks. The economy will remain vulnerable over the medium term, with sluggish real GDP growth, rising public debt and widening external current account deficits. International reserves could decline to uncomfortably low levels. The financial system would continue to be...

This Technical Note provides an assessment of Belize's trade sector and offers some policy options. Major constraints are related to a limited export basket and concentrated destination markets, high tariff levels with high dispersion, conservative trade agenda, weak institutional capacity,...

This paper examines the causes, processes, and outcomes of the two Belize sovereign debt restructurings in 2006–07 and in 2012–13 that occurred outside of an IMF-supported program. It finds that the motivation for the two debt restructurings differed, as the former was driven by...

This Technical Note was prepared to support the transport sector policy dialogue between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Government of Belize. The note provides an overview of the main characteristics of the transport sector in Belize and the challenges going forward. The note...

This IMF staff report on Belize’s 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights economic developments and macroeconomic outlook. Macroeconomic developments in 2012 were underpinned by robust output growth but clouded by uncertainties surrounding the debt restructuring and growth prospects of...

Due in part to Belize's characteristic as a small state, its public administration is among the most expensive in Central America relative to the size of its economy. This represents a potential risk in a challenging fiscal context. The wage bill's fiscal risk has been flagged as a concern over...

In the face of rising crime rates and increasingly complex transnational and local criminal dynamics, Belize's limited institutional resources are overstretched. Youth violence and gangs are of particular concern in urban areas, where lack of education and employment options converge with the...

"The Ancient Maya Marketplace, edited by Eleanor M. King, reviews the debate on prehispanic Maya markets. The volume's contributors challenge the model of a non-commercialized Maya economy and offer compelling new evidence for the existence and identification of ancient marketplaces among the...

This paper presents a case study of the traditional treatment of a Q'eqchi' Maya man in southern Belize in 2011 who is suffering from AIDS-related sickness. The purpose is to detail the empirical nature of Q'eqchi' Maya medicine, distinguishing between manifest and latent empiricism, as...

This documents contains Disaster Risk and Disaster Management indicators for Belize calculated according to the methodology developed by the Bank. This System of Indicators had three specific objectives: i) improvement in the use and presentation of information on risk. This assists policymakers...

This documents contains Disaster Risk and Disaster Management indicators for Belize calculated according to the methodology developed by the Bank. This System of Indicators had three specific objectives: i) improvement in the use and presentation of information on risk. This assists policymakers...

Bridgetown, Barbados 6th – 10th July, 2009

Over the past two decades, ecotourism has emerged as an important conservation strategy, especially in the Tropics where a diversity of species and habitats are threatened by traditional forms of development. However, questions remain about the sustainability of ecotourism in terms of...

Belize got its Independence when the region was going through an economic crisis with debt burden and traditional export prices reduction. The northern region, once the most important economically, faced major challenges which prompted the introduction of fiscal incentive programs to alleviate...

This report studies the revenue requirement of the Government of Belize in short term as well as the tax reform measure needed to face the longer term revenue requirements of the public sector in an environment where tariffs to international trade are being reduced. The study update a similar...