Infrastructure investment is a policy priority for Namibia to address critical gaps and support economic growth. However, a constrained fiscal environment in recent years has contributed to a decrease in public investment and capital stock. The Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA)...

Climate change has emerged as one of the defining risks in recent years. These risks are associated with economic losses and, ultimately, the stability of the financial system. This study examines the impact of climate change on financial stability in Namibia using quarterly data spanning from...

By providing a working definition of an expatriate colonial business, this article examines the role of the Woermann group's integration into and support of colonialism through trade, plantations, and logistics. Focusing on its activities in Cameroon and the pivotal role of the Woermann Linie...

This report evaluates expenditure composition and examines budget allocation and execution in public agricultural spending within available data information, with a dedicated focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation. By assessing how closely resource allocations align with government...

Many countries of the Global South struggle to achieve inclusive growth paths despite investment in the exploitation of rich resources. Resource-based industrialization literature stresses the potential for achieving broader development effects via the development of production linkages with...

Promoting job-rich growth is a key focus of the government, given high unemployment, particularly among the youth. Economic growth has been supported by the services sector and mining, including in oil exploration, although oil production prospects remain uncertain. The 2023/24 drought has...

Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) play a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) of the European Commission joined forces launching the project on STI for...

Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) play a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) of the European Commission joined forces launching the project on STI for...

By providing a working definition of an expatriate colonial business, this article examines the role of the Woermann group's integration into and support of colonialism through trade, plantations, and logistics. Focusing on its activities in Cameroon and the pivotal role of the Woermann Linie...

The Bank of Namibia (BON) explored the potential of Retail Central Bank Digital Currency (rCBDC). The key drivers included promoting financial inclusion, modernizing financial system modernization, as well as improving cross-border payments. The technical assistance (TA) mission aimed to provide...

At the request of the Bank of Namibia (BoN), an IMF mission team conducted a technical assistance (TA) from January 15 to February 1, 2024. The mission assisted the authorities in establishing the groundwork for a feasibility study of a retail central bank digital currency (rCBDC) and drafting a...

This Country Partnership Framework (CPF) sets forth the World Bank Group (WBG) strategy for supporting Namibia's goals to reduce poverty and inequality as outlined in its national development plans. Although the WBG has historically had a limited engagement in Namibia, the authorities have...

This chapter examines the evolution of bank credit in Namibia over the past two decades. It highlights notable trends and the composition of credit growth, with a particular focus on the private sector. Additionally, it identifies potential macro-financial vulnerabilities and provides policy...

With high unemployment, especially among the youth, Namibia lags behind the SSA region on labor market outcomes. Between 2012 and 2018, there was a structural shift in the economy from agriculture to services, as younger workers took up low-productivity service sector jobs. A shift-share...

Namibia’s arid climate makes it highly susceptible to severe weather shocks. The prolonged drought in 2023–24 caused a sharp decline in crop yields and exacerbated food insecurity. This paper documents Namibia’s vulnerabilities to future weather shocks, including droughts and changes in...

A bias in research has seen studies focus mostly on corporate social investments (CSIs) in the private sector. The current study aims to provide an alternative perspective to the traditional association of CSIs with private sector organisations by including public sector entities such as public...

In an era of multiple crises and geopolitical uncertainty, the need to deal with heightened risk drives states to locate strategic global production networks (GPNs) in geopolitically aligned states, a trend known as friendshoring. In this paper, we contribute to the literature on the role of...

Following a surge in petroleum sector exploration, the Namibian authorities requested a review of their petroleum upstream fiscal regime. The petroleum fiscal regime balances investor and government interests and is fit for purpose although untested in practice. A number of recommended policy...

This diagnostic report was prepared in response to a technical assistance request from the Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) to support the design and implementation of an index-based agriculture insurance program targeting small-scale farmers. Based on initial consultations with the...

Namibia has grappled with challenging climate conditions for years, with the recent unprecedented drought exacerbating these challenges and highlighting the urgent need for effective adaptation strategies. Climate change poses severe threats to human life and security, impacting both urban and...

In an era of multiple crises and geopolitical uncertainty, the need to deal with heightened risk drives states to locate strategic global production networks (GPNs) in geopolitically aligned states, a trend known as friendshoring. In this paper, we contribute to the literature on the role of...

This study examines the effects of workplace diversity dimensions on employee performance in selected State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in Namibia. The research aims to provide insights into the influence of specific workplace diversity dimensions such as age, educational background, ethnicity,...

In this study, we provide causal evidence on the capacity of monetary incentives to encourage real-life local leaders managing water and land to improve their procedural fairness. We report results from incentivized decisions and surveys conducted with local leaders in rural Namibia (n=64) and...

A bias in research has seen studies focus mostly on corporate social investments (CSIs) in the private sector. The current study aims to provide an alternative perspective to the traditional association of CSIs with private sector organisations by including public sector entities such as public...

This paper examines whether renewable energy has an asymmetric or symmetric impact on economic growth in Namibia for the period 1990 to 2020. The study was motivated by the growing importance of renewable energy in the economic growth process of many economies. Further, knowing whether this...

The Country Opinion Survey in Namibia assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in better understanding how stakeholders in Namibia perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector,...

Customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty are essential for a positive return on sales in the insurance industry. This study examines the key determinants of customer loyalty among long‑term insurance consumers in Namibia. The mediating role of customer satisfaction was also examined in...

The President of the United Nations General Assembly has appointed the German and Namibian permanent representatives as co-facilitators for the Summit of the Future. The summit is scheduled for September 2024. Its aim is to reinforce the UN and global governance structures to better address old...

There has been a growing concern for excellent service delivery in the public sector. The challenges that are hindering service delivery in Town Councils have been attributed to political interference in appointments and ineffective leadership. The residents in the Town Council have been...

Purpose: This paper analysed the effects of bank's risk on capital buffer in Namibia, in the absence of the consensus on the cyclical behavior of capital buffers. Design/methodology/approach: The study employed the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) modelling technique on quarterly data for...

This paper estimates the returns to education and their implications for wage inequality using data from the 2015/16 Namibia Income and Expenditure Survey. The paper employs recentred influence function regression to analyse the impact of education across the wage distribution and uses a...

This paper examines the dynamic causal relationship between financial development, external debt and investment in Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini from 1980-2020 using a multivariate Granger-causality model. The study considers trade, savings and economic growth as intermittent variables in the...

Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) weigh down on household finances and economies. Literature suggests that low-middle income countries are the worst affected. This study appraises the monetary value of human life losses associated with RTAs in Namibia, focusing on persons below life expectancy age...

This 2023 Article IV Consultation highlights that Namibia has shown resilience to the negative shocks from the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine. Output has recovered to the pre pandemic level, inflation has fallen below 6 percent, and expectations remain anchored....

This paper discusses details of Technical Assistance (TA) report on Government Finance Statistics (GFS) mission in Namibia. The mission supported the MFPE staff in compiling 2022-23 GFS for the State Governments subsector. The mission took note of and welcomed the Ministry of Finance and Public...

The current study investigates the impact of foreign direct investment on the growth of Namibia's economy from 1990 to 2020 using the ARDL cointegration method. The results reveal that FDI, the interactive variable of FDI and trade openness, and other macroeconomic variables such as domestic...