Economic growth in developing countries is desirable and necessary, but it is the distribution of that growth that matters for poverty reduction, rather than the pursuit of growth for its own sake.
It is a stable democracy, with an efficient and increasingly transparent government. The entire budget is published online. Strong education and health plans are in place, and the government promotes the use of generic medicines. In recent years growth has been consistently robust, at around 6 percent. The country hosts a world-renowned film festival. It has consistently sought to reform and modernize, just as the IMF and World Bank have prescribed. And, in turn, donors love to fund it. It was, for instance, one of the first countries to qualify for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) programme. So confident is the international community that its money will be in safe hands that it readily gives budget support – which is very positive, as this form of aid allows the government to fund recurrent expenditures such as teachers' and doctors' salaries, though from a donor's perspective it is more difficult to trace, in large amounts.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Poverty, Third World, Global Recession, and Financial Crisis