Systematic country diagnostic for eight small Pacific Island countries : priorities for ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity

Abstract

This systematic country diagnostic (SCD) identifies the key constraints and opportunities to reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner for eight small Pacific island countries (PIC8): Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. This report aims to address that by using country‐specific analysis to produce conclusions at multiple levels: either for the whole PIC8 region, for sub‐groupings, or for individual countries. The World Bank Group is committed to helping developing countries achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. The SCD begins with a context‐setting diagnostic of overarching constraints, which situates the challenges of the twin goals of ending absolute poverty and promoting shared prosperity within the very specific context of the Pacific in chapter one. The SCD examines the incidence and profile of poverty and shared prosperity in the Pacific, in order to understand their characteristics and drivers in chapter two. The third aspect of the framework is the identification of key pathways for ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity in chapter’s three to six. The SCD draws attention to crosscutting enablers of economic governance and the business environment in chapter seven. The SCD undertakes a process of prioritization of interventions that takes into account a broad view of the likelihood of success and focuses on those interventions that will have the biggest impact in achieving the twin goals in chapter eight.