Special characteristics and development challenges of small states; management of economics risks in small states; impact on small states of the developing world trade regime; new opportunities from globalization; issues in the provision of external assistance; regional and country experiences. Appendices: summary of proceedings of the Global Conference on the Development Agenda for Small States, Feb 2000; executive summary of the task force report and paper presented to the World Bank/IMF Development Committee, April 2000.

An increase in external shocks, international terrorism and natural disasters over the past two decades has led to unsustainable debt burdens in small and vulnerable states, resulting in debt restructuring programmes. This paper highlights the concerns of Commonwealth small states about their growing debt burden and the emerging challenges to their overall debt sustainability. It pinpoints the factors that lead to debt, the hurdles involved with debt restructuring and the weaknesses involved in debt management. It offers key lessons learned based on the experiences of seven small Commonwealth...

Public policies in taxation and revenue management are key to ensuring natural resource wealth results in economic development. Tax policy and systems should ensure that whenever natural resources are extracted, the host state receives a fair share of revenue. Revenue management policies are required to ensure that government revenues from natural resources are wisely used to finance sustainable economic development. This volume of the Economic Paper series analyzes key issues in natural resource taxation and revenue management, and it recommends policies that can improve countries' economic...

Considerable attention has been focused on the process of financial intermediation, providing a link between savings and investment activities, and its impact on economic development, but mainly in the context of larger developing countries. This study examines the problems of and policies for financial intermediation in small economies. It contains an examination of the role of financial institutions, measures for their efficient working and an appropriate policy frame, along with an analysis of financial structure in eleven Commonwealth small island developing economies: Bahamas,...

Small island developing states (SIDS) face severe structural challenges to their sustainable development. Some are among the poorest and most isolated countries in the world, with relatively small populations and narrow endowments of land and natural resources. This Economic Paper builds on the 2014 SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway, which provides policy guidance on economic, environmental and social priorities in SIDS. Complementing the vision contained in the Pathway, it offers more detailed analysis and guidance on alternative economic development strategies for SIDS and...