Global Dialogue 4: Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Social Policy - Albania, Jamaica, Nigeria, Tanzania

February 17, 2009                                                                    

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Participants

Summary

Government officials and World Bank staff in Albania, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Nigeria, and Tanzania discussed the early impacts of the global economic crisis in the wake of the 2008 food and fuel price increases. They described the impacts of the declines in export volumes, tax revenues, and migrant remittances on poverty in their countries and the limited "fiscal room" for protecting vulnerable groups.

Dialogue Highlights: Developing Countries Seek to Protect Poor During Global Economic Crisis.

The global dialogue addressed the following questions:

Macro-fiscal management

What has been the impact of financial crisis on capital inflows/outflows, migrant remittances, and on exports and overall economic growth and poverty?

Do the governments know the profile of the most vulnerable groups (from household surveys) and what safety nets (private remittances) are in place to protect the vulnerable?

Fiscal and monetary policy management

Fiscal policy:
- Are tax revenues declining due to slow growth?
- What are you doing in response to the food-fuel and banking-financial crises?
- What are the fiscal costs?
- Is your approach fiscally sustainable? 
- What are the implications of what you are doing for external and domestic debt?

Monetary policy:  
- What is happening to domestic inflation, nominal and real interest rates, nominal and real effective exchange rates?

Safety nets management

Did you already have social safety nets in place when the food and fuel crisis hit?

- What type of intervention and for whom were they initially designed?

Did you use any of these social safety nets interventions to mitigate the impact of the crisis?

- How did you use them?
- Increasing the coverage?
- Increasing the benefit?
- Other ways?

What criteria did you use to select the new beneficiaries and determine the level of benefit?

Did you design new interventions?

- Why did you feel you needed new social safety nets?
- What are the new social safety nets you designed?
- What type of difficulties did you encounter and what lessons did you learn?

If you do not have safety nets in place

- What mechanisms did you use?
- What are the lessons you learned?

Is there anything you would have done differently or whished it was in place before the crisis hit?

Participants

Albania
Erald Themeli (Monetary Policy Director, Central Bank);
Altin Tanku (Research Director, Central Bank);
Sybi Hida (Gen. Director of Macro-Fiscal Policies, MOF);
Endrit Lami (Deputy Director of  Macro-Fiscal Policies, MOF). 

Jamaica
Badrul Haque, Special Representative to the Government, Kingston Jamaica

Nigeria
Peter Papka (Federal Project Support Unit, CSDP, Abuja)
Abdullahi Bawa (Honourable Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Niger State)
Hassan Nattu, incharge of MDGs, Niger State
Tundelawal, National Planning Commission
Ali-Madu-aji Juluri, special advisor on budget, Yobe State
Jaafaru Mohammed Nejo, Ministry of budget and Planning, Yobe State
Abdullah Ali, Ministry of special duties and poverty reduction, Yobe State
Mustaphu Mullavam, Ministry of Budget and Planning, Yobe state
Mohammed Kudu Isah, Directorate of Poverty Eradication, Niger State
Eunice Bahago, NIPEVR, Niger state
Mohammed Atta Musa, Directorate of Poverty Eradication, Niger state
Usman Muhammed Usman, Director of Poverty Eradication,  Niger state
Oui Omobowale Ayola, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan
Sulaiman A. Yusuf, department of agricultural economics, University of Ibadan
Onu Justice, department of agricultural economics, Federal University
Idu Mathew, Ministry of human development and poverty reduction, Enugu state
Nsude Madueke, Ministry of human development and poverty reduction, Enugu
Abubakar Chika Adamu, Niger state poverty eradication
Edak E. Iwuchukwu, Ministry of social welfare and community development

Tanzania
Dr. Likwlele (Director, Social Fund TASAF);
Mr. Kamugisha (Director of Policy Analysis Department, MOF);
Mr. Sagday (Assistant Director, Poverty Eradication Department, MOF)