BIDeconomics Belize: Developing a Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive Belize

This document presents a comprehensive analysis of challenges and opportunities for promoting inclusive and sustainable development in Belize on a sectoral level, where rekindling faster, sustained economic growth is arguably one of the country's most significant development challenges. The unprecedented hit of the COVID-19 pandemic has added pressure to an economy with characteristically low growth, and dramatically transformed Belize's economic and social outlook. Reigniting economic growth that is sustainable and inclusive, as well as removing structural bottlenecks, requires addressing three priority areas categorized here as pillars. These pillars are: (i) Anchoring fiscal policy for growth, (ii) Transforming the export sector through diversification, integration, and innovation, and (iii) Providing social protection and skills to shape the future. These development challenges are interdependent and tackling them will require a collaborative and synchronous approach. At the IADB, we trust the BIDeconomics Belize will be a valuable tool for the Government of Belize and the country's stakeholders to overcome these challenges.
BIDeconomics is a series of publications by the Department of Countries of Central America Haiti, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic that provides analysis and proposals to support the sustainable development of the countries of the region. Each publication summarizes the findings of the Country Development Challenges studies, which are respectively prepared as inputs for each of the IDB Country Strategies.